From Publishers Weekly
Charmianspok Daniels, Chief Superintendent in the London Police who was last seen in Dead Set , returns in a suspenseful case that involves her goddaughter, Kate Cooper, and her friend, Sergeant Dolly Barstow of the Merrywick CID, in murder. Dead is Nella Fisher, a barmaid who had repeatedly warned Kate and Dolly that a man was planning to attack them. Told to go take her information to the police, Nella had laughed derisively. The warnings, accompanied by requests for money, escalated and Kate had been heard shouting that she would kill Nella if she came back again. After Nella's body is found in front of the townhouse where Kate and Dolly both live, Kate is arrested. As the police work on building their case, Charmian attempts to determine the meaning of the barmaid's warning and the reason why she distrusted the police. Gradually the Chief Superintendent realizes that she is the real target of the mysterious man whom Nella had overheard. Deftly unraveling the convoluted plot, Melville delivers a zinger of a story.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The latest in the Charmian Daniels series illustrates perfectly the way British police procedurals often combine a sense of refinement and restraint with the goriest of crimes. Here the body of a young female drifter, Nella Fisher, is found in front of the apartment building where Charmian's goddaughter, Kate, and a police colleague, Dolly Barstow, live. The woman had appeared a few weeks before, attempting to extort money for information on a man she claimed was out to get them. Charmian suspects there is more to the story, and, of course, there is. Forced to use her senior position and influence in the police department to clear her friends from suspicion, Charmian treads softly--though not softly enough to avoid keeping out of the line of fire herself. All in all, a very good read and no disappointment for Charmian's fans.
Stuart Miller
