Death in Profile

Fraser-Sampson, the author of the nonfiction The Mess We’re In: Why Politicians Can’t Fix Financial Crises, blends the grittiness and authenticity of modern-day police procedurals with the style of golden age detective fiction in this entertaining but flawed first volume of the Hampstead Murders series. North London police officers struggle to identify and apprehend a serial killer who has been terrifying the Hampstead populace for nearly 18 months. After Supt. Simon Collison assumes command of the floundering investigation and turns to an amateur profiler for help, suspects are soon identified—but internal leaks, a love triangle among team members, and a bizarre mental breakdown (the profiler believes he’s Dorothy L. Sayers’s fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey) threaten to derail the arrest and prosecution of the elusive killer. An impressively knotty story line and numerous references to the style and wit of golden age detective stories compensate for two-dimensional characters, particularly the investigators. (Oct.)