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DCI Andrew Fenwick is a policeman going places. But his latest investigation might well turn out to be the one that sidelines his career. A tip-off from the American authorities that there might be a paedophile ring operating in Sussex is tying up hours of staff time, and the overtime bill looks like going super-nova. And so far they have nothing to show for it. But a child's body, buried 25 years ago on the Downs, is uncovered by accident. And there's also 11-year-old schoolboy Sam Bowyer who has gone missing. It looks like the Choir Boy investigation might be back in business. Meanwhile, DI Louise Nightingale has an odd case on her hands. Major Maidment, a church-going, golf club stalwart and all-round pillar of the community, saves Sgt Bob Cooper's life when a cornered conman pulls a knife on him – by shooting the man dead. The press and public reckon Maidment's a hero. But Nightingale isn't so sure, and sets out to find out what the man is hiding. INNOCENT BLOOD weighs in at a hefty 540 pages and is worth every one of those. It's a chilling book, with a genuine feel of evil pervading it. Elizabeth Corley's writing is steely and precise, and she plots immaculately. There's a good although not entirely unexpected twist at the end which you may spot if you've been paying attention. It does mean, though, that one plot strand is reduced to tell rather than show, which does lessen the tension very slightly. Ironically, the book's only slight weakness is its patchy characterisation – oh yawn, not another weasel-like newspaper reporter! But I developed a soft spot for dependable and sane Sgt Cooper. And Maidment is a fine, complex creation. The two central characters, Fenwick and Nightingale, don't always come across vividly, though. INNOCENT BLOOD is part way into a series, so it may be advantageous to have read the earlier books. But as it stands we really don't get much of a rounded picture of either of them, particularly her (the fact we didn't learn her first name until quite some way into the book was moderately annoying). This slight quibble is the only thing that stops me putting an excellent book into the outstanding category.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, January 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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