This is the first book I’ve read by this author and after reading it I will certainly be reading more. Even though it’s part of a series I had no problem reading this as a stand-alone.

I am glad I stuck with this series as each book has gotten better, with this one being the best so far. I like Sophie as she is a pleasant and competent senior police detective without too much turmoil in her private life. Her husband and children so seem to be somewhat unworried about her line of work, but there were some hints in this book that they are concerned abou ther. She is becoming more human with each story as we have gotten to know more about her past and her home life.

During a weekend blue's festival at the seaside town of Swanage the body of a woman is found on the beach. She had been attending the festival with a girlfriend but had spent the night with a man in their hotel room. Police soon discover that the victim, Sarah Sheldon,had some secrets and was a bit of a swinger often having sex with more than one partner at a time. Sarah and her friend, Rosemary, had met a couple of men on the Friday night, but while Sarah and Derek were hot and heavy, Rosemary was not keen on the other man, Brian. She ended up spending the night with an old aquaintance, Ed and his daughter in their apartment. A few days later Derek's body is found at the base of some cliffs and Brian has not been located. Another anomaly is that the hotel where the women were staying had a booking for a John Renton, and after staying the Friday night he, too, was unaccounted for. Every piece of evidence turned up, added another twist and question to this case.

The characters in this case are not very likeable. Everyone seems to have secrets, be a bit surly and does not want to answer questions. Rosemary and Ed, while seeming to be innocent, have suspicions thrown on them by the police as well. Rae Greyson, is a new member of Sophie's team. She is a transgender woman and I did like the way this was handled by the author. Rae turns out to be an excellent detective who shows a lot of initiative and drive. This police procedural was well done. I like that Sophie does not worry about who finds the information or where it came from if it helps to solve the crime. She does not hog the limelight and easily hands out praise to her co-workers. There was not a lot of suspense, it was more of a mystery with a lot of drama. This crime was solved by good old fashioned police work, not luck. I continue to listen to the audio version of this series and am enjoying the narration with each addition to the series.