Orion

There is life after Rebus, even if it comes in a package of polar opposites.  Rebus was an old school cop - murder squad, Malcolm Fox works for the cops who investigate other cops.  Rebus was more than prepared to ignore rules, stretch boundaries and stomp rather resoundingly all over team work.  Fox looks for just that sort of behaviour. Rebus was an unreformed grumpy drunk, Fox is a more carefully controlled man with a broken marriage, his drinking under control.  They are both solitary men, although with Rebus there was something satisfied about his aloneness, Fox's comes with a real sense of regret.

But, however you characterise the people in any book by Ian Rankin, he really knows how to write a character that holds your attention, albeit in this case, a character that is considerably more subdued, controlled, underplayed than Rebus ever could be.  In a strange way I couldn't get Siobhan out of my mind whenever Fox made an appearance - there seemed to be something in common about those two.

Given that this new series centres around the Complaints department, obviously Fox and his colleagues are going to be investigating a cop, although their current investigation carries some baggage from a recent case involving a long-time member.  In a twist, a young officer colleague of Heaton's comes under suspicion when there's some evidence he could be involved in an online child pornography group.  In a further twist, that young officer - Jamie Breck - is the officer who calls Fox to tell him that his sister's boyfriend has been murdered.  Fox and his sister have had their difficulties in the past, not just because the now dead boyfriend used to beat her up on a semi-regular basis, there's always been a bit of conflict there.  None of which is helped by their father aging and getting increasingly frail.

There's a lot of connections in the case that Fox is investigating.  There's a feeling of swirling activity around him, Breck, his sister, and into the group originally investigating the online child pornography case.  Within those connections and co-incidences there's going to be some conflict of interest complications and of course Fox gets himself into deep water, only digging himself out as he starts to get to the bottom of all of the connections.  Which is complicated even more by the fact that he and Breck find common ground, friendship if you like.

THE COMPLAINTS is a different book from anything in the Rebus series partially because the nature of the investigation is different, and partially because Fox isn't Rebus.  The investigation - the getting to the bottom of who's crooked, who's just unfortunate and who's flat out stupid, the idea that cops are investigating cops gives that aspect of the book a different feeling.  It's quite feasible that some readers may find it a little flatter than what they are used to - possibly because there's less of that feeling of justice being seen to be done, and more a feeling of housework - necessary but definitely not high profile or glamorous.  Beside that the character of Fox is more subdued than Rebus... less dangerous, definitely less edgy.  He's a solid man, doing a nasty job that somebody has to do.  He takes it seriously, he believes his job is about doing what's right and doing it well.

A great story is normally pretty well guaranteed in any book written by Rankin, but THE COMPLAINTS gives us a new scenario, a different approach and a different overall feel.  Which is a very good thing.

The second in the Alex Morrow series, THE END OF THE WASP SEASON is a book that it would actually be possible to read before the earlier.  The opening chapters of the book introduces the reader to the three women at the centre of this story - DS Alex Morrow, Kay Murray who worked for Sarah Erroll and Sarah herself, 24 years old, murdered in a house that she rarely used.

Somehow, however, the focus of the book seems to be Lars Anderson, millionaire banker, disgraced financier, suicide hanging himself from a tree in the garden of his house.  Father in a family that's about as dysfunctional as it can possibly get, his son returns from school to a family falling apart, not necessarily just because of his father's suicide, somehow the man's life seems to have had a more profound affect on a son, wife, daughter and mistress.

Needless to say this is an intricate tale weaving together a tangle of lies, deceit, damage, power, influence and moral ambiguity.  Mina is renowned for her ability to create a well-drawn, complex and memorable cast of characters - from the main protagonist through to many of the lesser cast members.  There's no sign of that ability flagging in THE END OF WASP SEASON.  The other element that I've come to expect, particularly following on from the first Alex Morrow book, is a sense of restraint, contemplation, almost a reluctance to get into the evil that human beings can do.  That's enhanced by the fragility of so many of Mina's characters.  From Kay Murray, childhood friend of Alex's, Kay is a battler.  She's not had an easy life, and somehow the tension of her embarrassment at her circumstances viewed by Morrow; her reaction when one of her children is briefly a suspect for the killing of Sarah; her pride and her vulnerability were beautifully executed. As was the character of Thomas, son of Lars, a young man pulled from school to confront the reality of his father's legacy, and the implosion of his family and everything that he thought life was supposed to be.  Even down to the surreal experience of he and his mother discovering freezers of food, and working out how to actually prepare a meal - Thomas grows up in front of the reader's eyes, and there's something really quite sad about the way that has to happen.

