The Forgotten Murders

Constable Parker is just winding up a peaceful shift at two a.m. on the Yorkshire moors when a riderless horse crashes out of the dark. The horse's owner, Anthea Cossitter, turns up dead with a knife through her ribs. The next day a helicopter is bombed out of the sky over Lessford, the district capital, and suddenly the local bobbies have more than they can handle. Not the least of their problems is the intrusion into their midst of a couple of flashy heroes from Scotland Yard. Then Whitehall clamps down on the investigation, leaving the local cops biting their nails: the Government is the other enemy, they learn. Wainwright's clean prose, sympathetic characterizations (especially of the policemen) and devious plotting make his latest police procedural (after The Tenth Interview) a real pleasure. (October 20)