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DEAD PEOPLE
by Ewart Hutton
Minotaur Books, April 2014
362 pages
$26.95
ISBN: 125001963X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Detective Sergeant Glyn Capaldi has been exiled to rural Wales, where his top case seems to be finding a man who is castrating sheep. While brooding on his banishment, he is surprised when a body is found buried in the hillside near a newly constructed wind farm. In short order, two more bodies are found in the same hill and all are missing their heads and hands, making identification impossible. Unhappily for Capaldi, a former colleague who is now the "boss" arrives to take control (and credit) when yet another body is found nearby, this time a younger and more recently interred body.

As clues are gathered, all signs suggest a local eccentric, and Capaldi's nemesis moves the investigation to another city where the connections seem to lead. Capaldi is left in charge of clearing up some local questions, which suits him just fine since he believes the distant trail is one set to derail the police while the real story is local. Much happens as he makes inquires; a female archaeologist has Glyn in a romantic tizzy and two married couples running an upscale antiques barn throw a number of wrenches into the works.

Glyn Capaldi is an interestingly developed character, strong enough to make choices that anger his bosses while at the same time evidencing a lack of confidence with women. As he deals with his past disgrace and his newly subordinate role to a power hungry previous colleague, he has both internal and external struggles about how to portray his situation. Hutton does a terrific job of letting the reader meet Capaldi with all his flaws and inconsistencies intact. Capaldi is not the only fully realized character; even the relatively minor characters are nuanced.

And while I've never been to Wales, I felt as though I had been after reading this book. The descriptive language reminded me of Ann Cleeve's Shetland series, though the location seems less cold and more wet. It's a beautiful thing when an author can transport the reader to a new location, and Hutton did an exceptionally fine job of that.

Throughout the book, Capaldi takes his investigation in a direction very different from that of the police establishment. Until the end, I was never quite sure whether he was on the right track or if he was seeing misdirection where there was none. This kept me on my toes and had me constantly questioning the clues he uncovered. Capaldi was trying to second guess the murderer, and I found myself attempting to second guess Capaldi as well. This provided a great deal of tension in the book, making it intensely engaging.

This is the second of the Glyn Capaldi series. I've already got the first on order, and happily the third will be published soon.

§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.

Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, April 2014

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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