KINGDOM OF LIES
by Lee Wood
A layered and labyrinthine murder puzzle lifts a depressed rural policeman out of a personal and professional funk.
American medievalist Dr. Gillian “Jillie” Waltham calls the Leeds constabulary to report the disappearance of her friend, Dr. Christine Swinton of London. Both women had been attending a conference nearby. Shell-shocked from a recent divorce and living with only his demanding cat Thomas, Detective Sergeant Keen Dunliffe is happy to comfort Jillie after her attractive friend is found naked and dead in a local lake, her clothes neatly piled nearby. When Jillie and Christine’s room is ransacked and Keen finds evidence of Christine’s sexual adventurousness, he concludes she was murdered. But clues are few and far between, and he assumes that the investigation will languish. Instead, Keen receives a surprising secret assignment. It seems that Christine is the fourth person to die recently under suspicious circumstances near a royal family estate. So he’s sent to London to investigate and keep an eye on Jillie, who fancies herself an amateur sleuth. Politics, scholarship and exotic locales figure in the solution. The blossoming of Keen and Jillie’s relationship runs parallel to the search for the shrewd killer.
A mystery with elements of espionage and political thrillers, and a long and leisurely series kickoff from popular sci-fi author Wood (Master of None, 2004, not reviewed, etc.). Rewarding stuff for the patient reader, but not for every taste.