'Forty-eight hours, that's what they reckon, isn't it? Forty-eight hours. If you don't find them in that, likely they're sodding dead...'A cabbie's just been beaten up, there's a drunk and disorderly in the interview room and a possible child abuser on the way in. Nothing unusual there, then, just a pretty normal Christmas holiday for DI Resnick and his team.Normal, that is, until Dana Matthieson calls to report her flatmate, Nancy, missing.Dana's had a pretty grim Christmas she's been sexually harassed by her boss, and may even have lost her job as well as her friend. Pretty soon the police have proof that Nancy was kidnapped, and then - as the New Year celebrations wind down - the first tape arrives, and Resnick knows they're dealing with a dangerous psychopath.
Cold Light, John Harvey
I do really like the fictional Charlie Resnick. Sure he's another loner cop with a fractured personal life and a work ethic that sometimes seems to veer dangerously close to avoidance of the mess of the personal life, but he's also a man who loves his cats, is good to his friends, seems quite attractive to the ladies, and makes a very mean sandwhich.
There is a pool of these good, solid police procedural series coming from a similar time, and I am working my way back through them on occasions. Some of the books are re-reads, some of them are new, all of them are hopelessly out of series order. Which means that each of the books has to work on its own, which they do. Some of the plots are more complex and believable than others, and whilst COLD LIGHT does seem to rely on a few red herrings liberally dotted throughout, there is a good sense of pace, and urgency about the search for a missing young woman. As well done as the sense of rage in her father, and the attraction that builds between Resnick and her flatmate. There's some nice touches of coincidence, that are quite believable in a confined geographical location, there's also some complications in the case, and in the personal that flesh the whole thing out.
I must admit I am quite a fan of the Charlie Resnick series, although I do like most of the books by this author that I've read. Definitely one for fans of solid, believable police procedurals from what is, after all, a pretty large British pool.