NEVER APOLOGISE NEVER EXPLAIN

An elderly political activist is killed in her flat near to the British Museum, her husband is the most likely suspect, even though he refuses to confess it still looks like an open and shut case to inspector John Carlyle; but, as ever, things don’t go to plan. A link emerges between the victim and crimes committed under the brutal regime of General Pinochet, crimes that someone is prepared to kill to see go unpunished. Add to this a missing child, a TV journalist with a stalker and Carlyle’s problematic relationship with the rules and the tension soon starts to mount.

This is a solid and satisfying modern British crime novel, James Craig writes well about the frantic atmosphere of twenty first century London with its legions of dodgy bankers and ambitious media savvy mayor. In John Carlyle he has created a maverick cop with just the right mix of politically incorrect attitude to be amusing without being irritating.

The plot touches on some of the murkier aspects of Britain’s relationship with Chile and that of the Chileans to the darker aspects of their recent history. There are awkward questions to be answered not just about what was done in the name of the regime but also about what ordinary people chose not to see in order to survive.

This is an engaging, fast paced book that satisfies the demands of its readership for thrills whilst at the same time being unafraid to touch on themes that might make them think.