I am not a huge fan of police procedurals but really enjoyed this one ( )

Thirteen Coffins – A Good Twisted Thriller

Thirteen Coffins is the fourth in the DCI Mark Lapslie series by TV screenwriter Nigel McCrery, which draws you and keeps you captivated until the end. This story builds on an nineteenth century legend around the time of Burke and Hare, when some tiny dolls in coffins were found in a cave under Edinburgh. The stage is set and has been moved to modern day Essex, and seen through the narrative of those who are killed as well telling the story from the Police’s point of view.

Mark Lapslie is one of the best detectives in the Essex Constabulary but he is also known to have a few health problems, mainly concerned with him suffering from Synaesthesia. He has excellent back up in the shape of his Detective Sergeant Emma Bradbury who seems to be able to read what her boss needs and at the same time acting as a buffer between Lapslie and the team.

Lapslie is called in to a death in a former Cold War nuclear bunker; it is not the death that draws their interest, but twelve small coffins, some of which had small dolls inside with some of the dolls being mutilated in different ways. Then there are some that are not in the coffins; such as a bride, a teacher and an army major.

When a bride is killed on her wedding day so begins the search for the killer who clearly was very skilled, as he had shot the bride from a distance. As the race to discover the killer, they also find that the doll in the brides outfit now is covered in blood with a hole similar to where the bullet killed the actual bride.

Slowly Lapslie and Bradbury realise they are on the search for a serial killer, one who is intelligent and has an excellent skill set. They need to find the previous victims, or find out who and how they were killed might help them to find the killer who had clearly been operating for a long time and was a skilled planner. More importantly he needed to out if those killed were connected in any way, especially when the killer was leaving so few clues.

This is a well planned thriller that leaves you guessing all the way through until the reveal, even though McCrery dots clues around the narrative, but you need to spot them. Otherwise you will have to wait until Lapslie works out who the killer is and then it is a race to the end of the book.

McCrery uses Lapslie’s faults in an interesting way especially the descriptions of the way he suffers with Synaesthesia and how it affects him and his work. This is a highly readable thriller with interesting outcomes and not afraid to have a high body count. An enjoyable read, with some of the usual thriller clichés which you soon glide over to find a fitting hero in Lapslie. ( )