A Long Way Down

October 1, 2016

The northern English city of Leeds is not London, but crime happens everywhere. DI Septimus Ruddigore Black knows the new detective on the force is bent; Lenny Cope fled London when an investigation was launched into his connections to local crime lord Vincent Formosa. When two children are kidnapped, the gangster's fingerprints are all over the action. Dead bodies begin to pile up as Formosa, who always seems to be a step ahead of the police, cleans house. Black is forced to resign after a suspect dies in custody. How will he be able to clear his name, restore his reputation, bring down Formosa, and regain his badge? VERDICT McCoy (Perseverance Street; "Sam Carew" mysteries) launches a new crime series featuring a prototypical British police officer who holds his cards close to the vest and doesn't allow anyone to get too close. The well-constructed narrative unfolds in an entertaining manner. A solid choice for Peter Robinson and Reginald Hill fans.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2016
McCoy offers his take on a familiar crime-fiction character: the policeman or ex-policeman with a chaotic private life and an overenthusiastic manner on the job. The troubled cop here is Detective Inspector Sep Black of the West Yorkshire Police, sacked after an obnoxious, boozed-up politician dies in his custody. Black's scheme for getting his job back requires suspension of disbelief: he disguises himself as a lowlife and offers to snitch for the cop who helped can him. Fortunately, the author notes with a slug of irony, Black's redemption is helped by kidnapping and white-slavery schemes. McCoy tells his tale with great dashplus plenty of tension and violenceand he brightens it with doses of English-major wit. Black and a therapist discuss Hamlet, a pipe-smoking prostitute wises him up on Socrates, and Black goes through his day reflecting on Woody Guthrie. And his interrogation methods, described in some detail, are fun to watch. Dealing with lowlifes and being honest never work together, he says at one point, requiring one to Tell the truth to start. Lie later. Familiar, yes, but satisfying, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2017
In the second Sep Black mystery (following Dead or Alive, 2016), the detective inspector is working on two cases: the apparent suicide of a businessman, who plummeted to his death from his office window, and the murder, a year later, of a journalist. Interviewing the journalist's widow, Sep is surprised to learn that the dead man had been working on a story about the businessman, who apparently didn't commit suicide. Sep is a really strong character, an ex-military tough guy who's also highly intelligent and who has little patience for threats or interference from his so-called superiors on the police force. Sep is a definite keeper.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)