The narration
The narration was excellent being unfussy and upbeat. It proved to be a good match for the content.

My thoughts
Met with a shocking murder, a stabbing of a well-liked young coach on his own doorstep, the police are left grasping at straws for a lead. Assuming it is not some random, senseless killing, the next most obvious course it that it was a case of mistaken identity. Connections are quickly made with local villains, who appear to be looking to settle scores. However, the murder of a schoolteacher in similar circumstances shatters this line of enquiry and for Denning and Fisher the investigation gets a whole lot more complex.

The novel is very much the old school style of police procedural, but one that follows the clues rather than gets bogged down on the paperwork and procedure. The good old ‘means, motive and opportunity’ maxim still holding true and is discounted at the investigator’s peril. The reader can also see the folly is making assumptions and becoming ‘blinkered’ trying to fit circumstances to the crime.

In the end it is motive that proves to be critical to the case, a motive that was difficult to pin down and then hard to believe before the final dawning realisation. The motive is an excellent one, with a festering gestation period and then a catalyst to make it explode into reality. The incident that provides the motive for the crime is on reflection, cold and callous but only too believable, being a by-product of the selfishness of some determined high-flyers.

The pacing is steady as might be expected, as progress plods along and suspense is built up. Later there is a gear shift and the story accelerates towards the conclusion which has the jeopardy and a bit of a knife edge to it. The murders are unpleasant but not graphic and there’s enough for dramatic effect without passing into the realms of the absurd.

The central characters D.I. Matthew Denning and D.S. Molly Fisher are well established and likeable enough whilst retaining some rough edges. They both have real life problems to deal with, but nothing unsurmountable, blissfully happy cops, of which some must exist, make for dull fiction. Fisher has split from her partner and is going through the nightmare that is finding affordable rental property; Denning is settled but his high-flying hedge fund manager wife is having her head turned by a promotion to New York, something Denning won’t do. Denning is divorced and has a son Jake who lives with his ex-wife Claire and is now appreciating the need for a family.

There are some excellent cameos for the remaining officers none more so than their Scottish boss McKenna, who is given the lovely nickname ‘Betty Taggart’. She is the character I think the narrator had the most fun with.

The old favourite of the suspended cop is added to the mix, hardly surprising considering the numbers currently so in real life, but for a nice change its not one of the main protagonists. Here it is a colleague, Anna who adds a nice layer of mystery, she wants a reference from Denning in support of her hearing, he wants information through her contacts, but who can trust who?

Shame the Devil is a tightly written, well plotted police procedural.

I would like to thanks Net Galley, the author and publisher for access to an audio copy in exchange for a fair review

I received an audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I’ve never read a book by Graeme Hampton, but I’ll definitely be searching out others after reading Shame the Devil.

Several seemingly random murders puzzle DI Matthew Denning and DS Molly Fisher, and trying to connect them take up a good portion of the first third of the book. Well plotted and interesting all the way through, I was definitely hooked and wanted to find out the conclusion. Absolutely recommend this cool series!

I hadn't read any in this series prior to Shame the Devil and that didn't hurt my enjoyment of it. This was a great mystery and I enjoyed it!

When a young father is stabbed to death on the doorstep of his home, DI Matthew Denning and DS Molly Fisher are puzzled. The man seemed to have no enemies and Matthew believes the murder was a case of mistaken identity, that the killer meant to dispatch a nasty neighbor instead. Molly isn’t so sure, and her suspicions are proved correct when a young woman is killed in nearly identical circumstances. This is the 5th book featuring Denning and Fisher, but readers won’t have to have read the previous four to understand and enjoy this excellent British police procedural