Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce
A Gary Goodhew Mystery
Soho Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-520-2 (1569475202)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-520-1 (9781569475201)
Publication Date: January 2009
List Price: $25.00
Review: Alison Bruce introduces Gary Goodhew, recently promoted to Detective Constable at the Cambridge Parkside Station, in Cambridge Blue. He's bright, clever, perceptive, spontaneous, and only 25 years old. And now he's been assigned his first murder investigation.
When Lorna Spence, accounts payable officer for the exclusive Excelsior Clinic, is found dead, her body dumped with the rubbish, Goodhew starts his investigation by following the rules set down by his superiors. But it soon becomes apparent that he is being lied to by everyone including those closest to Lorna: her boss and lover, Richard Moran; his sister, Alice; and her apparently only true friend, Victoria. Then Victoria is found murdered, her face smashed against the concrete. The only thing linking the two is a former classmate of Gary's. Next, news of a missing girl, who everyone denies knowing, comes into the picture. Is she a part of all this? Are these two deaths and the missing girl somehow inexplicably related? Closing his eyes to the rules, Goodhew intuitively sets out on his own to uncover the truth. In doing so, he finds himself in a situation where he thinks he has all the answers to the puzzling questions of this case, but they aren't the ones he -- or anyone else -- expected them to be.
Cambridge Blue is a promising start to this series. The plot, basically a police procedural, has the requisite twists and turns, false leads and blind alleys, but is able to maintain a steady, purposeful pace throughout. Gary Goodhew is an engaging character, someone who's so sure about himself and his abilities -- and then again, maybe not. His grandmother is another delightful character, someone as interesting and as astute as Gary, but with years of life experience that surely equates to wisdom in many eyes. Together they bring a softness and sweetness to an otherwise hard, callous world.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Cambridge Blue and to Soho Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
If you are interested in purchasing Cambridge Blue from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. Cambridge Blue (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.
Synopsis (from the publisher): Gary Goodhew is intelligent, intuitive, and the youngest detective at Cambridge's Parkside Station. When Gary discovers the first body in a series of murders involving an eccentric Cambridge family, he gets his chance to work on a homicide investigation. He must use his own initiative to flush out the killer, even though it means risking his job and discovering the truth about the one person he hopes is innocent.
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