Facing Justice: A Henry Christie Novel

Set in Lancashire, Oldham’s gritty 16th novel starring Det. Supt. Henry Christie (after 2010’s Hidden Witness) nicely sets up intersecting story lines. While on a walking holiday with his American friend, Karl Donaldson, an FBI legal attaché assigned to the U.S. embassy in London, Christie crosses paths with ex-cop Steve Flynn. Flynn, who runs a charter fishing boat in Puerto Rico, has returned to England after getting a desperate phone call from former lover Cathy James, a police officer who fears that her husband, also in law enforcement, is on the take. Casting a shadow over the main action is the horrifying first chapter, in which a man named Massey, having been savagely beaten, manages to escape his tormentors only to meet a gruesome end. Readers will find less depth than in Ian Rankin’s work, but those looking for a taut page-turner that doesn’t stint on bloodshed will be satisfied. (Dec.)