NOTHING BUT TROUBLE

4 stars out of 5

My experience with the Detective Jessica Daniel series has been both warm and lukewarm so far, but this latest entry - the 11th - is one of the better ones. I must note, though, that the customary honker of a cliffhanger rears its ugly (to me) head at the end. That's because by the time the next book comes out, I'll have forgotten where this one stopped. But that said, I'll be at the ready to start a new one all the same.

After a tantalizing prologue, this story reverts to three weeks earlier, when a van transporting prisoners is hijacked and two of them escaped. Not long afterward, one is found hanging from a bridge - quite dead. This is a puzzlement for the entire Manchester Police Department, Jessica included; why on earth would someone go to the trouble of setting a prisoner free only to kill him?

Jessica's personal life is in a bit of a turmoil as well; her fiance, Adam, has been hospitalized and in a coma for months now with no sign that he'll ever recover. That notwithstanding, she's been keeping overnight company with one of her police cohorts (although in fairness, she at least has the good sense to feel guilty about it every once in a while). She's also got Bex, an abused about-to-be 18-year-old girl who's been living with Jessica while she tries to get her life back together. That takes a maudlin turn, though, when it appears a mysterious woman may be stalking Bex (or is it Jessica)? Add to the mix infighting (and a couple of murders) among casino owners - "mob" types who of course deny any involvement and don't want to play nice with the coppers - and you've got a stew of oddball situations going on at once. The fact that any one of them could go south in a New York minute keeps the action moving along quickly.

Honestly, although I do enjoy this series, I've never cared a lot for Jessica; and for sure, I don't much like Archie, her stand-in love (who comes across as more of a dolt than anything). But hey, for better or worse, it's Jessica's life - and that she's a competent enough police detective makes up for what she may lack when she finally calls it a day and goes back home. All told, then, this is a strong, easy-to-read entry in what already is a good series. Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review it.

Nothing But Trouble by Kerry Wilkinson (Bookouture, August 2018); 367 pp.