Testimony

Taut suspense, solid characterization, a vivid sense of place and a satisfying resolution combine in this stunning debut procedural by British journalist Palmer. After being ousted from the Leicester police force for taking ``unauthorized hospitality from a known criminal'' involved in car heists and dog fights, former constable Terry Davis opened his own PI firm, on the sly selling his client's secrets to Fleet Street tabloids. When he dies in the ``freezing fog'' of a Midlands New Year from a gaping throat wound, Detective ``Jacko'' Jackson is called in from leave. He and his young partner, Det. Sgt. Caroline Parker, a lesbian, gradually uncover Davis's connections with a senior officer's wife, a constable on the force, an Animal Alliance group and an unsolved drowning of an adolescent girl. Palmer manages key scenes with authority, and his secondary characters--ruthless police officers, wives and mothers of suspects, tabloid reporters--bristle with life. The hardworking, unwavering Jacko, who has no aspirations beyond being ``chief of nothing'' but offers hints of a haunting past, is a hero whom readers will hope to see again. (Feb.)