Still Waters

by Nigel McCrery

Driving home from a late meeting, a businessman loses concentration, crashes off the road and is flung through the windscreen of his car. His dying view is of what he thinks is the angel of death. The next morning, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie and Sergeant Emma Bradbury are called to the scene of the accident. They are not there to investigate the businessman's death, rather the decaying corpse found lying next to him. Shredded plastic sheeting wrapped around the corpse make it look as if it has sprouted macabre wings. Meanwhile, Violet Chambers is taking tea with an elderly lady named Daisy. With no warning Daisy falls to the floor, her skin burning, her eyes streaming. Looking on, Violet calmly drinks her tea and waits...DCI Lapslie's investigations put him on the trail of a serial killer who, it soon becomes clear, has struck again and again, moving from victim to victim stealing their lives, possessions and identities. But the detective is not the only one seeking the killer's true identity, for as she circles her latest victim, long-buried memories are beginning to surface...

• ISBN10: 0307377032
• ISBN13: 9780307377036
• Publish Date: 28 July 2008 (first published 2 August 2007)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Pantheon Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 275
• Language: English

Reviews

[empressbrooke]

Still Waters is a solid murder mystery with some interesting aspects. The protagonist is a detective who has synaethesia (he tastes sounds), which prevents him from functioning normally. The murderer is an elderly woman who poisons other elderly women. This isn't a "whodunit" since we spend half the book with her, but the mystery lies in how the police will connect the initial body to her and track her down before she can do more damage.

Nothing knocked me over, but I did enjoy the unusual characters. They added some flavor (no pun intended) to the typical mystery novel.