M J Lee, is back with another DI Ridpath thriller the third in the series following the success of Where The Truth Lies and Where The Dead Fall, launched by Canelo on Monday 23rd September.
Ridpath, a detective who has overcome cancer and has re-established a stable home environment at the conclusion of the second novel, Where The Dead Fall, is settling into the new position of assistant coroner to Mrs. Challinor. In this role, he helps distinguish if certain deaths are natural or require further criminal investigation following a post-mortem autopsy.
Ridpath is still dealing with the politics of policing, his best friend Charlie Whitworth is retired following the car crash which broke his leg, ribs and left him with a drinking problem. Claire Trent is holding him to account for the fallout of the Connolly case, and is trying to negotiate budget restrictions on her force at all levels.
A new case presents itself when Joe Brennan is set alight in his home; initial investigation establishes perhaps it was suicide but the investigation by Challinor and Det. Schofield refutes that allegation and pronounces the death as homicide.
More deaths sparked by deliberate fires appear day upon day, soon Ridpath discovers that they may have a serial killer on the loose due to the modus operandi of the killer with the use of accelerants and killing them before setting the victim alight.
Ridpath has trouble negotiating the rigid class structure of the policing hierarchy; peers are threatened by his knowledge and hide behind their higher positions to throw weight around and deny others the chance to establish cases - Ridpath is accused of brown nosing yet the only way seemingly to get ahead in cases is by doing just that or convince the higher up's of what they are missing. The juxtaposition of Ridpath to Lorraine Caruso is startling.
Lee goes to great lengths to build this air of PC suffocation thrust upon the hierarchy, and like his other novels he cleverly uses Manchester itself as the second most important character in the story - utilising the industrial revolution architecture with its gothic forebodings amongst a large range of districts to his advantage in weaving a story of protagonists cast by their surroundings.
The author uses contemporary cultural touchstones to mark as this as a time capsule piece; this is brave as the writer is not afraid to age his work by naming such things as South Korean pop band BTS for instance, as the object of affection for Ridpath's daughter. By putting the story in the here and now, you give the story a great sense of current, this is utilised further by having a vital piece of evidence being linked to child abuse within youth football teams in the 1980s and 90s, something Manchester has had to deal with starkly following the arrest and imprisonment of Barry Bennell.
Again, Lee has a written a winning novel - full of fast paced narrative, quick dialogue that speeds along the story. Much like the king of vigilante narratives, Lee Child, Lee uses the landscape as a main character to his advantage. Whereas Reacher though is not restricted by his homeland, visiting different geo-political locations from novel to novel; Ridpath is restricted by the M6 ring road but as Lee has shown - there is a lot going on within that motorway with ventures out to Derbyshire and the Pennines available.
For those who liked the first two Ridpath novels, this will be a much read and a pleasant surprise to those new to this exhilarating everyman character.
Where The Silence Calls is released by Canelo Press on 23rd September
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