For Richer, For Poorer – Another Great Daniel Thriller

For Richer, For Poorer, is the tenth book in the Jessica Daniel series which goes from strength to strength in its writing. There are some mistakes in the plot but I would spot them coming from Manchester, and know that any robberies in Cheadle/Gatley come under Stockport command at Cheadle Heath not Longsight which covers Wythenshawe, Didsbury and Fallowfield. Then again I am an anorak!

For Richer, For Poorer, sees DI Jessica Daniel return to work after a long layoff and she now under a new command at Longsight Station, DCI Cole has retired and DCI Topper has been brought in from outside of the Greater Manchester Police divisions. Topper has a whiteboard in his office with all the Inspectors under him with the unsolved crimes list, Daniels has too many in the unsolved box and is under pressure.

Topper sends Daniel to investigate a couple of armed burglaries in the Cheadle and Gatley area, where money and jewellery has been taken from the houses. When another one happens out in Gatley, Daniel is not too sure about the burglary but that does not matter she will investigate all the same.

At the same time Bex who lives with Daniel has a student friend who is having neighbour problems out in the student bedsit land. Daniel goes out to visit the student, Sam, and ends up with a man mountain of a Serbian escaping her grasp while a prostitute is trying to scratch her to death. It does not help when she finds out the Serbian is wanted for murder in Manchester and his so-called wife is missing.

As these investigations are running a bankrupt lottery winner who keeps appearing on her radar and she cannot put her finger on what but she knows something is wrong, especially as he is once again living in a rundown council house in the Stretford area. Something else for her to get her teeth in to as she knows something cannot be right in his house.

One thing Daniel is aware of is that the burglaries were clever, but when they start giving the money away are trying to confuse the issue. They are evidence savvy and have clearly watched too much CSI as they are trying to create a perfect crime. The Serbian seems to have gone to ground and seems involved in a lot of things but never seems to be hands on.

With three different investigations running at the same time Daniel is still after a win to go on Topper’s whiteboard she knows she is under pressure and people want her to fail. She knows she needs to show she can still do the job, kill the gossips around the station and win approval of those above.

Kerry Wilkinson has written another winning crime thriller as you feel the pressure that Daniel is under. You can tell he knows the area and the various problems with traffic and how even a 5 minute journey can take a lot longer. He knows his subject and Daniel is maturing in to a fantastic detective, even if she has defects, this series is going from strength to strength. ( )