My Kind of Justice

In British author Bury’s gritty first crime novel, Det. Insp. Jack Striker, a Manchester cop with a bad-boy past he’s trying to put behind him, investigates the beating death of career criminal Gareth “Gasbo” Bolands. Det. Chief Insp. Maria Cunningham, no fan of Striker’s, assigns the subsequent death of another lowlife, Steven “Chisel” Bowker, to Det. Insp. Vinnie Stockley, who dislikes and distrusts Striker. While Cunningham wants Striker to focus on gangs, he becomes convinced they’re dealing with a vigilante serial killer as the body count rises. When Cunningham puts Striker on leave, removing him from the case, a frustrated Striker turns to colleagues Eric Bardsley, a salty veteran, and Lauren Collinge, a sharp newcomer, for help. Stark, violent prose perfectly suits this hard-edged tale of cops in conflict. Bury is also the author of two story collections, Manchester 5 and The Cops of Manchester. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Associates. (Jan.)