28 July 2011

Review: DELIVER US FROM EVIL, Peter Turnbull

  • A Hennessey and Yellech Mystery - #20
  • Severn House 2010
  • ISBN 978-0-7278-6892-3
  • 187 pages
  • Source: my local library
Publisher's blurb
When a woman's body is found frozen on a bench one winter's morning, it looks like a simple case of death by misadventure. On closer inspection, however, marks on her neck - and a piece of paper hidden inside her shoe - point towards foul play. But as Hennessey and Yellich investigate, they discover that the victim may not have been all she seemed . . .

 My Take

To me DELIVER US FROM EVIL felt a bit low key as a police procedural but then it is #20 in a series that has been running since 1999 and I guess there is a lot of back story that regular followers would not need.

The investigation into the death of Stanley Hemming's middle aged wife Edith, for she is the one found frozen on the bench by a Yorkshire canal, takes members of the investigative team to Canada where frozen bodies it seems happen a lot. Stanley Hemmings knew his wife of 18 months was Canadienne but very little else about her. Edith had been a very "private" person. But someone had hated her enough to tie her up and then strangle her. The powers of observation of members of the public is tested when the police come knocking. It makes you wonder how much you would be able to recall weeks or months later about an incident or person who had seemed quite ordinary. On the other hand when a person's memories are bad, then a lot of detail will stick.

This was a quick and satisfying read. The main characters of the investigative team are interesting and well drawn. Other reviews have commented on the sinister twists, Yorkshire setting, and interplay in the detective team that characterises Turnbull's series. I'm certainly open to reading another.

My rating: 4.4

Other reviews to check:

About the author
Peter Turnbull is a well-established British author with nearly 40 novels to his credit, with the first published in 1981.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kerrie - Thanks, as ever, for a fine review. I must take a longer sip of this series. It's got good characters, etc.. If only there were 80 hours in a day..... ;-).

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