Graham Hurley's British police procedural series featuring DI Joe Farraday and DS Paul Winter has grown on me. At the beginning, I did not find either of the two main characters particularly attractive or sympathetic, although they were certainly interesting, but as the series has continued, now into its seventh entry, those characters have become better defined and more complex and I find that I quite like them both. Hurley's usual modus operandi is to have the two detectives working two separate cases which intersect or overlap at some point and that is the situation here. We begin with a man dying horribly while chained to a railroad track. The main questions are, how did he come to be there and is this murder or some weird kind of suicide? If it is murder, what could the man have done to have made someone want to kill him in this fashion? As the detectives begin to piece together the victim's story, they discover an obsessive loner who was politically active and engaged, but was there a motive for murder in any of his activities?Meantime, while working this case, Paul Winter discovers another missing person. It turns out that this missing man has a connection with one of Paul's mates who works at the morgue, one Jake Tarrant. The missing person had sought to ingratiate himself with Jake and his family and the investigation reveals that he had turned over a lot of money to Jake, enough to help him get the home that he wants for his wife and two children. Why would the man do that? And has he now simply disappeared or is he dead? Winter begins to suspect the latter and, at some length, surmises what might be a motive for murder, but will he ever be able to prove it?Hurley is meticulous in taking us through the process of the investigations on both cases and his writing, which has always been good, was really excellent this time. He paints such clear pictures of all the different characters that I felt as if I had actually met and talked with them. I could always understand why they did what they did, even if I did not necessarily agree with it. I think this is really the best of the series so far and I look forward to reading the next entry.
This is the first Hurley I read, despite it being the 6th or 7th in the series. I had no idea what a police procedural book was, or even if I'd like it. I hadn't read much crime before this book. My main interest in this book was that it is set in my area - Portsmouth. The city has as much character in the book then any living person, and the setting is as important as the characters or plot. In fact, Portsmouth is a character in it's own right.And Hurley has it almost right. I'm not a native to Portsmouth, growing up and living for the most part in the neighbouring town, but I'd say he has it pretty much spot on. It's a depressing little city, and though I might call it a dump when I'm feeling cynical, I have a soft spot for the place.One thing I can say that is slightly off putting reading about a place you know well, is that you know when something isn't what it is. He describes the Water Margin as a rather classy Chinese restaurant - it isn't really. It's nice and all but it's a buffet type place unlike Hurley described it. Apart from this, a mighty fine portrayal of Portsmouth.And a good story to boot.
Do You like book One Under (2008)?
The story starts with a commuter train running over a body in a tunnel. Police discover the body was naked and chained to the rails. There are no clues to the identity of the man, so they start with the missing persons list. DC Paul Winter is in charge of the Intelligence Cell for Major Crimes and is charged with following up on the list and the items associated with the body. DI Joe Faraday is in charge of the case. Winter gets distracted by another missing person, and starts following it on his own, but eventually comes clean to Faraday and both cases are active. Winter's contacts lead him down some interesting roads, and arouse suspicion at higher levels. Faraday is just out of a relationship and at a bit of a loose end personally. Winter is just back on the job after brain surgery and is still vulnerable. The personal lives of the two men also affect the investigations. I found this book interesting and would definitely look for more with these characters.
—Shonna Froebel
