Denial of Murder

In Turnbull’s absorbing fourth Harry Vicary mystery (after 2012’s The Garden Party), the members of the Murder and Serious Crime Squad of New Scotland Yard are perplexed when the body of Gordon Cogan, recently released from prison for the murder of a young heroin addict, turns up in the posh streets of Wimbledon. As the detectives scratch their heads about his violent end, they soon find that Cogan’s life and death were far more complicated than his record would suggest. With little to go on, the case seems to be at a dead end until a second body is found in the exact same place with nearly the same injuries. The gentle prose belies the darkness of his tale, just as Harry’s even-keeled demeanor hides a messy past. Newcomers may find some of the lingo a bit perplexing, but Turnbull fans will be rewarded with a complicated but skillfully executed plot and multilayered characters. (June)