Ash & Bone By John Harvey

In Ash & Bone by John Harvey, retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder is called back from an isolated life in Cornwall by double trouble: his daughter Katherine is running wild and shacked up with a possible drug dealer, and a detective sergeant Frank used to work with has been murdered. 

Elder’s fears for his daughter are underscored by guilt – it was his involvement in a case that led directly to the abduction and rape of Katherine which has thrown Katherine’s life into a shamble and led to breakup of his marriage. He hopes to repair his relationship with his daughter.

Before her murder, Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch had been involved in  the take-down of a violent criminal. She had felt something was not right. Her uneasiness had been compounded by her suspicion that someone had been following her.

Frank is recruited by a cold case unit that employs retired cops to look at cases that are going nowhere. He is assigned to Detective Chief Inspector Karen Shields, who grudgingly accepts the services offered by the seasoned veteran. They are assigned to investigate the murder of Maddy.

The attraction between Elder and Shields, who is black, adds colours to the story line. Years of wrongdoing, much of it by dirty cops, seems to have come to a head and given the good guys a chance to put away multiple bad guys.

The story moves forward rather slowly and there are not much twists in the story. I find the book a reasonably satisfying read but if you are looking for action packed thrillers full of twists, you will probably be disappointed with this book.