Morven Murray, the queen of daytime television, is murdered just before her wedding day. On the other side of Inverness, a police informant is killed execution-style. Detective Inspector Lukas Mahler is in charge of both investigations, although the powers that be want the celebrity's death to have priority. Contrary to orders, Mahler believes the police informant deserves the same commitment and the same attention, so he refuses to put that case on the back burner.
Even though Murray's sister is the prime suspect in her murder, the more Mahler and his team dig into both cases, they learn that Murray's life was closer to the underworld that the police informant inhabited than anyone imagined.
Are they hunting one killer, or two?
~
Recently, I've been finding myself choosing certain books according to their settings, and this was the case with Margaret Kirk's Shadow Man. I have a marked fondness for Inverness, Scotland, and it was wonderful to be able to visit again through the pages of this book-- especially when one of the scenes is set in Leakey's Bookshop.
The setting isn't the only strong part of this book. I enjoyed the mystery, too, and Kirk has created an interesting cast of characters. Lukas Mahler, formerly of the Metropolitan Police in London, has an emotionally fragile mother, hence his return to Inverness. He's heard every joke possible about his surname, and he's well aware of his reputation among the other police officers: "He has, after all, his reputation to consider. Most of his junior colleagues assume he gets his nourishment by rising from his tomb to feast on the blood of the living, and he sees no reason to disabuse them of the notion."
His boss is DCI June "Braveheart" Wallace who has a Hannibal Lecter smile. His DS is Fergie who drives a memorably smelly car, and "Skivey Pete" is a well-known slacker. Even though Mahler dislikes Pete for his constant shirking of his duties, he does recognize that the young man has certain investigative talents.
The setting, the story, and the characters in this first book of the series will be bringing me back for more. I'm looking forward to visiting Inverness again (but I'll be staying out of Fergie's car).
Shadow Man by Margaret Kirk
eISBN: 9781409165521
Orion Books © 2017
eBook, 349 pages
Police Procedural, #1 DI Lukas Mahler
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from Amazon.
