“The Button Man” begins with Hugo Marston having just become head of security at the US Embassy in London. On his way to meet with his boss, Hugo decides to walk through a cemetery and discovers a body hanging from a rope. When he finally arrives at the pub, Hugo is told he’s in charge of protecting an American movie-star couple, Dayton Harper and Ginny Ferro. The problem is that the couple, while filming on location in rural England, killed a local man in a hit-and-run accident.
The assignment is ill-fated from the start because the body Hugo found hanging in the cemetery is Ginny, the very woman he’s supposed to be protecting. When the husband, Dayton Harper, disappears, a Member of Parliament and a young woman named Merlyn assist Hugo in his search across the English countryside for Harper. As the list of dead bodies start piling up, the question of who killed Ginny Ferro becomes more and more perplexing.
Despite the growing list of questions, Hugo remains convinced that if he can get enough background information on the suspects, he will understand the killer’s motive and can finally get one step ahead. As Hugo hightails it to where he presumes the killer will take his final victim, he unknowingly puts himself directly in the path of danger. Realizing the killer intends a very public murder for his final act, Hugo races to stop the killer once and for all.
Full of surprises with delightful, quirky characters and resplendent with descriptions of London, the English villages and countryside, this prequel to “The Bookseller” is a well-written and entertaining read that will captivate both Hugo Marston fans and newcomers alike.
