A police procedural introducing Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler, a cold case reviewer who lands a high-profile murder investigation, only to find the main suspect is his recent one-night stand . . .
When financier Gerald Cartwright disappeared from his home six years ago, it was assumed he'd gone on the run from his creditors. But then a skeleton is found bricked up in the cellar of Cartwright's burned-out mansion, and it becomes clear Gerald never left alive. As the sole representative of South Yorkshire's Cold Case Review Unit, Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler is not expected to get results, but he knows this is the case that might finally kick start his floundering career. Luckily, he already has a suspect. Unluckily, that suspect is Cartwright's son, the man Tyler slept with the night before. Keeping his possible conflict-of-interest under wraps, Tyler digs into the case alongside Amina Rabbani, an ambitious young Muslim constable and a fellow outsider seeking to prove herself on the force. Soon their investigation will come up against close-lipped townsfolk, an elderly woman with dementia who's receiving mysterious threats referencing a past she can't remember, and an escalating series of conflagrations set by a troubled soul intent on watching the world burn . . . (From the book blurb) My thoughts: Firewatching is the first novel in a new exciting series featuring Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler. It was clear from the very beginning that the book is well-written and introduces a great cast of characters. Adam Tyler works in the CCRU (Cold Case Review Unit and isn't particularly liked by his colleagues, because he actually gets results. Some of these cases benefit from the new technologies available to the police now, but mostly, in Adam's opinion, it is about a fresh pair of eyes looking through the notes and the evidence, looking and asking uncomfortable questions. Adam has a difficult family background and has gone through a rebellious teenager stage to end up following in his father's steps and joining the police force. He is still working on his family issues, but for now he feels more comfortable working and living alone. When his one-night stand Oscar turns out to be the only son of a man who disappeared six years ago and whose body was just found, Adam knows he should report a conflict of interest and get reassigned to a different case. Unexpectedly, his superior advises him leave the things as they are. Adam also notices and asks to be assisted by a young ambitious policewoman Amina Rabbani who is eager to move to CID and whose insights and hard work prove invaluable in the course of this investigation. The plot was quite complicated and I must confess that I didn't guess who the murderer almost until the very end. I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book more than the ending, which was very dramatic and refered to an old, but extremely tragic case of child abuse. I loved the title of this novel- it is very nuanced and multi-layered, although discussing it here would give too many spoilers. A solid police procedural that will be appreciated by the fans of the genre. I'll be looking forward to other titles in this new series. Thank you to Edelweiss and G.P.Putnam's Sons for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|