Synopsis: When a serial killer poses a woman wearing a wedding dress in one of London’s most beautiful gardens without being seen, all eyes fall on newly-promoted DCI Elsie Mabey’s team of misfits as they investigate their first case together. Nobody else wants the case and nobody wants the team she’s forced to work with. Her subordinates are the opposite of the Met’s finest; they’re the “not quite fired” of London policing. Can this ragtag band pull together to catch a killer or will their failure be a self-fulfilling prophecy?
When I first read the synopsis with the line "they’re the “not quite fired” of London policing", I thought, this sounds a bit like the TV series "Old Tricks" - which I love - so thought I would give it a go.
What I found was a story line featuring a a newly promoted DCI Elise Mabey and her team of three: the experienced DS Patricia Knox, the naive DS Georgia Matthews, and the newly transferred DI Sebastian Stryker - not quite "Old Tricks" but possibly those no others wanted on their teams (for whatever reasons).
So the each of the characters - lets start with DCI Elise Mabey. Newly promoted to DCI she is keen to step out of the shadows of her more famous policeman father and make a name for herself on her own terms - " ... she needed this case ... she needed the chance to prove, once and for all, that she earned her command ... ". Added to this is the added pressure of suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) - leaving her tired, irritable and not in the mood to suffer fools.
Elise is joined by the newly transferred DI Sebastian Stryker - in Yorkshire he was a big fish in a small pond, now in London, he finds that he really is a small fish and must prove himself deserving of his place. We often, however, find him at odds with his boss, much to her chargrin.
Our two Detective Sergeants could not be any more different - DS Patricia Knox is - quite frankly - ob-knox-ious! A veteran officer who was up for the position Elise secured, Knox makes no bones about her feelings - though a past indiscretion was the cause of her downfall. She is jealous, disruptive, and working to her own agenda. Then lastly we have DS Georgia Matthews - the youngest, most inexperienced, and easily led of the team. Knox has taken her under her wing - and begins to lead her astray.
Others who feature include the Crime Scene Manager, Annie Burke; Chief Pathologist, Valerie Spilsbury (named after legendary Sir Bernard Spilsbury, eminent British Pathologist I wonder); and DCI Fairbanks - Mabey's co-worker, rival, and the epitome of the lazy cop.
DCI Mabey soon finds herself in charge of a serial killer case and picks up an additional caseload from Fairbanks. Mabey laments that " ... she needed to pull this useless team of hers together to get justice ... " - but will this motley crew be able to solve this case before imploding.
I found the narrative intriguing and it held my attention. The procedural aspects were detailed as we move with the team as they discover and investigate, experiencing the highs and lows of the investigation. We also get a bit of the sense of the behind the scenes politiking within the police force, especially between Mabey and Fairbanks.
I did feel that a couple of aspects contained within the narrative to be rather questionable - particularly Knox going off to participate in another case - would this have happened in real life - I personally could not say, but as a reader I found it a little unbelievable. There were times when I found myself questioning the main characters and their actions as well - they were not only disfunctional but disobendient, doing as they pleased often ignoring Mabey's directives, which shows weakness on her part, leaving the reader to question whether she really is deserving of her promotion. At least the characters weren't portrayed as "peter perfects" but were flawed, human.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and I would be interested in reading more from this author and from this series.
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