The Iron Water: An Inspector Tom Harper Novel

At the outset of British author Nickson’s gritty fourth whodunit set in late 19th-century Leeds (after 2015’s Skin like Silver), the trial run of an experimental torpedo in Waterloo Lake cuts the rope tying the corpse of a man to a weight, causing the body, later identified as that of small-time crook Leonard Tench, to rise to the lake’s surface. Soon afterward, a severed woman’s leg turns up in the River Aire. Is there a link between the two victims? Det. Insp. Tom Harper learns that Tench was connected with a local gang leader, and looks to the criminal underworld for a motive for Tench’s killing. Mindful of the city’s reputation, Leeds officials put pressure on Harper to solve both puzzles quickly. Fans of Anne Perry’s Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series should enjoy the significant role in the case played by Harper’s able wife, Annabelle, although Nickson has done a better job with plotting and characterization in his Crooked Spire and Richard Nottingham series. Agent: Tina Betts, Andrew Mann Agency (U.K.). (Nov.)