The White Feather Killer

Set in London shortly after the start of WWI, Morris’s superior fifth mystery featuring Scotland Yard’s Det. Chief Insp. Silas Quinn finds Quinn returned to duty after a harrowing undercover stint in 2018’s The Red Hand of Fury. To his dismay, his unit, the Special Crimes Department, has been disbanded. Preoccupied with the possibility that German agents have infiltrated all levels of British society and government, Quinn’s superiors reassign him to the Yard’s CID. Quinn is supposed to serve as the liaison between the CID and the intelligence services, but he’s excluded from briefings and given deskbound make-work. His fortunes change after the discovery of a young woman’s body in a park. In her mouth is a white feather, the symbol of cowardice handed out to able-bodied men who have not enlisted. Since the inspector initially assigned to the murder case seems more interested in satisfying xenophobic prejudices than in finding the real killer, Quinn soon gets the chance to show his detecting skills. Morris nicely evokes the tense atmosphere of London in August 1914. A complex lead and an intricate puzzle elevate this entry. [em](Aug.) [/em]