cover image Merely Players: A DCI "Percy" Peach Mystery

Merely Players: A DCI "Percy" Peach Mystery

J.M. Gregson. Severn, $27.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0-7278-6984-5

Gregson's solid 15th mystery featuring North Lancashire's irreverent but effective Percy Peach (after 2010's Only a Game) focuses on the obnoxious Adam Cassidy, a mediocre actor in a hit TV action series, whose rapid rise only enhances his narcissistic tendencies. Meanwhile, Det. Chief Insp. Percy Peach maneuvers to outflank his stodgy boss, Chief Supt. Thomas Tucker, so that he can continue to operate in his own way. Even before the book's main event%E2%80%94a fatal shooting that Peach must solve under a national spotlight%E2%80%94the two story lines intersect when Tucker and Cassidy appear together on a talk show. The gradual buildup to the crime may be too slow for some, but the lively prose and deft character portrayals make the wait a pleasant one. Gregson doesn't play completely fair, but as a procedural featuring a maverick lead who's a kindred spirit to Peter Lovesey's Peter Diamond, it certainly succeeds. (May)