Peter Helton introduced Detective Inspector Liam McLusky, who had just taken on a new post with the Bristol CID, in his 2010 novel, Falling More Slowly. Now the Inspector returns in Four Below (Soho Constable, Jan. 24, 2012 release) to continue his investigation into Bristol’s drug trade as brutally cold temperatures encompass the city.
McLusky knows that the arrest of Ray Fenton earlier in the year has only resulted in a short disruption to drug-related crimes. Finding the body of a junkie who has been killed by anthrax-laced heroin signals the end of that respite.
While trying to discover the identity of the man who has replaced Fenton as Bristol’s drug kingpin, McLusky faces several additional challenges. He needs to learn what caused a fatal car crash at Gooseford Farm, to pinpoint the reason the Bristol Herald is receiving pieces of a cut-up photograph and to determine why severed body parts are showing up all around the city.
Pursuing her own path in the investigation is McLusky’s colleague, DI Kat Fairfield. Fairfield's assignment is complicated by the reappearance of the husband from whom she has been separated.
Four Below demonstrates Peter Helton’s effective use of perspective. His third person narrative, though primarily focused on McLusky, also encompasses the viewpoints of several of the murder victims immediately before their deaths. As a result, Helton’s readers become personally involved in his story.
Born in Germany and now living in England, Peter Helton is both a writer and an artist. He shares his interest in painting with Chris Honeysett, the protagonist of an earlier series he authored. Honeysett also works as a private investigator. The Chris Honeysett series, set in Bath, currently consists of three volumes – Headcase (2005), Slim Chance (2006) and Rainstone Fall (2008).
FTC Full Disclosure: A review copy of this work was provided by Soho Constable.
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