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Reporter Paul Shaw confronts Chief Inspector Jacobson at a local bar. Shaw claims that the death of Darren McGee, his cousin, was in fact murder. Darren, a black man, was found dead in the River Crow and the case was branded a suicide. Darren had a history of mental illness and there was no evidence of foul play at the scene of the crime. Shaw believes that McGee was thrown from the bridge -- that regardless of McGeeÕs mental illness, he would never have killed himself. Jacobson and DS Kerr were both out of town at the time of the murder, but they both agree that the ruling of suicide appears accurate. Shortly after Shaw shares his concerns regarding McGee, he is found dead. While someone tried to make this death appear to be suicide, Jacobson is suspicious enough to treat it as a murder. As the evidence begins to point to murder, Jacobson and Kerr must trace the path of McGeeÕs life in order to solve both deaths. Unfortunately, the deeper they investigate, the more evidence they find that these murders were done by the Far Right. As no one wants to believe that their community houses white supremacists, Jacobson and Kerr find themselves fighting a losing battle. Luckily, both Chief Inspector Jacobson and DS Kerr have more regards for justice than community goodwill; the murderers will be caught. KILLING FOR ENGLAND is a tightly-woven British police procedural. The characters understand what they need to get accomplished in their day and go about doing so. Both Jacobson and Kerr know their place in the world and are not overly concerned about changing it. Having characters who are comfortable with whom they are is very comforting to the reader. KILLING FOR ENGLAND deals with an issue that frequently appears in both society and mystery novels. The issue of race relations can be ugly regardless of time or place. When one person believes that their race is better than other races, it is frequently due to fear of things that are different rather than a legitimate hatred of others. If one refuses to socialize with ÔoutsidersÕ, then how can they determine whether this other race is any better or worse than their own? All they are doing is confirming their own fears and prejudices. By tackling this issue, McDowall puts his work on the cutting edge of the genre. KILLING FOR ENGLAND is the third book in the series featuring Chief Inspector Jacobson and DS Kerr.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, August 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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