The restraint of the storytelling in THE END OF WASP SEASON is the thing that really stays with me since I've finished the book.  There was also something there - perhaps something about the way that sex and sexual politics started to play such a big part in the potential resolution, stacked up against Morrow's mostly male colleagues seeming disregard for this particular murder that could very well have been telegraphing something pointed.  It could also be that I'm reading in something that wasn't ever supposed to be there, but there did just seem to be a little tale of attitude being told here, purposely underplayed, purposely observational and not conversational.

It is, however, not a book that's necessarily devoted to solving the crime.  That aspect of the plot, whilst investigated by Morrow, is somehow less important than the why, and the way that circles of influence emanate from the rich and powerful.  Perhaps it's a plot for a post GFC world?  The way that the ripples of one person's life choices, and influence based simply on their wealth and ruthless use of the power that money can bring, can have repercussions in the most unexpected places.  

The problem with picking up any book by Denise Mina is that she has hit so many heights with those that have come earlier, that somehow, sub-consciously there's always an expectation that perhaps this book could be the one that's not quite as good.  For this reader, this wasn't that book.  Denise Mina continues to write engaging, thought-provoking and always interesting stories.

Every now and then, along comes one of those books.  The sort that makes you look at people who make statements like "I NEVER read genre fiction" with just that little bit of sadness for what they are missing.  That's not to say that BAD SIGNS is the sort of book that everyone is going to enjoy, but for any readers looking for something that will really make you think, take you into some very uncomfortable places, and be profoundly challenged, then it will be an outstanding book.

Strange as it may seem from the blurb, this is a book about hope.  Albeit brutally wrapped up in human frailty.  Returning to themes that Ellory has explored in earlier books - this is the story of young men confronted with an impossible situation, informed only by a deprived and desperate background, and the choices that they make.  BAD SIGNS gives us two young boys, half-brothers, raised by the same mother, witnesses to the same violence and experiencing the desperation and degradation of State Care together, who make independent choices when pushed to the extreme.  Fuelled by their respective ages, tempered undoubtedly by their allotted "roles" in their relationship, Clarence (Clay) Luckman and Elliott Danziger fight their dark stars in their own particular ways.

BAD SIGNS is populated by difficult people to read about - be it because of who they are, what they become, or what could happen to them.  Psychopathic serial killer Earl Sheridan is a violent, out of control madman, who for some reason chooses not to kill the brothers in the aftermath of his escape.   Which makes reading about their present in his thrall terrifying.  What happens to those two boys while they are dragged across the country by this lunatic, violently killing just about everybody he encounters is profoundly discomforting reading.  As each of the early chapters end by flagging the horror that is about to occur, it's really difficult to see where any hope is going to come from.  Until the boys make their own choices, and the affects of that start to play out.  Even then, the tension remains as you worry about how this will play out for the boys.  The story remains disturbing and confronting, and the tension is ramped up even more as the reader is dragged, kicking and screaming into the minds of these two boys.  Somehow, it's not long before a sense of hope does rise, and with that the tension gets even worse as the reader is left fighting a range of emotions - identification, terror, worry for the future, nervous about the potential resolutions.

It's clever this BAD SIGNS.  It's incredibly clever.  It's dark and dire, and frightening, disturbing and hypnotic.  It's only when you've finished reading, when the resolution is known and the tension can finally abate, that there's a chance for this reader to look back and consider.  What the book has done is take two characters from the same mother and childhood, with that slightly different genetic background, put them in dire circumstances and look closely, forensically at what becomes of each person.  Whilst not everything is completely hopeless, and there are glimpses of bravery, belief, care, love, defiance and empathy, it is a careful study in human frailty, in madness, mistakes and the power of connections.  It's a sobering reminder of how a single encounter can twist a life forever - good or bad, it just depends on how each individual plays the cards they are handed.  

