At Death’s Window

Kelly’s superior fifth Shaw and Valentine police procedural (after 2012’s Death’s Door) kicks off with a man being killed in the so-called samphire wars, in which organized crime gangs take over the lucrative business of picking samphire, a much-prized edible plant grown on the Norfolk coast. Det. Insp. Peter Shaw and Det. Sgt. George Valentine must also contend with a possibly related problem: pricey second homes along the coast have been vandalized as part of a political protest. The top brass has kept the lid on news of these crimes, but it’s bound to come out eventually. Meanwhile, Shaw is ambivalent about his wife’s desire to open a restaurant on the beach. The shadow of Shaw’s late father, also a cop, hangs over the case, and the sea itself is a living, breathing entity, as potent as any other character. Long after the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, the mystery of the human psyche remains. Agent: Faith Evans, Faith Evans Associates (U.K.). (Feb.)