At the start of British author McCrery’s middling mystery thriller, the sequel to Still Waters
(2008), Det. Chief Insp. Mark Lapslie has been reduced to working at home. Lapslie suffers from synesthesia, a neurological disorder that causes him to hear tastes. Then he receives a high-profile assignment—investigating the torture murder of TV newscaster Catherine Charnaud. Det. Sgt. Emma Bradbury, Lapslie’s former partner, gives him a pair of headphones to block out noise at the crime scene, the victim’s house in Essex, where Charnaud’s body was found with its left arm completely stripped of flesh. Meanwhile, a disturbed young man, whose mother happens to be a criminal profiler, sets off homemade bombs to kill small animals. Aided by Bradbury, Lapslie perseveres in spite of sensory overload as more murders follow. While the detective’s unusual disability lends interest, clichéd plot developments and an overly pat resolution disappoint. (Feb.)