There were points where I had to step away for a little while.  The violence, the psychopathy of Earl Sheridan, the circumstances of these two young boys, it's in your face.  It's pointed, almost grotesque.  It's frequently overwhelming.  But it's not gratuitous, it draws a very clear picture of the peril of Clay and Elliott, as well as anyone who innocently comes across the worst of them.  

Make no mistake, BAD SIGNS is not an easy book to read, it is, however, one hell of a very very very good book.

I started reading R.J. Ellory's books with A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS which I absolutely loved.  Then moved onto THE ANNIVERSARY MAN which made my Top Ten of 2010 and eventually, after I worked out a way to finagle the definition, into the two books that I nominated as my favourites for that year in my contribution to an article in Deadly Pleasures magazine.  SAINTS OF NEW YORK is the latest I've been lucky enough to read, and with each book, I just get more and more impressed.

SAINTS OF NEW YORK is veering more towards a traditional procedural crime novel than earlier books, but with Ellory's trademarks of flawed characters, in a dark and murky world, struggling against personal and external demons and pressures.

In Frank Parrish's case, a lot of his demons come directly from the larger than life legacy of his father, one of the original "Saints of New York", the policemen who famously stood up to the Mafia in the early 1980's.  Whilst everybody else regards John Parrish as a hero and legend, Frank stands alone, remembering a man who seemed to care more about the job, and the money, and status than he did about his own family.  How Frank deals with his own day to day life, as a divorced, alcoholic,  desperate and disaffected man, is woven brilliantly into this book as he has been forced to attend daily sessions with a Police Department counsellor.  As these sessions proceed, Frank's state of mind, his background and his life are drawn out, just as he inches closer and closer to the killer of what turns out to be more than just one teenage girl.

SAINTS OF NEW YORK has a wonderfully dark, murky, tense and slightly desperate feel about it.  It sets itself deep in the underbelly of New York, simultaneously taking you deep into the personal world of Frank Parrish.  Violent and dark, there is also an intricate and compelling plot in which a man handles the professional with aplomb and the personal with a staggering lack thereof.  I really have no idea how this author does it, but there's something amazingly compelling about Frank Parrish.  Which doesn't take anything away from a fast-paced, well plotted novel that takes a few chapters to pull you in and then grabs you and holds onto you until the very end.  And then for a while after that. 

Sometimes, not very often granted, a blurb on the front of a book nails it for me.  In the case of THE ANNIVERSARY MAN the blurb from Clive Cussler is "The perfect author to read late into the night".  I'd definitely advise that you catch up on your sleep before you pick up a book by R.J. Ellory.  This is the second of his that I've read now and both of them have kept me up way too late, or found me sneaking out to hide in the chook sheds and grab a little time with the book when I really should have been working.  

THE ANNIVERSARY MAN is the story of a serial killer, but don't let that put you off.  The killer is not the focus of this book, there's none of that "in the head of" stuff going on.  Instead, you get a glimpse into the life of a victim who survived and the cop who, many years later, finds himself looking to that victim for guidance on what is driving a current day killer.  John Costello is the victim who survived when his girlfriend and he were attacked as teenagers.  His killer caught, John was left to recover from his physical injuries and find a way to live his life and deal with the mental trauma of what he had been through.  His way of coping is to know serial killers and their victims.  To see the patterns, I suppose to try to understand why.  Karen Langley is the crime reporter for whom John works as a researcher.  She knows little about John's personal life, but she is extremely protective of him.  Ray Irving is a cop with his own trauma.  A natural loner, the death of his long-term girlfriend has taken away Ray's anchor, left him blindsided in a way that he has no idea how to handle.  In a poignant and almost sad way, a series of killings that eventually sync up to be copies of previous serial killer's acts becomes Ray's personal crusade.  A desire to stop the Anniversary Killer drives him, his ability to throw himself into the investigation despite barriers, seems to be his need to be relevant, wanted, busy, connected to the world again.  Ray and Karen and John somehow have to feel their way into a working relationship, maybe the potential of a personal relationship between Ray and Karen, but somehow these three people have to band together to help find a dangerous, inexplicable serial killer who seems unstoppable.

