The Cambridge Theorem

by Tony Cape

Overview

A police detective is drawn into intrigue while investigating a mathematical genius’s murder: “A combination of P.D. James and John le Carré.” —Austin American-Statesman

When Simon Bowles commits suicide, no one is surprised. A graduate student in mathematics at Cambridge University, Bowles had a long, well-documented history of depression. But as Detective Sergeant Derek Smailes soon discovers, he also had a passion for investigating historical mysteries and an extraordinary knack for solving them. His most recent project: uncovering the identity of the fabled fifth man in the notorious Cambridge spy ring of the 1930s. Smailes can’t help wondering whether Bowles could have possibly solved that mystery—and if so, whether his theorem could have brought about his death . . .

“Smailes, the engaging hero of this atmospheric thriller, is a most unusual CID detective: he wears lizard-skin cowboy boots, loves the music of Willie Nelson and is generally obsessed with all things American . . . In his first novel, Cambridge graduate Cape expertly mixes just enough fact with fiction to keep his readers intrigued and entertained.” —Publishers Weekly

“Engrossing . . . A classy freshness and appealingly labyrinthine plot.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A resounding success, suspenseful and fascinating.” —Chicago Tribune

“An entertaining first effort combining the mystery and spy genres . . . with several twists.” —Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781937384821
Publisher:	Felony & Mayhem Press
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Series:	Henry Gamadge , #12
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	732 KB

About the Author

Tony Cape was born in Wales and grew up in Yorkshire before attending Cambridge University. After working as a journalist in Northern Ireland and England he moved to the United States in 1977 to join the Buddhist community of Tibetan meditation master Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. In the 1990s, he published a series of spy novels featuring Derek Smailes, a former police detective turned counterintelligence officer. The first of these, The Cambridge Theorem, became a bestseller in Britain and Italy, and was re-released by Felony and Mayhem Press in 2006. He lives in Western Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

The apparent suicide of a Cambridge University graduate student begins as a routine case for detective sergeant Derek Smailes, but dark political secrets half a century old soon surface, suggesting that Simon Bowles's death might well have been a murder. Smailes, the engaging hero of this atmospheric thriller, is a most unusual CID detective: he wears lizard-skin cowboy boots, loves the music of Willie Nelson and is generally obsessed with all things American. He discovers that Bowles, a mathematical genius, had recently been subjecting historical events to strict logical analysis, developed a compelling theorem pinpointing the real murderer of John F. Kennedy and begun work on identifying the long-rumored ``Fifth Man'' in the notorious group of Soviet spies recruited at Cambridge during the 1930s. Smailes's investigations lead to startling revelations about Bowles and his research, as well as the detective's own deceased policeman father, the beautiful American graduate student to whom Smailes is attracted and the murky world of international espionage. In his first novel, Cambridge graduate Cape expertly mixes just enough fact with fiction to keep his readers intrigued and entertained. Mysterious Book Club selection. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

An entertaining first effort combining the mystery and spy genres. Simon Bowles's apparent suicide intrigues British detective Smailes because the deceased was working on identifying the fifth man in the so-called Ring of Five group of Cambridge spies. The story unfolds delicately, luring Smailes into a web of Communist intrigue in England in the early 1980s. Along the way, Smailes becomes involved in a torrid love affair with a college student who knows more about the case than she admits. Although the story is interesting, filled with several twists, it is a bit anticlimactic to discover that Detective Smailes solves the untimely death of Simon Bowles in the same manner that Columbo did (and a number of other detectives as well) in an episode of that 1970s TV show, by reading the used portion of a typewriter ribbon. Although slow moving at times, this shows promise for a new writer. Mystery Book Club selection.--James Picerno, ``Business Facilities,'' Red Bank, N.J.

Library Journal