Good Way to Go, A

DI McCluskey has got a dead body on his hands. The body was found in a canal in Bristol, tied and weighted down. McCluskey believes it may some sort of ritualistic killing, but before he can begin investigating a second body is found in the same condition. There are some differences, but they are subtle.In order to find the killer, Mcluskey must first find out how the two victims are connected.

Atmospheric and chilling

The third outing for the disorganised but likeable D.I. Liam McLusky.  Someone is murdering unconnected people in a brutal way.  Can McLusky and his police partner (Jane ) Austin catch the murderer?  Humorous and gripping police procedural.  The author lives in Bath.  This series is set in Bristol, but he has another series set in Bath.  Recommended.  I will read more by this engaging author.  See my review on the Euro-Crime website..

4.5 What a delightfully twisty mystery this was! Peter Helton is one hell of a writer and I was in suspense the entire book, never figuring out who'd done it until the very last minute. In fact, I wasn't even certain how many crimes were going on in this book for a very long time. And I was never sure quite how much I liked the inspector. McLusky is a very grumpy youngish detective, who acts and seems like a much older, curmudgeonly man. For goodness sake, it felt like he was Oscar in the old Odd Couple sitcom. He had an atrocious eating, drinking and smoking habit and didn't take care of himself at all. He was just coming off a suspension at the beginning of the book and had obviously screwed up royally because everyone was watching him like he was a time bomb and his boss told him if he did ONE THING WRONG he was gone. Poof!

These are not the clean, cerebral mysteries of a Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie, where the detectives have tea and scones and twirl their mustaches or knit their tassies and brilliantly deduce things. You don't think your way through this book. You feel each and every bout of heartburn; you yearn for McLusky to find someone to love who will push him to actually BUY a bed-frame and get that damn mattress off the floor. And while you admire the fact that he's so intensely driven to solve the cases that he walks off in the middle of a conversation with the girlfriend that left him that he would kill to have back...you wish he could learn to compartmentalize. To learn to save some of it for a personal life. But it doesn't seem like he can. And that makes you sad. However, it is what makes him such a brilliant detective.

So when the first odd murder happens, it's unrelated to anything else. There are no clues. They start investigating when the second happens, but the connection is tenuous at best. But they continue. As McLusky sets himself up as the scapegoat for the killer's hate, he begins a cat and mouse game that could not only help him find the killer, it could add him to the killer's list.

While I feel I would have benefited from having read the previous books in the series, I loved this mystery. It made me feel like I was in the detective's disturbed, sad head--probing the mysteries and vagaries of the human mind. It's almost as if because he is so dysfunctional, it helps him understand others who are as well. Sadly never surprised at the depths to which people will sink.

I'm wondering if he's the chocolate thief as well.

The body in the canal...

DI Liam McLusky has returned to his job after a nine-week suspension, but is under warning from his boss that one step out of line will result in him being fired. But Liam is fundamentally a good cop, so despite the black cloud hanging over him, when a woman's body is found in the canal he is put in charge of the case. A few days later another body is found, a man this time, and there are elements of the two murders that make Liam suspect they are linked, though he can't see what the two victims have in common. Then a third man is abducted...

I recently enjoyed Peter's Helton's Indelible, a PI novel with a Golden Age feel about the setting, so I was intrigued to see how his style would work in the format of the police procedural. And I'm pleased to say the answer is – very well. 

The book gets off to a good start with a nicely scary chapter about a woman sensing an intruder in her flat. It turns out this is part of a sub-plot about a sex-pest who is graduating from stealing underwear from clothesline to more serious offences, and this storyline runs in parallel with the murder mystery. We then meet Liam for the first time, in this book, at least – there have been earlier books, which I haven't read, but this one works fine as a standalone. At this point Liam is still on suspension, is driving drunk and behaving like a stereotypical maverick, and my heart sank. However, I'm glad to say he improves on acquaintance – once he is back at work he proves to be a good detective and manages to remain sober. And although he has a string of failed relationships behind him, he hasn't given up all hope of finding the right woman. 

The main plot is complex enough to hold the reader's interest throughout, even if it does require the odd bit of disbelief suspension. I admit I kinda guessed whodunit a good bit before the end, but not why, so it didn't spoilt the suspense too much. And the sub-plot about the sex-pest is very well done, getting increasingly creepy and chilling as it goes along. Liam and his partner, DS James Austin, work as a good team and their interactions help to make both characters likeable and enjoyable. And oh joy! It's written in the third person past tense!

I like Helton's writing style. I could complain that the story was a bit over-padded, and I could have lived with fewer descriptions of Liam smoking, drinking coffee, eating chocolate bars etc. But, in contrast, the violence is gritty without being graphic, the dialogue is realistic without the constant use of bad language, there's some humour that keeps the tone light, and the characterisation is very good throughout, and particularly of Liam himself. It all goes to show what a lottery crime writing is – I'd rate this book well above the average standard of most police procedurals out there, and better than many that have achieved a higher level of success. So if you're in the market for a new author, here's one I recommend.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Severn House.