This is a very different serial killing book.  The murders that are happening are all as close to identical to the past events as the killer can make them, right down to the dates, methodology, the scenes of the crime.  But the Anniversary Killer is emulating more than one past serial killer so part of the investigation must be to solve how this person has such detailed knowledge.  There's also the never-ending question of why.  More chillingly, what next.  And that is where John's particular knowledge becomes something Ray relies on - finding the next anniversary, working out where the killer is likely to strike.  The relationship that builds between Ray, Karen and John is beautifully done - the potential of a new romance touching and not at all distracting; Karen's protectiveness towards John nicely balanced; John's life somewhat shadowy, his knowledge completely understandable, and so touching.

THE ANNIVERSARY MAN was as close to perfect a reading experience as I've had in quite a while, I really did not want to put this book down.  Why?  Possibly because the crimes, as confrontational and awful as they are, were used as a catalyst for other people's reactions or actions.  The characters in this book aren't perfect, perhaps a little overtly damaged in some cases, but the insight into human behaviour was both illuminating and touching.  And there's no Hollywood ending here - it's real, and it hurt and whilst, you may have an inkling of what's coming, there was just enough to make you wonder if Ellory would really go through with it.  There is also that something that just works for particular readers - I really believed in Ray.  I really wanted him to succeed, solve the crimes, get the girl, become best mates with John and ride off into the sunset to a happy place.  And most importantly, I can happily forgive him for anything he didn't quite manage to do.

Dan Mercer knows he shouldn't be entering this house.  But CAUGHT by Harlan Coben starts out with him going into that darkened house, ignoring his misgivings and walking straight into a nightmare.  A seventeen-year-old girl has simply vanished into thin air, and there is nothing that a dedicated policeman can find that that will solve the mystery.  Dan's problems, however, are easier to quantify - he's been caught in a televised sexual predator sting - run by journalist Wendy Tynes.  

As the story builds the possibility of a link between Dan and the missing Haley, the life of Wendy in particular gets a hefty concentration.  Starting Wendy off in the role of vigilante is a risky act on the part of this author as it's not too hard to imagine that she's going to be a unsympathetic character for some readers.  There is some blurring of the harder edges of her characterisation with the story of her own life - the death of her husband at the hands of a drunk driver, her relationship with her teenage son and her father-in-law (the father-in-law was a standout character for this reader at least) and her ultimate acceptance that perhaps she'd unfairly accused Dan (too late for him of course).  There's absolutely nothing wrong with an overtly unsympathetic central character however, and there are elements of Wendy that make perfect sense (taking a moment to consider whether I could forgive a drunk who killed my husband - and well let's just hope I'm never put in that position as I'm not too sure how I'd go), but something didn't completely ring true for me.  I don't have a problem with characters that I don't personally warm too - but I have to be able to believe in them implicitly.  There's something about the various epiphanies and circumstances of Wendy that simply didn't ring true - was too convenient.

From the opening scenes of this book - the sting, then a missing young girl, you could be excused a sense of overwhelming inevitability that's very very hard to lose.  CAUGHT is very much a thriller style book and there is a lot happening as the many threads work their way towards a conclusion.  There is quite a sense of pace at points throughout the book, but it could be a little patchy, with not quite enough to distract me from the overt engineering of many of the plot elements. There are a lot of supporting characters and it did seem at points that we were heading off into territory that might have been vaguely amusing (if you like aging white rappers and unemployed men sitting around in coffee shops), but there were points when I got a distinct feeling of frustration as we headed into a lot of twisting and turning passages without the magic word.

As a reader not adverse to a thriller, I found myself struggling with CAUGHT.  Perhaps things didn't get off to a great start for me with the vigilante TV show sting, and it went downhill as I found the only character I could believe in (the policeman investigating Haley's disappearance) fading more and more into the background.  For a thriller to work for this reader I've got to be able to suspend disbelief, and there was something about the plot that didn't quite carry me forward regardless, and something about the characters that didn't let me forget or forgive their flaws and go with the ride. 

THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE isn't the first book it's taken me quite a long time to read, it's not even the one that took the longest to read, but it did take many attempts before I was able to get any traction.  This attempt I read the blurb first-up and did a little Google hunting - something I normally try not to do.  But this time I really needed it to find out what on earth was going on.  Then it dawned on me why I was having so much trouble getting into the book.

THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE is a family story, told from two main points of view.  Annie is the sister of the missing Suzanne, as per the blurb.  She's the one who did come home, after a whirlwind time in the big cities which started off with her looking for Suzanne and ended up with her almost living Suzanne's life.  The other main narrator is their Uncle Will, a man haunted by loss, old, looking back at his life and the disastrous outcomes surrounding the disappearance of Suzanne.  The book launches into these individual voices very quickly, and there's no real hint at the start as to what the story is about, and where the reader is being taken.  It's a controlled, contained, almost placid book to start off with, beautifully evocative of life in a harsh and difficult environment and the joys and tensions of living in a small community.  It draws a series of wonderful, thoughtful, sometimes eccentric, often quite poignant characterisations.  At no stage does THROUGH THE BLACK SPRUCE give anything unnecessary away.  

And that is why the book may have been so difficult to get any traction on.  There is no indication at the start where this is going, even for a while who is narrating; what has happened; how anybody got to the position they are in, or even what exact position that is; where the story is leading. This is immersion reading, and in a way extreme faith reading.  The reader has to simply give in to the author, allow this world and these people to slowly, very very slowly emerge, draw their pictures, cohere into a tale of violence and extremes, kindness, love and compassion.  Once you do give in, allow this book to work it's way into it's own story and draw you into the world, it's often rather beautiful.  Uncle Will is a marvellous old character, wise and stupid, kind, stubborn and game as.  Annie is very much a survivor, whether that's in the modelling studios and parties of New York and Toronto or deep in the frozen forest in the hunting camps, setting traps and coaxing the old snowmobile into one more trip, she's strong and very very like her Uncle.

THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE is not however, a perfect book.  It's strengths are most definitely in Will's world, as he narrates his life, as he moves through the Canadian wilderness, as he goes backwards and forwards through his past and his present.  Less convincing are the times that Annie spends away from forest, in the cities and the modelling life.  This is more sketchy, flat and bland, hard to follow, less immersing.  Because of that there's frequently a lack of balance in the narration.  Will became a real focus, allowing the reader to understand and accept his connection to his home, the land and the creatures around him.  There was less of that connection with Annie - maybe because of the Indian spiritualism which worked well for Will but didn't seem to have such authenticity in her city based world.  Once she's back in the forest, at her Uncle's side, and once the events surrounding the disappearance of Suzanne start to clarify, Annie starts to make more sense.  But it was hard to shake a slight suspicion of contrivance.  

But that's a minor quibble.  Ultimately I really liked this book, once I'd figured out how to read it.  It's probably not a book for a more traditional crime fiction fan - it's definitely about the journey and not the destination, but once into it, once I'd figured out who was who and that I wasn't supposed to have the slightest idea what was going on for most of the book, I just went with it.  And along the way there were some glorious moments.

Some reviews are just flat out hard to write.  Normally it's because the book is good, and I'm in real danger of gushing.  Particularly in this case, where gushing got dangerously close to an understatement.

BEYOND REACH is the 10th Joe Faraday and Paul Winter book from British author Graham Hurley.  The series started out as a police procedural, with a good strong "villain" character - a bit of a rough diamond in drug lord with a decent streak, Bazza Mackenzie.  Joe is a long-term cop, once completely content in his role as a DI, single-parent to his profoundly deaf son.  He is a widower with a passion for bird watching, poignantly tentative in his love life, not so content anymore.  Paul was a young cop struggling within a system which he ultimately chucked for the dark side.  At this point the series moved from a really good police procedural to something much more.  The focus on Winter intensifies, although the police side remains involved.  An edge comes in as the two main characters play off each other - sometimes directly, more often indirectly.  Their strong-points and weaknesses are contrasted.  Events are seen from the two viewpoints, the difference between "knowing" and "guessing" on both sides is explored, there's some murky lines between good and bad, black and white.  All of this is just getting better and better with every book.

