13-Dying in the Dark

Pamela Rainsford, found on a lonely canal path in the middle of a dark night, has not only been raped and strangled, but her face has been hacked to pieces. At first it seems a random killing, but as the case progresses, Woodend begins to suspect that the death of the mild-mannered, respectable secretary may have been a result of her own secret life.

And another secret life is having its consequences, too - as a result of his now-ended affair with Sergeant Monika Paniatowski, Inspector Bob Rutter's marriage is falling apart. As the investigation proceeds, Woodend finds himself beginning to understand the complex web of lies and deceits which Pamela Rainsford has spun around herself, but nothing he discovers could never prepare him for a second death - this one much closer to home!

Although the affair between his two detectives, Bob Rutter and Monika Paniatowski, has been over for a year, Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend knows that both parties are thoroughly unhappy, which adversely affects the entire team's camaraderie. Still, when the body of local secretary Pamela Rainsford is found on a canal path, raped and mutilated, Woodend, Rutter, and Paniatowski join forces effectively, painstakingly amassing evidence and reviewing forensic clues. Their focus is quickly diverted, however, when Detective Rutter's wife, Maria, is killed, and the finger of suspicion points to Rutter himself. Are the two murders linked? And can Rutter really be a murderer? As usual, Spencer writes deftly and skillfully, offering up intriguingly multidimensional characters and a cleverly constructed plot. A thoroughly satisfying installment in this fine British police procedural series. Emily Melton
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Spencer was born and brought up in Cheshier. She has been a teacher in England and Iran.