Dead Man's Lane: Book 23 in the DI Wesley Peterson crime series

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Most people would be likely to assume that dumb woman was a slow, uneducated woman perhaps a former village idiot, but the story behind the name is something quite different.

The junction south of Saint-Côme-du-Mont was selected as the objective of 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (101st Airborne Division). This key area was primarily defended by the paratroopers of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6 and 3rd battalion of Grenadier-Regiment 1058 of the 91st Luftlande Division. The German regimental HQ and an aid station were established in the house at the junction. 1st Lt. Walter T. Anderson lost his life in Tank 17, not the one at Dead Man’s Corner. (Center): Sgt. Anthony I. Tomasheski was killed in Tank 12, but was not the soldier found dead in the turret. (Right): Don Burgett, the 101st Airnborne trooper who wrote about the incident in his book, A Screaming Eagle in Normandy.

There would be three additional officers, one to command each individual platoon. If fewer than five officers were available, a platoon could also be led by a senior NCO. This task would usually fall to a staff sergeant, who, under normal circumstances, commanded the second section of a platoon of five tanks. These landings would be followed by the deep-wading tanks of Company C in the third wave (H+15), which would land on both beaches. Eight tanks outfitted with bulldozer blades landed in this wave, as well.

This is a fairly recent book in the Wesley Peterson series, published in 2019. It's a very popular and long running series. She also has another series, the Joe Plantagenet series, which she has, apparently, abandoned or perhaps it hadn't sold well plus a limited series starring a scarred World War 1 veteran, Albert Lincoln, which she says was meant to be a limited series. The general area described by Don Burgett can only be the high ground somewhere between Saint-Côme-du-Mont and Carentan, and the road he described matches the N-13. It has been claimed that Burgett’s group was south of DMC. This seems to be based on the assumption that the tank that left Burgett’s group and moved north over the N-13 was the same as the tank that was ultimately destroyed at the junction. Thus, the group must have been south of the junction.I have read and liked several books from this series, and in general they are a good read, but sometimes there are also too many annoyances. Of course, the overall plots are similar - human bones found, maybe during property development. Are they historical or current enough for police investigation? DI Wesley Peterson will have to determine that, and of course his old mate Neil Watson gets involved as an archaeology inspector. DCI Gerry Heffernan still likes to get out of the office more than he should, but he is still a solid copper despite his personal problems. Then there are usually extracts from a diary or suchlike from hundreds of years ago which are supposed to tie up old threads with current ones, but in fact rarely shed any light on the matter.

Ellis’ mysteries always have a link to the past and her Author’s Note gives her readers details of the real life historical influences for this tale. All of this is relevant because the tank at Dead Man’s Corner is not Tank 17, but Tank 12. This automatically rules out Lieutenant Anderson as the dead man at the intersection. The numbering system used by the battalion means that Tank 12 was the second tank within 3rd Platoon. Such a tank was almost certainly commanded by a sergeant, with a crew comprising lower ranks, which means that we should look for an enlisted man, not an officer. Another clergyman who had an influence on the land in Horfield was Rev Henry Richards. He was the Perpetual Curate of Horfield (1828-1863) whose parish covered Horfield and a large part of the area we now know as Bishopston. In fact it was Rev Richards who organised the Parish of Bishopston in 1862. Rev Richards was a wealthy man and had bought some of the copyhold farms in Horfield in the 1830s. Thus he was the owner of the land and leased it out to tenant farmers.

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Support for this is provided by Private Eldon R. Abrahamsen (I/502nd PIR). On June 8, he was part of a patrol in that area that became pinned down by German fire. A light tank was brought up for assistance, but it did not end well: “The tank commander’s hatch on the tank was open and a German mortar shell dropped right in the hatch, which killed the crew.” Golden Hill is an area that is not precisely defined. In the 18th Century Manor Court presentments, there was an Upper Golden Hill Lane which looped between what is now Brookland Road and Lansdown Terrace. In the 1843 Tithe survey map, two fields were called Golden Hill. These lie north west of what is now Kellaway Avenue, between Phoenix Grove and Brookland Road. They also include a small row of late 19th Century cottages called Golden Hill which still exist today. Does this analysis mean that the unfortunate commander left sitting in the turret for several days was Sergeant Tomasheski? No, not necessarily. The evidence this ever happened is quite weak. It does not match the story in the combat interviews nor the evidence presented in Rendezvous with Destiny. In the end, it hinges on Don Burgett’s story and the earlier book of S.L.A. Marshall. Burgett was, however, very clear that he indeed saw the body of a tank commander. But which tank was it? The story of Lieutenant Anderson begins with an entry in the Company D diary from December 1, 1943. Company commander Captain Brodie listed the names and ranks of the officers in his company. 1st Lt. Anderson was the maintenance officer and two 2nd lieutenants were listed as platoon commanders. Lieutenant Anderson was the second-ranking officer in the company, and this was still the case on D-Day. Thus, he should never have been in the tank at Dead Man’s Corner.

As Wesley’s friend, archaeologist Dr Neil Watson, uncovers the secrets of Strangefields’ grisly past, it seems that an ancient tale of the dead returning to torment the living might not be as fantastical as it seems. And Wesley must work fast to discover who’s behind the recent murders . . . before someone close to him is put in danger. Police suspect it belongs to one of Temples' victims and, when a local florist is found murdered in an echo of Temples' crimes, DI Wesley Peterson fears a copy-cat killer could be at large. Especially when another brutal murder is discovered in a nearby village. I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group Ltd for a review copy of Dead Man’s Lane, the twenty third novel to feature DI Wesley Peterson of the Devon police.As can be seen from the map in Figure 6 above, Plot 212 is what we now call St Agnes Field and Plot 196 is what we call Baptist Field. The murders are in the style of an artist who was found guilty of the murders of several young woman who were strangled and had their faces mutilated after death. Temple has always denied his guilt and spoke of a fellow artist who had a studio in his home, Strangefields. After the murders were discovered the other artist, Jonny Sykes, disappeared and was never found so the authorities believe that the murderer simply made him up. Most of the women's bodies were recovered except for Gemma Pollinger's whose body was never found. Another field called Middle Allhays (number 65 on the 1843 Tithe Survey Map) was occupied by a Peregrine Rosling and was leased from Henry Eugene Shadwell who was the son of Dr John Shadwell, the Lord of the Manor. (This is the land we now know as Long’s Field). Peregrine Rosling had come to live in Horfield from Corby, Lincolnshire, and must have attended Horfield Parish Church as his name was on a petition to rebuild Horfield Parish Church in 1836. At that time there were several branches of the Rosling family shown as living on The Common, including his brother Reuben Rosling who ran Berry Lane Farm. Golden Hill is one of the highest points within the Bristol City environs and is located across the Horfield, Bishopston and Henleaze districts. It is said that the name Golden Hill derives from the fact that it was a pre-Christian beacon hill. It has also been suggested it has an ancient pagan origin and the remains of a tumulus nearby could well support this theory.