Detective Chief Inspector Bec Pope. A new Police Officer on the book shelves, and hopefully one here to stay.
The Deptford Murder introduces Pope in spectacular fashion.
The first body is found posed in a church, with a personal message to Pope, in the form of a formal invitation, placed neatly on the body.
The second body appears within hours, another message to Pope.
This is the beginning of a cracking story that had me turning the pages well into the night.
Pope is a great character. Typical of a Police Officer her job takes president over her family, even she admits it.
She works late, drinks when she gets home, has trouble sleeping. She lives with her husband and his kids, but it’s not an easy relationship.
As another attack takes place more pressure is put on Pope’s team, mainly born of her own professionalism, but they crack on and work long hours to find the killer before there are more victims.
Inevitable there is strain on family relations, and almost as inevitably there is a close bond between Pope and one of her colleagues. But will “that” line ever be crossed.
As the investigation, and the book, fly along, surprising connections start to be made and the final twist is a real surprise, without being out-of-the-blue, or unrealistic.
This is hopefully the first of a series. Pope, and her team in Londons Met, are really well conceived. As individuals there is great promise, as a team the scope for the stories to come is wide and I can’t wait to read whatever is to come
Print length: 302 pages. Publisher: Joffe. Published: 3rd December 2022.
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