There is something slightly unreal about the novels in this series. I find it hard to imagine them taking place at any specific time, despite topical references (such as here to the poll tax). Apart from Stephen and Prue everyone was unlikeable, so it was a little hard to care who the murderer was, although the revelations at the end were strongly motivated. ( )

Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. A cleverly told story, and the identity of the murderer came as a surprise. There were plenty of red herrings and a number of plot strands that provided interest. Stephen Ramsay meets up with a former girl friend, and his relationship with his Sergeant seems to be improving... slightly. There is a nice contrast between Ramsay and Hunter.

If you haven't tackled this series before, you could read this one as a stand-alone, but hopefully will enjoy it enough to go back to the beginning and read them all. ( )

This is part of an older Ann Cleeves series I've been reading off and on. They're not as polished as her more recent work, but they still are dandy little police procedurals. This one, from 1993, has Inspector Ramsay off to help the overwhelmed North Tyneside police solve the murder of a young lady who had the lead in a local theater production. The locals are dealing with an epidemic of joyriding teenagers, ram raids, and auto parts theft. There have been riots on the Starling Farm Estate (a fancy name for the run-down local low-income housing project). There is a lot going on, a lot of false trails to follow, and almost everyone seems to have something to hide. A second murder adds to the confusion. Red herrings abound. Lovely little whodunit. ( )