Death Line

Fans of gritty contemporary police novels will welcome British author Carter's seventh mystery featuring Det. Sgt. Bev Morriss (after 2009's Blood Money). The frantic search of Morriss and her colleagues on the Birmingham force for missing 10-year-old Josh Banks ends with the discovery of the boy's asphyxiated corpse. An anonymous caller points the police to Roland Haines, who was previously acquitted by a jury of murdering a child, despite the discovery of the victim's battered body in Haines's bathroom. This tip, naturally, provides no easy solution, as Banks's killing proves to be just the first of many that may connect to previous child murders. The complications of Morriss's personal life, especially her relationship with former supervisor Bill Byford, slow things down in spots, but in the end those sections pay off. The emotional impact of the shocking climax more than compensates for a less than surprising killer. (Jan.)