The murder of an old woman in a rest home finds DCI Serrailler tracking a killer.
Duchess of Cornwall Close is one of those newer, nicer rest homes that almost has an exclusive air about it—the perfect place to spend one’s golden years, or so it would seem. So the community is shocked when one of their own is killed in the ritualistic manner of a serial killer. Lafferton’s DCI Simon Serrailler doesn’t have any leads until an old colleague digs up several similarities with a case from the past whose alleged perp walked on a technicality. Alan Keyes, the person of interest, is hard for Simon to pick up because he no longer officially exists. Meanwhile, Simon’s romance with Rachel doesn’t seem to have much of a future, and his sister, Cat Deerbon, is having troubles of her own. Molly, Cat’s tenant and the surrogate older sister to Sam, Hannah and Felix, can’t seem to shake the memories of her run-in with the Dr. Death of Simon’s last case (The Betrayal of Trust, 2011, etc.). Heaped on top of these troubles, Cat and Simon’s father, Richard, and stepmother, Judith, appear to be having problems of their own. Cat tries to spare Simon from the worst as he desperately searches for a man who isn’t there.
More slow burn than thrill ride, with the real interest in the characters and the concealment of Keyes’ true identity.
