Ash and Bones

At the outset of this grim crime novel from Welsh author Thomas (Ugly Bus), an early morning police raid on a flat in a rundown housing estate near the Cardiff docks goes badly awry: a detective sergeant is shot dead, another man is seriously wounded, and the killer escapes. Will MacReady, a detective constable trainee, is called to the scene. It’s his first day as part of the CID team. MacReady doesn’t want to screw up, but he soon gets in over his head as he struggles to be useful and cope with his superior’s quirks. Meanwhile, he is trying desperately to rejuvenate his marriage and keep an eye on his violent, alcoholic layabout big brother. The discovery of a body in the harbor raises the ante. Thomas, who served for more than two decades with the Cardiff police, teaches American readers some new slang (“Well you can muck in with Sarge when she’s back from her latest women’s empowerment jolly up at HQ. You’re cooking my swede already”) and successfully portrays the gritty side of detective work. (Oct.)