FEAR OF DROWNING

Turnbull’s new series kicks off with a change in venue from Glasgow to York and a change in the policeman hero from DI Donoghue (The Man With No Face, 1998, etc.) to DI Hennessey, aided by Lieutenant Yellich. They’re faced with the double murder of Max Williams and his wife Amanda, whose bodies have been found beaten and buried in a shallow grave close to their modest cottage, which shows no sign of forced entry or burglary, only days after their naval officer son and London-based daughter had visited with no hint of impending disaster. Hennessey soon uncovers a couple of possible suspects. After inheriting an immense fortune from his brother Marcus ten years before, Williams had somehow managed to spend himself to the point of bankruptcy. So had once-prosperous builder Michael Richardson, who’d recklessly built a spectacular mansion Williams never paid for. Then there’s gym owner Tim Sheringham, whose affair with Amanda Williams would have ended much more peacefully if she hadn’t threatened to share every last detail with his wife. Hennessey, however, is intrigued by the decade-old death of Marcus Williams, a dwarf, found drowned in his bathtub even though he invariably took showers. A trip to Marcus’s hometown of Malton and interviews with his onetime housekeeper and others bring past and present together so that Hennessey can pinpoint the cold-blooded killer even as he copes with his own painful memories.

Though none too cohesive or suspenseful, a worthy successor to the Donoghue series. Turnbull’s fans won’t be disappointed.