View source for Responsibilities (Greg Mason mysteries) by Ann Macarthur

{{infobox1
|title=Responsibilities (Greg Mason mysteries)
|author=Ann Macarthur
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=An engaging mystery spanning the 1940s to the 1990s.  Clever plotting and good characterisation make for a surprisingly quick read for such a substantial book.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=452
|publisher=Independently published
|date=September 2023
|isbn=978-8862952780
|cover=B0CK3MYJ56
|aznuk=B0CK3MYJ56
|aznus=B0CK3MYJ56
}}
It's the 1990s and Greg Mason's twenty-eight years old.  He used to have a high-flying job in the city but it wasn't satisfying so he's now set himself up as a private investigator. 'Shades of Cameron Strike', you might be thinking. Nice bloke, but where's the life experience that backs up this profession?  On the other hand, he has been asked to look into something.  Joyce and Helen are half-sisters, or rather, they were until Helen was killed in what's been written off as a tragic accident at an unmanned level crossing.  Joyce - and her parents, Oliver and Pam Hetherington - can't understand what she was doing there - or how she could come to fall in front of a train.  Greg's been asked to investigate.

In May 1941, Hans Jurgen Schmidt was the pilot in a top-secret mission.  Rudolph Hess was flying to Scotland to meet up with the Duke of Hamilton with the intention of persuading the British to change sides.  There would be advantages for the British and Hitler would have support in his war against the Russians - 'the real foe to the east'.  Hess bails out but Schmidt's plane is downed soon afterwards when he encounters a flock of large birds on the return flight.

In the 1950s Alan and Annie Glenn farm in Scotland.  They have two sons, Fergus and Archie.  Archie is a gentle, kindly soul, bullied by his elder brother who is neither gentle nor kindly.  What will happen when Archie meets the woman he comes to love?

On the face of it, there would seem to be little to link these vignettes but this book is cleverly plotted.  You're going to have a lot of light-bulb moments as you realise how everything ties together.  The three storylines are all engaging in their own right but the way they link up is particularly satisfying.  The locations - Scotland and the east of England - are all brought to life well.

It's the characters you want to know about, though, isn't it?  Greg Mason is a clever construct: at the beginning, I thought he was immature and that his ambition to be a private investigator should perhaps be shelved until he had a few more years on his back.  But - he learns from his mistakes, he takes advice and he's braver than I would have been.  Over the course of the story, he blossoms and I look forward to reading more of his exploits.  On the other hand, Fergus is a baddie you can really dislike.  He's well done.  The men come off the page a little better than the women - but that's me being very picky.

''Responsibilities'' was a good and remarkably quick read for such a substantial book and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If you've read ''Responsibilities'' and you're looking for your next book, we can recommend [[Frank Merlin: Princes Gate by Mark Ellis]].

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[[Category:Ann Macarthur]][[Category:Keith Redfern]]