Stevie‘s review of Without a Trace (DI Isabel Blood, Book 2) by Jane Bettany
Contemporary Police Procedural published by HQ Digital 29 Oct 21
I’m always on the lookout for new detective series set in Derbyshire, but few live up to my expectations. This one seems to be set a little to the south of my beloved Peak District, in the fictional town of Bainbridge (no relation to the village in North Yorkshire), which has the feel of Bakewell about it minus the pudding shops and most of the tourists. Without a Trace is the second, and latest, book in the series; however, I decided to dive straight in without having read the first.
DI Isabel Blood is looking forward to spending her upcoming leave getting to know her long-estranged father, whom she last saw when she was a teenager. Before she can even collect him from the airport, she s informed that her leave has been cancelled in order for her to head up the investigation into what appears to be a locked room (or rather locked house) murder investigation. In a further unwelcome surprise, Isabel’s dad turns up with one of her half-brothers in tow and announces that they plan to stay in a local hotel, rather than with Isabel’s family as she’d planned. Not too daunted by any of this, Isabel drops her visitors at their hotel and heads off to the crime scene.
The body has been discovered by the new owner of the house – in her bed – after she returned home from work, and she claims to have never seen the man before. Isabel has to juggle a case where the victim has no obvious connection to any of the properties in the area, with family disagreements exacerbated by her father not being entirely honest with his other children about his relationship with Isabel’s mother. Meanwhile, the murder victim turns out to have been a wrong-un, not particularly mourned by those left behind, and there’s no shortage of suspects with motives. The only issues are which of them had access to the scene, and why it was chosen.
It seems likely that the woman who found the victim had nothing to do with him, just as she said, but when she disappears there is an added urgency for the team to establish whether they were wrong about that, or whether she is, or is about to become, another victim of the same killer.
There were a lot of characters in this book, and it wasn’t always easy to keep track of those who had, presumably, been introduced in the first book as well as all those who Isabel was meeting for the first time. Ultimately, the central ones failed to hold my attention, and Bainbridge didn’t provide an interesting enough backdrop to keep me entertained in spite of them. I liked that most of the pointers to how the crime had been committed were flagged up (subtly) early on, but this is probably not a series I’ll be diving into again in the near future.
Grade: C
Summary:
You can cover up the truth, but every murder leaves a trail…
The rain was relentless. It stung Ruth Prendergast’s face as she dashed towards her house, desperate to escape the cold and settle down for an early night. But upon entering her bedroom, she finds a man, lying on her bed – a knife buried in his chest.
When Detective Isabel Blood and her sergeant arrive on the scene, Ruth claims she’s never laid eyes on the victim before. But with no sign of a break-in, how did the killer gain access to the house?
Then Ruth disappears, leaving Isabel and her team to fear the worst. Has their lead suspect escaped, or is Ruth in danger herself?
Forensic evidence at the crime scene is sparse, and it’s proving impossible for Isabel to make a breakthrough. With Ruth still missing, time is running out.
But how can you catch a killer that doesn’t leave a trace?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
