The Final Beat of the Drum: Paniatowski’s Last Case

British author Spencer’s superior 15th and final outing for Lancashire Det. Chief Insp. Monika Paniatowski (after 2021’s Poison) makes the most of a classic procedural trope—the veteran copper wondering whether long-standing trust in a colleague has been misplaced. In 1985, Paniatowski is forced to retire after decades on the job following an administrative reorganization. Her unsought retirement is busy, with her time spent helping several charitable causes and giving lectures at schools. Then in 2000, her old detective sergeant, Kate Meadows, now a warden at a battered women’s shelter, becomes the prime suspect in the murder of Andrew Lofthouse, a man viewed as the possible next mayor of Whitebridge. Lofthouse, a wife abuser, was found hanging from a bannister. Paniatowski agrees to help Meadows, but comes to question whether she really knows her friend, who “gave the impression that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but those who crossed her quickly learned that she had a gaze intent enough to strip away skin.” Spencer has made Paniatowski, originally a supporting player in another series, a memorable and complex creation in her own right. Fans of Lynda La Plante’s Jane Tennison will be pleased. (Jan.)