''Frost at Christmas'' (1984) is the first of the series of novels written by

R. D. Wingfield Rodney David Wingfield (6 June 1928 – 31 July 2007) was an English author and radio dramatist. He is best remembered for creating the character of Detective Inspector Jack Frost, who was later played by Sir David Jason in ''A Touch of Frost''. ...

, the creator of the character Detective Inspector Jack Frost, who is more famously known in the television series ''

A Touch of Frost A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'', where the character is played by

Sir David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector J ...

. This novel was adapted into the TV episode 'Care and Protection', which was also the first in the series.

Plot

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

approaches Detective Inspector Jack Frost is on the trail of a sensitive case with limited time to solve it. Tracy Uphill, an eight-year-old child, goes missing after attending Sunday school. It turns out her mother is a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

who couldn't meet her because she was with a client. There are many suspects and characters to trouble DI Frost's mind including; the mother's client with a false

alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

, the vicar with a penchant for

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

and a local

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

who claims she knows where to find the body of the young girl. At the same time other cases also need to be solved, as Frost's colleague DI Allen is suddenly rushed to hospital, leaving him alone to investigate some attempted break-ins at a local bank and a 30-year-old skeleton with a severed arm.

Detective Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal Police, law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Ot ...

Clive Barnard, the nephew of the Chief Constable, is another problem Frost faces when the new detective is freshly-transferred to Denton and takes an immediate dislike to Frost's methods. While many believe that DC Barnard has only got into

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

through his family connections and his all-knowing attitude does not help to improve his image, Frost eventually warms to the young cop and becomes his

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

. 1984 British novels British crime novels {{1980s-crime-novel-stub