British author Hall's latest police procedural to feature reporter Laura Ackroyd and DCI Michael Thackeray (after 2004's Death in Dark Waters
) takes a compelling look at Muslim-Christian relations in the industrial Yorkshire town of Bradshaw. If Earnshaw's mill closes, half the Pakistani population will be out of work. As the tension mounts, Laura goes moonlighting to interview Muslim women for a radio show about their experiences since 9/11 with the town's neo-Nazis. Meanwhile, boyfriend Michael investigates the murder of Simon Earnshaw, an heir to the mill as well as a major shareholder, who was about to marry a "Paki," Saira Khan, who has gone missing. The Romeo and Juliet story that emerges, a tragedy involving Simon's alcoholic brother and angry grandfather and Saira's traditional Muslim father and two brothers, builds to a highly satisfying final act. Longtime fans of the series will be pleased to see Michael remove a major obstacle to his increased intimacy with Laura. Agent, Alison J. Picard. (May 6)
FYI:
Hall is the pseudonym of journalist Maureen O'Connor.
