Still Waters
Review
Still Waters
Every country has its serial killers. England has Daisy
Wilson.
Stealing identities is one thing; stealing entire lives is
altogether over the top. Daisy Wilson --- Violet Chambers before
that, and yet another person before that --- has been through so
many identities that she now has trouble remembering who she
started out as. But she loves the hunt and the preparations for a
new life. She has a system, a very efficient way of choosing her
targets, and she stays strictly in small towns in the south of
England. Aside from providing her with access to handsome
properties and a steady stream of funds --- really, she may as well
choose wealthier ladies --- it satisfies a deep need for
revenge.
When Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie is called out to the
scene of a one-car accident, he has been on medical leave for
several months, suffering from a rare condition called
synaesthesia, which causes him no end of grief. Sounds inundate him
with tastes, making it nearly impossible to keep his mind on work,
socialize, watch television, or even listen to the radio. Without
near-total quiet, he risks a flood of very nasty sensations pouring
into his mouth.
Unfortunately, for him, his name triggers a flag when something
about the circumstances of the crash are entered into the dispatch
computer. Puzzled, DCI Lapslie heads to the scene, where he
plans to get some answers. The driver of the solitary car dies
before anyone can talk to him, but the mystery begins when another
body is discovered by happenstance. It has obviously been there in
the woods for a while, judging by the extent of the decay. So how
did this person die? And how did he or she get there? These are
questions that Lapslie needs to solve, but he and Sergeant Emma
Bradbury, the sole officer assigned to the case with Lapslie, are
stumped. Getting a handle on this death is proving to be quite
difficult.
"Let's summarise where we've got to. The crime scene where we
discovered the body is a bust…The body is a bust…The
victim's background is a bust….So what's left? Where do we go
from here?"
They catch a break when a familiar name pops up in one of their
inquiries. At least it gives them a direction in which to head. So
far, they have been pursuing what turn out to be dead ends.
Meanwhile, Daisy Wilson is busy with her next project, happily
stalking another woman she can befriend and ultimately become. The
game is afoot, and it is a deadly one. But what is at the root
of her obsession?
Just when Lapslie and Bradbury are on the brink of closing in,
they come up against resistance --- from within their own
department. Someone has been pulling strings to get them removed
from the case. But why? The answer to that question will leave you
wondering what --- and who --- you can believe anymore.
Touted as the beginning of a series, STILL WATERS will rush by at a
stunning pace. Nigel McCrery, author of the Dr. Samantha Ryan
mysteries, brings readers a brand new slant on the detective novel
and a fresh face in the police department.
Reviewed by Kate Ayers on January 23, 2011