cover image Deep Waters

Deep Waters

Patricia Hall. Severn, $28.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8605-7

Set in London in 1964, Hall’s so-so fifth mystery to feature photographer Kate O’Donnell (after 2014’s Blood Brothers) finds Kate transgressing social convention by moving in with her boyfriend, Det. Sgt. Harry Barnard. Their relationship grows shaky after Barnard is tasked with finding Ray Robertson, a shady Soho club owner with whom he shared a boyhood exile from wartime London and who has mysteriously vanished. When Barnard, whose supervisor already suspects him of corruption, finds the body of one of Robertson’s employees, his career is jeopardized. Meanwhile, Kate investigates a decade-old flood that has a surprising connection to the dead man, a heist, and missing money. A convoluted plot and crowded cast of characters may deter readers new to the series. Still, Hall excels at conveying the era’s zeitgeist, including the lingering shadow of WWII and the backlash against women entering the workforce, and Kate’s art-school acquaintance with John Lennon is a particularly compelling detail. [em](July) [/em]