Review Gregson's Lambert and Hook series keeps getting better. The trademark meticulous descriptions of police investigative techniques are still there, but Gregson is fleshing out his characters more, making them feel absolutely real and adding warmth and humanity to his stories. Lambert and Hook's latest case concerns the death of one Darren Chivers, a despicable character if ever there was one. Chivers wasn't content with pushing drugs; he'd also launched a lucrative sideline in blackmailing. So when he is found shot dead in a remote country lane, it's up to Lambert and Hook to figure out whether it was drug related or whether one of Chivers' blackmail victims murdered him. As the two go about checking motives and alibis, they find themselves wrestling with too many leads: all of their suspects have a motive, none of them has an airtight alibi, and all of them have plenty to gain and little to lose from Chivers' death. But nearly two weeks after the murder, despite their long years of experience and their finely honed coppers' intuition, Lambert and Hook still haven't solved the case. A cracking good read for fans of British police procedurals. --Booklist Starred Review, 15th September 2009 About the Author
