Yard Dogs by
Peter Kalu
pbk out September 02
(X Press)
at £6.99
Whistleblower Detective Inspector Ambrose Patterson has been suspended from duty, one more dirty trick in the campaign to get rid of him. Patterson has lost his wife and daughter in a failed marriage, and he’s determined he won’t walk away from his job, too. Then his senior officer Decker suddenly reinstates him – there’s an open and shut case to solve.
A black celebrity, Desiree Burton, has been charged with murder, found clutching a bloody knife beside the body of her lesbian lover. And who better to investigate and build the case against Burton than a black cop? That way the force could sidestep any accusations of racism. Patterson soon establishes inconsistencies in the evidence, and a whole new slew of associates had reasons to want Burton smeared or her lover removed. Things become more complicated when Patterson finds himself falling for the prime suspect.
Set in the Manchester of the near future, Yard Dogs pokes fun at the world of celebrity and media hype – the machinations of the beautiful people – while giving us a solid whodunit. Kalu’s amenable hero provides good company and a great line in witty repartee, as well as some more thoughtful ruminations on modern life.
Manchester Evening News 17.8.02
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries set on the mean streets of Manchester)
