What Falls Between the Cracks

The discovery of a hand inside a defrosted freezer in an abandoned London flat drives British author Scragg’s satisfying debut and series launch. A DNA match links the severed hand to Natasha Barclay, who lived in the flat decades earlier. When Det. Insp. Jake Porter and his partner, Det. Sgt. Nick Styles, investigate, they learn that Natasha’s father, Nathan, killed himself in 1983—around the time that he sold his haulage firm to Alexander Locke, the head of an import-export company, and Natasha disappeared. The police drug force currently has Locke, who’s now married to Nathan’s ex-wife and Natasha’s stepmother, and his security chief, James Bolton, under surveillance. Porter and Styles combine their efforts with the drug unit after one of their officers is killed and another grievously wounded in a raid. Meanwhile, a possible mole in the police department complicates their joint task. Scragg’s detectives have the right combination of passion and savvy, and his plot is easy to follow while still saving some surprises for the end. Fans of British police procedurals will eagerly await the sequel. (June)