‘Passion Killers’ by Linda Regan
Published by Crème de La Crime. ISBN: 978-0-955158988

On a Saturday July 1988, when the strippers at the Scarlet Pussy Club are chatting as they  disrobing from their stocking and suspender belt uniform, ready to quit the club and enjoy their Sunday off,  the club owner Ahmed tries to force himself on Shaheen. As the girls go to her aid they discover videos of them of a sexual nature and  see red in the resulting melee Ahmed winds up dead.   In panic they call in Brian the club bouncer who is currently seeing Theresa, Brian says that he will dump the body.  But he doesn’t get far, just 19 years.

When Brian is released from prison things are different, only one of the girls is still stripping. Some of them now have a lot to lose if their previous life was exposed.  One is earning big money in a No 1 soap opera, Olivia who had been pregnant at the time of the killing had married wealthy Kenneth Stone.  Owing to guilt they had all but one kept in touch.

Then two of the girls are found dead each with a red g-string stuffed in her mouth.  The careful lives they have built up during the past nineteen years starts to fall apart, and they start to distrust each other.  And who has the video tapes that could ruin their lives.

Assigned to the case is DI Paul Banham who has a couple of problems of his own. One being an attraction to a female officer ,with whom he is struggling to get to first base.

It is an excellent mystery, keeping the reader enthralled until the culprit is revealed. 

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Lizzie Hayes