Winter, working as Bazza Mackenzie's right-hand man, has been involved in some stuff he wishes he hadn't seen.  He's also involved in some positive changes in Bazza's life, as the Mackenzie family attempt a little genuine intervention work with the underprivileged youth of Portsmouth.  Whilst Winter is uncomfortable in the position of working closely with those kids, he also finds he is being drawn closer and closer into the family.  It's this closeness that helps take these books somewhere different.  Winter has a view from within the camp, but not immersion in the life, he's an insider and an outsider all at the same time.  Friend of Bazza's he's also still a friend of his old colleague Joe Faraday.  He's involved with the day to day operations of Bazza's network and family, but he's also not necessarily a crook.  He's taking an interesting path into the world of part-enforcer, part-right hand man, part conscience, part advisor, part observer, part player.  Tricky to have so many parts!  

Meanwhile Faraday's got things going on in his own life.  The current case he's working on - the hit & run death of a local thug, seems like it's going to be a simple case of following the obvious.  This victim is a man universally regarded as a bully and the murderer of a young boy, but that police investigation was never able to find witnesses or evidence.  Faraday's biggest problems are in negotiating the politics within the force, and the complications of his home life when his beloved girlfriend packs up and heads overseas on a University secondment, seemingly with little regard to what it will do to their relationship.  Faraday is lost at home, and dispirited at work - the pressures of the force's political and petty power struggles seem to be getting to him.  Because of his general dissatisfaction there's always that elephant in the room - what next for Faraday?

One of the things that this author does incredibly well is provide multiple intersections for the lives of the cops and the villains.  Winter's current project is to find out the facts about Bazza's daughter Esme's affair with a top ranking cop.  A cop that has been involved in major investigations into Bazza's empire.  A cop that Faraday knows.  The kidnapping of Esme's son causes everything to go very pear-shaped, that investigation pulling the two sides uncomfortably close together.  Faraday's hit & run case is close to Bazza's empire - the wild and dangerous world of the housing estates, the drugs, the under-privileged, right into the same environs as Bazza's illegal activities as well as his charity project.  

Another thing done well is the way that Portsmouth (or Pompey as it's known affectionately) is portrayed.  The urban decay, crime, desperation of some areas played off against the wealth and privilege of others.  Bazza, as a character, striding through both environments - his wealth earning him a place in the privilege, his background making him more relaxed in the decay.  And it's striking how apt this title is - there's so many things in this world that seem BEYOND REACH.  Peace of mind, pride, escape, retribution, justice, survival.  In different ways, for just about every character in this world, there's something somewhere that's just slightly beyond their reach. 

If you're new to the Faraday and Winter series, then dive in somewhere.  It would be better if you could start a little earlier in the series to get you up to speed with the history of these characters and their earlier encounters.  But if you're having trouble getting hold of any of the earlier books - then start with BEYOND REACH.  But if you're a fan of really good English crime fiction - then make sure this series is on your reading lists.

Faraday / Winter Books:

• Turnstone
• The Take
• Angels Passing
• Deadlight
• Cut to Black
• Blood and Honey
• One Under
• The Price of Darkness
• No Lovelier Death

Non-Series:

• Rules of Engagement
• Reaper
• The Devil's Breath
• Thunder in the Blood
• Sabbathman
• The Perfect Soldier
• Heaven's Light
• Nocturne
• Permissible Limits

According to the famous names quoted on the back of STILL MIDNIGHT, Denise Mina is the crown princess of crime, past winner of the John Creasey Memorial Prize for her first crime novel GARNETHILL.  She certainly is a writer that deserves a wide fan base, as she is undoubtedly one of the great writers of the nuanced central character.

STILL MIDNIGHT introduces one such new character - DS Alex Morrow.  Morrow is prickly, raised by a single mother suffering from chronic depression, there but for the grace she's somehow kept herself out of trouble.  She's somebody who the hierarchy think can't be trusted - she shoots from the hip too often, offends people, loses her temper, has a mouth on her and is simply not able to not use it, despite the need for politics and tact.  What the hierarchy don't seem to realise is that she's way harder on herself than they could ever be.  But she's badly rattled when she's not given responsibility for the sort of case that Detectives dream about.  She would have been the perfect officer - a home invasion and the kidnapping of an elderly man - has happened right on her childhood stomping ground.  She's knows a lot of the criminals in that area, she still has contacts, yet she somehow finds herself reporting to DS Bannerman - would-be surfer dude, political player, bosses mate.  Morrow does what she does best, setting out pretty much on her own, doling out the snarling and insults as she proceeds, she rides roughshod over anyone who gets in the way.  All the while struggling with the problems in her personal life.

