Into Darkness

In documentary filmmaker Lewis’s promising first novel, Jewish Det. Chief Insp. Ned Bale investigates the death of legendary actor and philanthropist Sir Thomas Best, whose body was found in a muddy unused dock basin, part of a nameless, sewage-filled U.K. port. Since Tommy was blind, no one can understand what he could have been doing on the docks at midnight. Did he fall? Was he pushed? Tommy’s 11-year-old seeing-eye Labradoodle, Suzy—bred for blind people with allergies—is the only witness. Tommy’s widow, Dame Angela, who maintains that suicide is not an option, proves unhelpful, but the dog’s trainer, a solitary-soul veterinary nurse, does lend Ned steadfast assistance. That Suzy’s harness was broken before the time of death suggests foul play. The climax convincingly recreates the blind man’s last moments, and Lewis has a flair for the unexpected turn of phrase as well as plot. (July)