Blood Brothers

A badly mutilated corpse is discovered on the site of the new Centre Point Tower currently under construction in London’s West End. With fingers and toes severed, it has all the hallmarks of a gangland killing. But Detective Sergeant Harry Barnard isn’t convinced. Meanwhile, a key witness has disappeared before the upcoming trial of East End gangster Georgie Robertson. Is there a connection? At the same time, young photographer Kate O’Donnell’s current assignment with the crime reporter of a national newspaper is causing a rift in her relationship with Harry Barnard. And Harry’s association with Georgie Robertson’s gangster brother Ray is causing concern among his colleagues. Has the line between criminal and copper become too blurred? As the atmosphere of suspicion intensifies, Kate finds that her role with Globe reporter Carter Price is about to lead her into unexpected danger.**From BooklistIn their fourth outing, London Vice Squad Detective Harry Barnard and photographer Kate O’Donnell find themselves looking at gangster Georgie Robertson from different angles. Was Robertson responsible for the body that was recently discovered (sans fingers and toes) as concrete was being poured at a new construction site? Does Harry’s childhood with Georgie and his brother, Ray, make it impossible for him to be impartial in his investigation? And sweet Kate? She’s excited to be given an assignment at a big newspaper, but is it her photographic chops or her relationship with Barnard that got her the gig? Hall’s sharply drawn 1960s setting sets this series apart from so many other gruff-cop-and-spunky-amateur-lady pairs populating today’s crime fiction. --Karen Keefe Review“Hall’s sharply drawn 1960s setting sets this series apart” (Booklist) "The tension builds as the different plot lines come together, but Hall never loses control over the varying threads. She also does a terrific job of explaining the inner working of the press at a time when newspapers still mattered." (Publishers Weekly)