The interesting thing about STILL MIDNIGHT is that there's a lot of ground in here that it seems frequent readers of crime fiction will have travelled before.  Difficult central police characters; unthinking / unsupportive hierarchy; family problems; racism; troubled youth; lone wolves.  Put these elements in the hands of a writer with the skill of Mina however, add a villain with an almost whimsical view of the world; a cock-up that puts the villains in a nothing to lose scenario and you have something that's edgy, involving and really really good.  

Fans of Mina's GARNETHILL trilogy will find something vaguely familiar in STILL MIDNIGHT.  There's something all too real in all of Mina's characters that might make you squirm just a little bit!  Sure Alex and Maureen come from different sides of the law, but they are both flawed, complicated and frequently annoying characters who seem somehow familiar and extremely sympathetic.  Add to that strong procedural elements, a great sense of place and pace, and STILL MIDNIGHT is a terrific book - let's hope it's the start of a new series.

NO LOVELIER death is the ninth and latest entrant in the DI Faraday series of novels from Portsmouth based author Graham Hurley.  If you're a fan of British Police Procedurals, then chances are you already know about these books - if not, you're in for a treat.

NO LOVELIER DEATH starts out with an issue that many urban dwellers are all too aware of these days.  A teenage party, advertised on a social networking site, is overrun and quickly gets out of control.  This party is being held by the daughter of a tough local judge, in the leafy and exclusive location of Craneswater.  Not too exclusive mind you, local crime boss, Barry MacKenzie, lives next door and he's less than impressed when he and his wife return home from a dinner party to absolute chaos.  Bazza's particularly put out as he'd promised his neighbour he'd keep an eye on things whilst the judge was on holidays, but he quickly finds there's s no respect these days when he scores a bit of a hiding trying to break up the party.  Worse is yet to come when Bazza's wife finds the judge's daughter, Rachel and her boyfriend, dead beside the MacKenzie's pool.

The police have an absolute nightmare on their hands - as a house full of rioting, drunken, out of control teenagers, become potential suspects or witnesses that have to be processed.  Bazza's also not a man to take an affront to his stewardship lying down, and having ex DC Paul Winter on staff means that he can run his own investigation.  Soon Winter and Faraday are on similar ground, each trying to identify the killer from the midst of the carnage.  The difference in effectiveness comes down to who has the most contacts and influence - the police or Bazza MacKenzie.

This direct comparison - Faraday and Winter on different sides - is particularly interesting.  Winter was a rising star in the police until events conspired to push him into working for MacKenzie.  Earlier books cover these events, although revelations dropped into NO LOVELIER DEATH explain much of what has occurred.  A new reader to the series is going to be able to catch on, is even going to be a little ahead of the game if they start with this book.  Both are interesting men in their own right.  Faraday is a little standoffish, keeps himself to his family more than his colleagues, an obsessive bird watcher, father to a profoundly deaf young man, he's not overly angst-ridden, rumpled or "difficult", differences commented on by other characters in the book.   Winter's a similar personality in many ways, although more of a loner, capable, loyal, fundamentally a good bloke, he's in a difficult position.  Loyal to Bazza as Bazza has been loyal (in his own way) to him, Winter's is forced to come to grips with the reality of working for a gangster.

Alongside the good characterisations (and a very dark but fascinating sense of the setting in Portsmouth), there's a very good plot working through NO LOVELIER DEATH. It covers a lot of ground - the growing instances of "organised" party gatecrashing; the nature and psychology of a society that seems to have lost touch with itself; obligation and debt; pride and revenge.  NO LOVELIER DEATH does switch a fair amount of the focus from Faraday to Winter, establishing very clearly Winter's change in circumstances.  Along the way it uses a number of different lines of enquiry, and the peripheral involvement of Faraday's partner and his son, giving a range of possible solutions from which the reader can draw some interesting conclusions.  

The Faraday and Winter book (as now billed) really are excellent examples of the British Police Procedural.  The added twist of two experienced police investigators working the different sides of the law bodes well for where they'll go in the next book.