cover image Blood Is Thicker: A DS Matt Arnold Mystery

Blood Is Thicker: A DS Matt Arnold Mystery

Sarah Cox, . . Severn, $27.95 (213pp) ISBN 978-0-7278-6715-5

Mundane prose and a predictable story line mar Cox's debut, a contemporary police procedural. Matt Arnold, a South London detective sergeant whose policeman father died heroically in the line of duty when Arnold was 12, must investigate a particularly horrendous murder—the killing of three-year-old Ryan Clarkson, whose head was bashed against his bedroom wall. Ryan's parents are the obvious suspects, and evidence that he'd been abused for years makes the police more determined to ascertain who exactly was responsible for the fatal blow. Arnold's team soon finds that Ryan wasn't the first Clarkson child to die at an early age. The plot takes an unnecessary detour when Arnold's own young son becomes the victim of a hit-and-run driver and lies close to death. Hopefully, the author, who's a veteran London police officer, will put her insider's knowledge to better use in any sequel. (Feb.)