Portsmouth Murders by Pauline Rawson
(prev published as Tide of Death)
Detective Inspector Andy Horton is on his morning run along the beach when he discovers a naked dead body which has been beaten to death. Andy’s second day at work doesn’t get any better after that. He had been suspended for a rape he said he didn’t commit. Most of his colleagues don’t want to work with him. Then more murders happen. The woman, who accused him and who he wants to find to clear his name, has vanished. A shady businessman, who has a boat in the same marina where Andy has his boat, seems to have some very close links to the police. The story is set in town of Portsmouth on the South Coast of England.
While this seems to follow the classic trope of a troubled policeman, with family issues and problems at work, the main story is into solving crimes. The characters are pretty solid, although some of the dialogue is on the woody side, with way too many comments about people’s weight. The plot is otherwise good, loads of secrets to uncover, and the ending tied just about all the loose ends nicely.
My review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Girl in the Photo by Heidi Amsinck
A ninety-year-old Irene is found murdered in her own home in a very affluent part of Copenhagen, Denmark. It looks like a burglary gone wrong as her very expensive necklace was missing. Irene’s daughter hires an investigating journalist named Jensen (Jensen only wants to use her last name) to find the missing necklace. Jensen is reluctant at first but gets on the case with the help of her editor’s nephew, Gustav.
Two more attacks on elderly, an older man killed on his allotment and an older woman is attacked and beaten in a care home. Copenhagen Police Inspector Henrik gets busy investigating the crimes. The trouble is, his and Jensen’s path and their aims collide. The case is complicated by the fact that Henrik and Jensen have a lot of history, romantic history.
This was yet another story about a troubled policeman, also thrown out by his wife. While the plot was ok, I wasn’t really a fan the way it was told. And, I guessed the culprit halfway through. There was also way too much repetition about the relationship/love/lack of love between Jensen and Henrik. Most of it could have easily been edited out. I scrolled past as it stopped being interesting. I wasn’t fan of the characters either, they didn’t ring quite believable. Quite likely this book would’ve been better if I had read the first book, “My Name is Jensen”.
My review: ⭐⭐