Dying Fall

A charred body is discovered in an abandoned cotton mill, and the crime scene presents DCI Woodend and his team with many questions, but very few answers.Who would want to murder a harmless old tramp, a man with no friends - or enemies - in the world? And why, of all the methods he could have chosen, did the killer decide to cruelly burn his victim to death?As Woodend attempts to solve a murder with no clues, he must also battle against a police authority which is attempting to block him at every turn. And though he does not know it, worse is to follow, because Elizabeth Driver, Inspector Bob Rutter's lover, has almost finished the book which could destroy both his career and everything he has ever worked for.From BooklistStarred Review Spencer offers up another intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable puzzler in her popular DCI Charlie Woodend series. When a local vagrant is burned to death by a sadistic killer, Woodend and his team are charged with discovering whodunit. But Woodend’s boss is reluctant to provide the extra personnel necessary to work the case; Woodend finds himself going head-to-head with a powerful local politician; his once close-knit team of coppers is argumentative and jealous; and journalist Elizabeth Driver is out to prove that the local police are incompetent and that Woodend is the worst of the lot. As usual, Woodend has his eye on the prize and doesn’t care whom he offends or upsets as long as he finds the killer. This is a cracking good series, with this latest entry quite possibly being the best yet (in large part because it contains a shocking ending as unthinkable as it is unexpected). Spencer perfectly captures the sometimes dull routine of police work while offering up strong but flawed characters and engaging plots that always hold together without calling attention to their infrastructure. --Emily Melton About the AuthorSpencer was born and brought up in Cheshier. She has been a teacher in England and Iran.