Jim Kelly (1) (1957–)

Some books have a premise with draws me in like the proverbial moth to a flame. Death Wore White offered a modern version of a locked room mystery in which a handful of people are trapped in their cars during blizzard and one of drivers has a chisel plunged into his eye seemingly in full view of everyone else but no one saw anything. We won’t ponder what it says about me that I rubbed my hands with glee when I read a blurb like that.

The book turned out to be a more standard police show more procedural than the blurb suggested (how shocking, a misleading book blurb). It’s a solid example of its sub genre but as the vast majority of the action takes place long after the blizzard-trapped people have gone home it wasn’t really the book I was expecting.

The two policemen at the heart of the are quite fascinating. Peter Shaw is something of a hotshot: a forensic artist, rescue boat crewman and loving husband and father as well as being a Detective Inspector. Shaw’s father was a policeman too until he was accused of planting evidence when investigating the case of a murdered boy ten years previously. Shaw has now been partnered with George Valentine who had been his father’s partner during that disastrous case. Valentine has been demoted and must now take orders from his old partner’s son. The two men work through initial distrust and hostility towards something of a grudging, though sporadic, respect as the book progresses and the relationship between these two is the kind of thing that will bring me back to more books in this series.

I didn’t find the story itself quite as compelling. The plot is terribly complicated and I never became fully engaged with it so had to re-read several portions in order for the chain of events to make sense, especially for the first half of the book. It seemed to me that there were a lot of events crammed into the story and all, apart from the minor thread relating to the old case that ruined the career of Shaw’s father and George Valentine, were treated fairly superficially. With a few less dead bodies and overlapping crimes to investigate there might have been time for a closer look at the victims or the motivations of the criminals (of whom there were many).

However, I did enjoy the writing style of Death Wore White and the main characters were interesting enough for me to want to read more about them so I will seek out, Death Watch, the second book in this series which is due for release this year. show less

Love puzzles, police procedurals, and your classic locked room mystery? Jim Kelly introduces a new team of detectives, Inspector Peter Shaw and Sergeant George Valentine, in Death Wore White, sent out into a blizzard to track down a hazardous waste barrel on a Norfolk beach they start uncovering a string of bodies instead. Shaw and Valentine probably should never have been paired up, they have a long history and it isn't all pleasant, trust will be one of the many missing pieces in solving show more this complicated puzzle.

All police procedurals have common elements but Kelly's twist in this book is the nod to the locked room mystery genre, which is pulled off rather cleverly, eight cars trapped by the snow and of course the requisite body -brutally and ironically mutilated. The story is much larger than this central crime and the past and present are drawn closer as Shaw and Valentine come together to track the murderer.

Kelly brings an original voice to this genre, decidedly British and a bit bleak, building his characters and settings with the small details that leave the reader wanting more of both Shaw and Valentine. The descriptive language can be odd at times but chalk it up to indecipherable British idioms. show less

Detectives DI Peter Shaw & DS George Valentine of the Lynn CID are back in their 7th outing & there’s no shortage of case work to keep them busy.

Down the road in Hunstanton, a Dutch tourist has been reported as missing. Dirk Hartog kept to himself but as they retrace his steps they discover he was interested in an old shipwreck & spent a lot of time on the water. Now he’s gone & so is his diving equipment.
There’s also rising tension about the new pier that’s being built. It’s show more going to be a huge tourist draw with games, rides & shops. Not only will this take from local businesses but the design is not what they agreed to. Eco-types (or as George calls them, “lentil freaks”) have joined unhappy residents & peaceful protests are starting to give way to more aggressive acts of sabotage.
But the weirdest investigation involves the search for a little old lady who is handing out candy laced with rat poison in the queue at a bus stop.

As usual with this series, you’re going to need a thinking cap with a snug fit. As the story lines progress, the author provides a slow drip of clues that you rearrange like puzzle pieces as each twist is revealed. George & Peter have to dig deep when it becomes clear a couple of the investigations have strong ties to a decades old maritime disaster but those old enough to remember aren’t talking.
The setting is on the Norfolk coast & that’s important as it informs how many of the characters think & live.There’s such a strong sense of place here that at times I swear you can hear the waves & smell the salty air.

The procedural aspect of the book is well paced & plot lines are woven together seamlessly by the end. The narrative is definitely character driven. There’s a large cast from all walks of life & each feels authentic as they add something to the story. And for fans, it’s a pleasure to catch up with the MC’s personal lives. In this outing Peter’s wife learns a stunning family secret & George is under pressure from his new wife to pack up & move to the seashore.

In the end it’s about secrets, greed & family ties. It’s a smart & atmospheric read you’ll want to carry around so you can sneak in a few more pages when you get the chance. show less

Reporter, Philip Dryden, stands in the ruins of his childhood home waiting for a killer while the flood waters rise around him. London journalist and first-time novelist Kelly then jumps back a week, introducing Dryden on his way to a watery crime scene in the damp, frozen Cambridgeshire Fens.

He rides in a decrepit taxi driven by the mountainous, mostly silent Humph, kept on retainer by Dryden, who hasn't driven a car since the accident that put his wife, Laura, into a coma two years show more earlier. Philip was driving. His car was startled off the road into one of the Fens rivers and he remembers little else, except that he was pulled out in time and his wife wasn't. He left his fast-track Fleet Street job and came home to the Fens to become senior reporter for the local weekly and visit his wife's hospital room in the evenings.

The police are winching a car out of the water when Dryden arrives. In the trunk is a body. But when a second body - 30 years dead- turns up during some restoration work on the cathedral roof, Dryden's investigative skills prove more adept than those of the local police. He seizes his chance to trade newspaper resources for the sealed file on his accident. But the killer doesn't plan to sit idly by and let Dryden ferret him out.

The cover of The Water Clock boasts impressive blurbs from Colin Dexter, Val McDermid and Donna Leon, which makes for a very impressive debut. I don't want to hype it up too much - it tends to lead to disappointment - but it's an atmospheric, dark and watery book well worth your time. show less