The Dark Lady

January 1, 2001
Sixteen years after the end of World War II, a German is murdered near a stately English manor now owned by a chemical plant. Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend of Scotland Yard (The Salton Killings) refuses to arrest the convenient suspect or bow to plant pressure and jail a Polish, Italian, or German worker. Instead, he relies on his own gifted observations to unearth the real killer and clues to a much earlier murder. An ambitious journalist, meanwhile, complicates matters with seeming nonsense about a legendary ghost whose ride supposedly foretold the murder. A very successful British procedural, nicely complicated by leftovers from both local lore and the war.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2001
Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend and Detective Sergeant Bob Rutter, detailed to find the killer of a German efficiency expert, must contend with chemical company bigwigs trying to get them off the case. Spencer's fourth entry in this outstanding procedural series is an atmospheric, nicely paced thriller with a fascinating and complex crime at its core. The setting, an old estate, effectively mixes Gothic and noir: the moody ambience draws equally from Stephen King and Raymond Chandler. Spencer's gift for bringing remote corners of 1960s England to vivid life is on a par with the best historical mystery writers, as is her ability to construct a multfaceted plot. This time Woodend and Rutter follow the case to its tangled World War II roots, which will remind many of Jack Higgins or Frederick Forsythe. Excellent work from a too-little-known author.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)