Death of a Hero

Ever wonder how Joe Horseman went from accounting major in college to the Fiji police force? In Death of a Hero by B.M. Allsopp, we meet Joe as a young university student. His plan is to follow in his father's footsteps and become an accountant, but of course, he still wants to play rugby.

When team captain Seru recognizes Joe's talents and selects him to be on the University's first team, Joe turns into a  loyal fan. Even though he has been assigned lowly duties like caring the team singlets, filling the water bottles and other mundane chores, Joe is thrilled to be accepted by Seru and he idolizes the team captain.

In a hurry one day to get to practice, Joe stumbles on what he thinks is the resting figure of Seru. Before long he realizes Seru is not breathing and rushes out to find help. When the ambulance arrives, it's too late to save Seru. With no visible signs of violence, Joe cannot believe the captain is dead.

When Detective Sergeant Ratini arrives, he is very rude to Joe and makes a point of telling him not to get involved in the investigation. He even intimates that Joe might have killed Seru or that Seru killed himself.  

Not happy with the progress being made by the police, Joe decides he needs to discover how Seru died so he would not be dishonored by being thought a suicide. Joe knows that's not possible, but as he investigates, he discovers some interesting bits of information about Seru's personal life. 

A delightful prequel to the Joe Horseman series. If you love the adult Joe, you will love the youthful Joe. Looking forward to adult Joe's next adventure.