Denial of Murder

April 28, 2014
In Turnbull’s absorbing fourth Harry Vicary mystery (after 2012’s The Garden Party), the members of the Murder and Serious Crime Squad of New Scotland Yard are perplexed when the body of Gordon Cogan, recently released from prison for the murder of a young heroin addict, turns up in the posh streets of Wimbledon. As the detectives scratch their heads about his violent end, they soon find that Cogan’s life and death were far more complicated than his record would suggest. With little to go on, the case seems to be at a dead end until a second body is found in the exact same place with nearly the same injuries. The gentle prose belies the darkness of his tale, just as Harry’s even-keeled demeanor hides a messy past. Newcomers may find some of the lingo a bit perplexing, but Turnbull fans will be rewarded with a complicated but skillfully executed plot and multilayered characters.

May 1, 2014
Milkman Geoff Driscoll likes his route in leafy, wealthy Wimbledon, where people are pleasant, pay on time, and don't try to steal milk from his truck. So he's shocked to discover the body of a badly beaten man in the gutter along his route. DI Harry Vicary is called to the scene in what's clearly a case of murder. The victim is Gordon Cogan, a former teacher who was convicted of abducting and raping a teenager years earlier and of murdering another teen. But when the battered body of a prostitute is discovered a few days later in exactly the same spot, Vicary know this isn't going to be an easy solve. His investigation takes him to some of London's seedier areas and brings him uncomfortably close to one of London's most dangerous criminal families. As usual, Turnbull presents a clear picture of modern-day policing, and it's this, along with his tight-knit plot and unexpected twists, that make this series so enjoyable. A note of caution for non-Brits: the liberal use of Cockney rhyming slang may be a challenge to decipher.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)