Just before jetting off to Malta for a summer holiday I popped into a charity shop and bought a handful of books. I read them roughly in the order that I thought I would enjoy them, and I chose to read The Tattooed Detective last. In retrospect that was a mistake.
   The Tattooed detective is one of the best humorous detective books I’ve ever read. It’s set in Wales and features a host of memorable characters who wisecrack their way through grimy deals and dangerous situations. It comes almost as a shock when somebody does get injured or killed. Some of the characters are prostitutes and their pimps who have, let us say, a cosy relationship with at least one of the detectives. How can you not enjoy a book which contains the following gem:

“Dave, why I rang, she didn’t just knock the door, but was moving about in the yard.”
“I was – hesitant,” Mrs Rice said.
“She thought I might have a client in.”
“In the house,” Mrs Rice explained.
“That as well,” Erica said.

   Apart from thinking the ending was a bit overdone and overly complex, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I shall probably look out some more David Craig efforts in the future. In the meantime, if you should run across a copy of The Tattooed Detective(which is perhaps unlikely as it was published way back in 1998), I recommend that you grab it.