This is the third tale about DCI Paul Banham and DI Alison Grainger. In this book they have just been promoted as they face a case in which a woman who works at a club featuring Marilyn Monroe look-alikes is murdered. Other Marilyn copies are also murdered as the team fight to discover the identity of the lover – or hater – of Marilyn Monroe.
Things are complicated by connections to a covert investigation into drug-running and people-trafficking. The personalities of the police team are nicely developed by the author through their clashes with each other. The actions of the police and those whom they hunt are often violent and sometimes surprising. Linda conveys the menace of the London underworld and the struggles of the inhabitants of this world to make lives for themselves very well. The visual quality that her prose elicits is marked – perhaps as an actress she sees these scenes in shining Technicolor. The story engenders a feeling of tension that is almost unbearable as the twists of the tale become more tightly coiled. A thrilling climax is shattering in its implications and is followed by a neat tying up of loose ends.
Crème de la Crime have become a recognisable imprint very quickly through their excellent red, black and white covers as well as the quality of the writers they publish. This cover is particularly good with its iconic Monroe image.
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Jennifer S. Palmer
The previous books in this series are Behind You! and Passion Killers.