Perfect Sins, Gabriel Ash & Hazel Best

From “one of the unsung treasures of the mystery genre” a police procedural featuring Hazel Best and Gabriel Ash as they investigate a cold case murder (Chicago Tribune).

Four years ago, Gabriel Ash was working with the British government investigating hijackings in Somalia. But when his wife and sons disappeared, presumably taken—and probably killed—by pirates, his life fell apart. He has sudden reason to hope when a senior policeman suggests that his sons might still be alive—until that policeman is murdered. Still, there seems to be some link to a local operation, and Ash, no longer a government agent, is determined to find it.

Meanwhile, his friend Hazel Best has been having a tough time of her own. A police constable whose last case ended with her shooting someone dead, she is just beginning to regain her balance. Hazel and Ash are both beginning to take more of an interest in the outside world, when an archaeologist decides to dig up a curious mound of earth on his land. It might be a burial mound, he thinks. It is, but not the ancient one he expects; it holds the bones of a little boy from perhaps thirty years ago. As Hazel is slowly drawn back into police work, Ash finds himself under threat from someone who must think his investigation into his family’s disappearance is finally getting somewhere . . .

Praise for Deadly Virtues

“The kind of detective work that’s always welcome in a mad, mad world.” —New York Times Book Review

“Another stunning, paranoia-doused psychological suspense novel.” —Library Journal, starred review

“Bannister’s plotting is neat and her characterization smooth.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“One of the genre’s best” —Booklist