An Urgent Murder

An Urgent Murder by Alex Winchester. Troubador Publishing Limited; Matador, 2018.

This seems to be a straight forward piece of crime fiction. Two police officers, one a young woman and the other a man about to retire, are seconded from their respective police forces and partnered to work on a murder.

But there is quite a lot going on in an Urgent Murder, beginning with two men on a train in 1941, an elite UK armed force serving in Angola in 1986, a search to replace a corrupt police commissioner in 2010. An elderly gentleman is murdered before he can die the way he’d hoped, there seems to be a crime boss in the background pulling strings. We suspect there has been an identity theft. The veteran police officer seems to be working on two cases simultaneously. And there is a romance.

This clockwork of a story is impossible to put down, comes together beautifully, and ends in ways I didn’t expect.

I enjoyed reading An Urgent Murder and I recommend it.
Disclosure: I received a review copy of An Urgent Murder free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Matador for the eARC.
This is a lengthy book that starts out with the murder of George Armstrong, aged 91, back to George in London during WWI, goes to 1986 Angola and then back to 2010 England. It's a bit confusing to begin with, but things are clearer as we get further into the story.
Alison Daines, a rookie, and John Whiles, an experienced detective, join together to look into the murder, have an uneasy start, but grow fond of each other as they continue working the case.
There are two distinct storylines and quite a few characters, with a lot of detailed descriptions of electronic surveillance which became a bit tedious for a luddite like me. I had to pay very close attention, but it was worth it in the end. The ending made sense of everything, and left me sorry to say goodbye to the main protagonists.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Troubadour for a review copy of An Urgent Murder, a police procedural/thriller set in Sussex.

When 91 year old George Armstrong is poisoned the police are easily able to charge his carer with murder, only DC John Whiles, a maverick Met detective on loan to Sussex, isn’t so sure. In a pared down investigation team he is paired with PC Alison Daines to look into the anomalies he has spotted and what they discover is rather more than they bargained for. In the meantime other people are snooping around the pair.

I thoroughly enjoyed An Urgent Murder with its two separate plot lines, one a procedural and one a thriller, which should cover all tastes. It is a long novel (159 chapters of varying lengths) but it never falters and is gripping from start to finish. Admittedly it is slow to start with several chapters at the beginning setting the scene from various points of view so the reader doesn’t meet Alison and John until chapter 14. I found it quite confusing at first as I couldn’t see how much of it slotted together but it becomes clear as the novel progresses. The two plot lines run in tandem and the narrative switches between them as required. With the continuity of John and Alison it works well and both make for equally compulsive reading. There are twists aplenty in the procedural side while the thriller is more of a straightforward action adventure, replete with guns, baddies and an over the top plot. I found the mixture really good reading.

The main link between the plots is John Whiles. He is not your standard detective and has some unusual friends with some specialist skills. It’s all very exciting.

I found An Urgent Murder a difficult novel to review because it is crammed full of events and developments, making it almost impossible to discuss without issuing spoilers. So apologies for my vagueness. Nevertheless it is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

A murder in a private home is quickly and easily solved by the police, their culprit established by fingerprints on the murder weapon: a jar of poison. The private care nurse neither denies nor admits to it. A clear cut case - but one detective isn’t sure. John is an experienced Metropolitan Police detective with a chequered background and a laissez faire attitude who is knocked back when he is suddenly teamed with Alison, a prim young Sussex officer who is out to learn as much as possible in her ambitious pursuit of senior rank.

With different approaches to the case and influences from various people, the two must learn to work together in order to bring the true killer to justice. Can Alison trust John? Can John shield Alison for what is to come? And are more laws about to be broken when a nefarious crime lord learns from a highly placed mole that their lucrative way of life is about to come to an end?

The plots are well thought out but I think it could have been written as separate books because it was a long book and the two different stories could have each been their own book. There are so many characters appearing that I found it some what of a challeng to remember who they are. Other than that, this was an excellent book!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #AnUrgentMurder
Pub Date: 28 Oct 2018

This seems like a long story but there are a wide range of things going on and background to be covered in some of it. George Armstrong is poisoned. All of the evidence points to the nurse who visits him but John a very experienced detective thinks otherwise. John begins to think this isn't a one time thing. He watches the house where George has died and see something no one else has noticed. There is a bird feeder facing the house and in a position to see the coming and going of everyone. There is a camera in the bird house and this is a key to much of what happens from then on with the case. Alison, John's partner is kidnapped and this also keeps us all busy trying to find out why and who is behind it. Well worth the read.

I had a hard time engaging with this book. It was very complicated as there were two unconnected stories and many characters and events. About midway through, I was able to “keep up” and concentrate more on the plot lines. I did enjoy the characters of Alison and John and hated saying goodbye to them at the end. Thanks to Troubadour and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

There is a lot going on at the start of this lengthy book. It begins with the 2011 murder of an elderly man, the 1941 meeting of two men and a child on a train bombed by the Germans, the movements of an elite force in 1986 Angola and then the 2010 discussion to replace a corrupt police commissioner. All these events appear to be unconnected and almost put me off reading the rest of the book as it took more than a dozen chapters for anything to make start to make sense. However I was very glad I continued as it turned out to be an excellent choice. The investigation into the murder of 91 year old George Armstrong is scaled down after a suitable suspect is charged but a small team is retained to check up on any loose ends. Alison Daines, a young seconded uniformed constable, and experienced detective John Whiles are part of this team and begin to work well together. This forms the police procedural side of thee story but there is also a thriller plot of police corruption and gun-toting gangster like criminals going on alongside. The book is full of wonderful colourful characters, my favourite being John who appears also to have a foot in the murkier world of national security and protection. It's difficult to go into much more detail without giving away spoilers but the descriptions of the gadgetry involved were great and simple to understand and I loved the way everything came together in the end. Highly recommended and I hope there will be more to come from this author.