The Mathematical Bridge

March 1, 2019
Kelly, the author of the acclaimed Philip Dryden series and a winner of the CWA's Dagger in the Library Award, returns with the second in his new Nighthawk series, which began with The Great Darkness (2018). Series hero Detective Inspector Eden Brooke works in the Cambridge Borough Police Department with a considerable disability?his eyes were badly damaged when he was tortured by Ottoman Turks during WWI. While Brooke's condition as an insomniac and someone whose eyes are most comfortable in darkness makes a provocative premise, Kelly spends a bit too much time setting it up with descriptions of the world through Brooke's damaged eyes. In the winter of 1940, during one of Brooke's night outings, a boy, tied in a sack, is thrown into the River Cam and swept under the Mathematical Bridge. The mystery expands, as possible connections to the IRA arise. There's also danger surrounding the upcoming visit by a royal. Once the plot gets underway, it's superbly twisty, and Brooke clearly has the makings of a compelling series lead.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)