Hit and Run by
Cath Staincliffe
pbk out November 06
(Allison Busby)
at £6.99
Cath Staincliffe's ninth novel is the second to feature DCI Janine Lewis, played by
Caroline Quentin in the popular ITV1 series 'Blue Murder'. Janine, like Staincliffe's
longer-established series character Sal Kilkenny, juggles detective work with
domestic life and it is this portrayal of her losing battle with the work-life balance that
is at the heart of the appeal of the stories about her. That appeal is enhanced by the
Mancunian setting ('the prow of the Lowry, the triangular peak of Urbis and a sea of
cranes…') and the fact that the supporting cast are so neatly-realised – for instance,
the two sergeants, Butchers and Shap. The story-line is one that has become familiar
in recent crime fiction – the exploitation of 'illegals'. One of the 'nice girls just off the
plane' finishes up dead after a spell at a seedy lapdancing bar called Topcat. There is
a satisfying twist of identity towards the end as the police move inexorably towards
the resolution of a bleak and thought-provoking case.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
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Hit and Run by
Cath Staincliffe
