All Things Nice

This is the third novel featuring DI Ellen Kelly and DS Abby Rogers, though in this book the two form more of a partnership than previously and we learn much more about Abby. There is great emphasis placed on her desire for advancement in the police force and, although the two have developed a liking for and an understanding of each other, this leads to a certain rivalry.

It is not altogether easy to classify this novel. It is part police procedural, part whodunit and – in the final chapters – part thriller.  However, that description doesn’t do justice to the book, which goes further than routine crime literature normally does in that it provides an examination of human relationships.

Charlotte Gleeson is in a wholly dysfunctional marriage, her husband, Nick, being frequently unfaithful. That, together with her alcoholism, has brought about a situation in which man and wife loathe each other. In fact, one possible criticism of the book is that too much space is devoted to telling the reader how strong this mutual hatred is. At the same time she has almost no relationship with her daughter, Freya, who regards her mother as spoilt and totally shallow.

Another character, whose wife who was unfaithful and who died under what were suspicious circumstances, has what is almost an incestuous relationship with his daughter. A third was unable to have children, probably as a result of physical abuse by her husband.  We find ourselves presented with a question. Can children who are the victims of bad parenting reverse the process when they themselves become parents, or are they destined to continue it?

Nevertheless, however interesting the human setting may be, this is still very much a crime novel and there is more than enough action to keep the reader attentive, particularly when a second murder occurs. The author is extremely skilful in setting up an investigation which throws up a number of suspects, each of whom has ample reason for wanting Freya’s boyfriend Kieran dead. The way in which the police – not just Ellen and Abby – go about their task is entirely believable, with no great Holmesian leaps of imagination, just solid, detailed work.

The final chapters, in which one of the suspects breaks cover and threatens the lives of those whose only crime is that they have begun to see the truth of the affair, are fast and furious, not to say somewhat brutal. After what has been a leisurely, but always absorbing, setting of the scene, these chapters are riveting.  Even when we feel fully convinced of the truth, including the motive behind the murders, Sheila Bugler still has a surprise in store. In addition, the reader is kept in suspense until the very end about the fate of one character in particular.