Publisher's Weekly Review
In Spencer's darkly effective fifth mystery set in 1970s Lancashire (after 2011's Backlash), two retired miners, Len Hopkins and Tommy Sanders, get into a fierce brawl in the mining town of Bellingsworth over an upcoming strike vote. When someone soon after brains Len with a pickax while he's using an outdoor toilet, most fingers point at Tommy. Certain that the murder has nothing to do with the threatened strike, Det. Chief Insp. Monika Paniatowski believes the motive to be much more personal-thus putting her at odds with her second-in-command, Det. Insp. Colin Beresford. When Monika is forced to withdraw from the case, Beresford takes charge and seeks a quick resolution-which proves difficult, especially after Monika's personal life becomes part of the investigation. Spencer expertly mixes political intrigue, lust, greed, and long-held secrets against a backdrop of bleak mining life. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A strike vote pits miner against miner in the colliery town of Bellingsworth. Old-timer Tommy Sanders, sick with black lung, thinks a strike is the only way the miners will get the pay and medical benefits they deserve. But his contemporary, Len Hopkins, insists that striking will only hurt the men in the mines. The morning after the two come to blows at the Miners' Institute during a celebration of the town band's winning the coveted Brough Cup, housekeeper Susan Danvers finds Hopkins in the outside lavatory, his skull shattered by a short-handled pickax. DCI Monika Paniatowski (Echoes of the Dead, 2011, etc.) has a hunch that the motive is local and personal. But her boss, Chief Constable George Baxter, knows that the Special Branch, led by shadowy agent Forsyth, is taking particular interest in the case. Monika's investigation is plagued by distractions. First, her best friend, DI Colin Beresford, newly liberated from 30 years of virginity and feeling his oats, takes every opportunity to criticize his boss' handling of the case. Then, her daughter, Louisa, is mysteriously abducted from a schoolmate's party, only to be returned a few hours later. As Beresford pursues one false lead after another, Monika struggles to find a solution that puts all the pieces, personal and political, in their proper place. Just as the Special Branch thwarts Monika, politics and espionage undermine Spencer's usually solid mixture of police procedure and detection.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
DCI Monika Paniatowski is back, this time faced with solving a brutal murder in a small Lancashire mining village. The village is split between those who believe the miners should strike for better pay and those who fear a strike will only worsen an already fraught situation. Leading the antistrikers is miner Len Hopkins; Len's contemporary, Tommy Sanders, leads the prostrike contingent, and the two have already exchanged words. So when Hopkins is found bludgeoned to death, Sanders is a natural suspect. While Monika's trusted deputy, Colin Beresford, is sure Sanders is the killer, Monica isn't convinced. But when Monika's daughter, Louisa, is kidnapped, Monika has to leave Colin in charge with near-disastrous results. What Monika doesn't know is that, chillingly, Louisa's kidnapping is linked to the murder case, and the motive for the brutal killing is much more complex and frightening than Monika and her team can imagine. As usual, Spencer produces a fine police procedural with enough twists to keep even seasoned readers guessing, and enough substance and style to satisfy even the most demanding fan.--Melton, Emily Copyright 2010 Booklist
