Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan is called on to solve the coldest of cases in this thriller from CWA Diamond Dagger winner Catherine Aird
Berebury, England, did not have an easy go of it during the Second World War. This quaint Victorian town was destroyed when the Nazis dropped bomb after bomb on its perfect gardens and neat hedges. After three decades of disarray, the town council has finally begun reconstructing what’s left. All throughout Berebury, the sounds of hammers and saws drone on. But on this particular day, the noise stops.
In the crater of a bomb site, a skeleton has been found. While its presence there isn’t unusual—hundreds died in bombing raids throughout England—the manner in which the pregnant girl met her end is sinister enough that Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan and his assistant, Detective Constable Crosby, are called to the scene. The cause of death, it seems, was not the blast, but a bullet to the spine.
Inspector Sloan is the best there is when it comes to cracking the most complex cases. But can he piece together a murder that’s been buried for more than a quarter century?
Description:
Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan is called on to solve the coldest of cases in this thriller from CWA Diamond Dagger winner Catherine Aird
Berebury, England, did not have an easy go of it during the Second World War. This quaint Victorian town was destroyed when the Nazis dropped bomb after bomb on its perfect gardens and neat hedges. After three decades of disarray, the town council has finally begun reconstructing what’s left. All throughout Berebury, the sounds of hammers and saws drone on. But on this particular day, the noise stops.
In the crater of a bomb site, a skeleton has been found. While its presence there isn’t unusual—hundreds died in bombing raids throughout England—the manner in which the pregnant girl met her end is sinister enough that Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan and his assistant, Detective Constable Crosby, are called to the scene. The cause of death, it seems, was not the blast, but a bullet to the spine.
Inspector Sloan is the best there is when it comes to cracking the most complex cases. But can he piece together a murder that’s been buried for more than a quarter century?
From AudioFile
This entry in Aird's popular C.D. Sloan British mystery series was published in 1971. Some of the characters who become prominent in later works in the series do not appear, but Inspector Sloan, Constable Crosby, and Dr. Dabb are sufficient for the present. The action involves an old murder discovered at a WWII bomb site, followed by a new and related murder. Robin Bailey seems to perfectly understand his cast of characters in this endearing and entertaining series. His C.D. Sloan is wry, patient, and ever so slightly stolid. His Constable Crosby the enthusiastic, yet thoughtless young idiot with whom Crosby must work. His Dr. Dabb deep-voiced and business-like as he cuts up the cadavers. Bailey's pacing reflects Aird's gentle humor and highlights her sly social commentary. Well done. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine