Into Darkness

May 7, 2012
In documentary filmmaker Lewis’s promising first novel, Jewish Det. Chief Insp. Ned Bale investigates the death of legendary actor and philanthropist Sir Thomas Best, whose body was found in a muddy unused dock basin, part of a nameless, sewage-filled U.K. port. Since Tommy was blind, no one can understand what he could have been doing on the docks at midnight. Did he fall? Was he pushed? Tommy’s 11-year-old seeing-eye Labradoodle, Suzy—bred for blind people with allergies—is the only witness. Tommy’s widow, Dame Angela, who maintains that suicide is not an option, proves unhelpful, but the dog’s trainer, a solitary-soul veterinary nurse, does lend Ned steadfast assistance. That Suzy’s harness was broken before the time of death suggests foul play. The climax convincingly recreates the blind man’s last moments, and Lewis has a flair for the unexpected turn of phrase as well as plot.

June 1, 2012

When beloved movie star Sir Tommy Best drowns after falling through a hole in a rickety pier, all of Britain mourns. Long blind, Tommy was always guided by his talented work dog, Suzy, so it's puzzling that she wasn't on the scene when he died. Suspecting foul play, DCI Ned Bale investigates, relying on dog handler Kate Baker to work with Suzy. Ned and his team pore through the clues and, using technology and forensic evidence, begin to glean why Best would have been at the docks. Concurrently, Kate tracks down Nick Parsons, who had trained Suzy. Nick, blind and living off the grid, agrees to teach Ned to "play" blind to solve the case. But if Ned is going to pull off his own bit of dramatic role-playing, what is to keep him from dying on the docks, too? VERDICT In this striking debut from a former documentary filmmaker, Lewis's premise of using the dog to solve the murder raises moral questions and will haunt readers long afterward.

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