Barry Faulkner (1881–1966)

I love reading crime fiction and police procedurals are my favourite form of the story within the genre. Saying that, so often they seem to be written to a formula. A dedicated cop, broken relationships, dislike of new technology, clever criminals and so much detail the stories go on forever.

These stories break out of that mould.

There is a dedicated police detective at the centre of these stories but DCS Palmer is happily married and has been so for many years.

He recognises that modern technology is a helpful tool for the police and surrounds himself with experts who can make the most of that technology. The stories are succinct, concise but very morish.

DCS Palmer is an amiable person who is respected and liked by his colleagues. These two stories show how old fashioned policing done in a modern way can be effective in crime-fighting.

Keep in mind that DCS Palmer heads up the Serial Murder Squad and so there are descriptions of murders and dead bodies but gory details are not over-emphasised. The stories are about solving crime not wallowing in blood and carnage.

In my opinion, these books work perfectly well as stand-alone stories. Although I plan to read the other books in the series I don't feel it is necessary to do so in order to enjoy this book.… (plus d'informations)