Published 2018 by Constable
344 pages
ISBN978-1-4721-2745-7
Grade 5/5
Genre: crime
Keywords: The Lake District, UK; burning and immolation; police work; following the rules or doing what is right; orphans; exploitation of orphans; family secrets; friendship; bullying;
Have you noticed how often books tell the story about a hero who wants to do the right thing, but is prevented from doing that by people who believe it is more important to follow the rules and regulations. So often in real life doing the right thing demands too much courage and therefore it is not done. It is not important if it is in the police work, hospital work, or in public life. Bureaucracy and stiff regulations will hinder people in doing what could be so much better.
So is it also in this book. Detective Washington Poe of the Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) has been suspended because of what he did; so, he has moved home to the Lake District away from internet, emails, newspapers; he enjoys a quite time alone with his dog, fixing up his new old house.
But the area is troubled by a serial killer who burns his victims alive, the newspapers have named him the Immolation Man, because he burns them on ancient stone circles found in many sites in the Lake District. The victims are elderly men and there appears to be no connection between them. SCAS was called in after the second murder; on the third victim Washington Poe’s name had been carved into the chest before being burned. Poe’s friend and former sergeant Stephanie Flynn has been promoted to Poe’s position; she believes his name is there because he is the next victim. The superiors in the police decide to forgive Poe for what they consider his crime and allow him to join the investigation.
Mathilde called Tilly Bradshaw is a new analyst at SCAS she very, very intelligent, knows mathematics and computer science; her parents thought she would have a sheltered life as an academic in Oxford. But she joined the SCAS instead, she found Poe’s name on the burned body. She is not a people’s person, does not know how to respond and relate to people, she is awkward and takes everything at face value; so, she is bullied by her colleagues; Poe cannot stand bullies so he gets the worst bully (and policeman -shame on him) fired. That happened in the beginning of the book – and that made me just love Poe. He did it again later in the book when she was bullied in the hotel. We need more people like him to manage bullying everywhere, to stand up to them use their own weapon against them. Poe does however bully Tilly to go with him to the Lake District; Tilly does not like change but once she is in the field, she likes it and is good at it as well.
SCAS works with the local police but separate from them to come up with a profile, look at the evidence outside the box, come up with new angles to investigate, to do that you have to have a creative way of thinking not follow the rules. The police office that was the connection to the local police was Kylian Reid, a close childhood friend of Poe’s; that makes them both happy. Poe is not into only analyzing the evidence, he goes into the field to interview witnesses.
I found the book very good, logical and had some twists that surprised me. I found Poe and Tilly a nice couple (and of course not sexually), Poe is Tilly’s first friend ever.
There is a kind of justice in the end; but not the justice I expected, but it is still justice.
The author received the 2019 CWA Gold Dagger for this book, well deserved!
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