FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid is working with County Investigator Jerry Walker on a serial killer case in Nothing to Hide. Unfortunately, Jerry has a distrust of FBI psychological profiles due to an earlier case. The victims seem to have nothing in common besides being male, under 40 and married. TheContinue Reading
In Silent Footsteps, Constable Hazel Best is deeply disappointed when her CID interview doesn’t result in her promotion. While working a case, Hazel begins receiving anonymous gifts of flowers, wine and candy on her doorstep. Is it an admirer or a stalker? Trucker Watts was only out of prison threeContinue Reading
In the Wedding Guest, Alex Delaware and Milo are back in the 34th police procedural in their series. A scantily clad woman is found garroted and posed on a toilet during a wedding reception. The venue is a seedy former strip club, which fits in with the reception’s theme ofContinue Reading
Dismas Hardy is back in the 18th series entry in Rule of Law. Dismas’ longtime secretary, Phyllis, is acting strangely. Perhaps it has something Phyllis’ brother, Adam, who has just been released from prison. After disappearing for a few days, Phyllis returns to work only to be arrested as anContinue Reading
A Stalker is loose in Stockholm and Detective Joona Linna is hunting him before he can kill again. A serial killer is sending YouTube links to the Swedish National Crime Unit showing peeping Tom video of women right before they are murdered. What connects the videos or woman? Who couldContinue Reading
The Smiling Man is a dark and compelling police procedural set during the night shift in a poor Manchester area. Detective Aidan Waits has been stuck on the night shift by his superiors and partnered with Detective Inspector Sutty, who is not the most motivated of men. When a bodyContinue Reading
With a masterful plot, unique characters and a pitch-perfect rural setting, there is nothing in The Boy that I didn’t love. A woman awakens to a ghastly sound coming from 7-year-old son’s room. Racing to his room, she finds him stabbed multiple time and the killer next turns the knifeContinue Reading
Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in the absorbing Australian police procedural Into the Night. Gemma has moved from her hometown and son, Ben, to Melbourne. Her relationship with Ben’s father, Simon, mutually ended after The Dark Lake. Gemma is falling into half-night stands with strangers picked up in barsContinue Reading
Like Columbo, Newcomer is a new approach to a police procedural. Eight stories each tell an investigative tale. By the last chapter, the detective has solved the crime. Precinct Detective Sergeant Kaga is a new transfer to Tokyo’s police department investigating a murder. He is a self-effacing bumbler on theContinue Reading
A very British parody of post-WWII police procedurals. A Shot in the Dark will either tickle your funny bone or it won’t. It helps if you are a fan of slapstick. It’s 1951 in Brighton. Inspector Steine is famous for stopping all organized crime in the area by allowing theContinue Reading
Another engrossing Gemma Monroe mystery begins at Lost Lake in Colorado. Sari is reported missing during a camping trip with her boyfriend Mac, her best friend Ally, and Mac’s cousin, Jake. Detective Gemma Monroe is called to investigate. After questioning the three she concludes, “one of them is lying. WhichContinue Reading
A multitude of suspects fills Nantucket Counterfeit, an enjoyable merging of a cozy setting with a police procedural. Horst Refn is the Artistic Director of the Nantucket Theater Lab. He is a ladies man and a possible blackmailer. Worse, he is found face down in his basement’s chest freezer—frostbitten andContinue Reading
An interesting character study of a lonely police detective forced to retire. The Darkness is another character as is the beautiful isolation of Iceland. Hulda is 64. She is dreading retiring to her lonely apartment when her superior tells she has been replaced effectively in two weeks. He allows herContinue Reading
Hangman’s Hold is a servicable British police procedural. DCI Matilda Darke has a problem. Someone is killing ex-convicts on her patch. Adele, Sheffield’s pathologist and Matilda’s best friend, has a worse problem. She had her first date in 20 years with the first victim, Brian, the night he was murdered.Continue Reading
Plaster Sinners is another fun Flaxborough romp! Detective Sergeant Love is coshed on the head while inspecting a plaster cottage bas-relief. Later, the item is sold for an astonishingly high 370 pounds. Suspecting something shady, Inspector Purbright investigates. This is the eleventh book in the series of twelve. The charactersContinue Reading
More trouble for Flaxborough in the 8th book in the series. A contentious boat race leads 2 of the town’s leaders almost to blows. Nighttime escapades show the naked frolicking of a town leader, his friend, and two working girls to the neighbors. A mysterious note from the states promisesContinue Reading