"Thrilling English police procedural"
In West Sussex, Managing Director Alan Wainright
apparently committed suicide. His will only changed a few
months ago leaves the lion's share of the estate to his
nephew Alexander. Alan's influential son Graham is
outraged, though he inherits a sizable amount, but not
close to what he expected. Following a police investigation and an inquest that
ruled suicide, Graham asks ACC Harper-Brown to reopen the
case because he thinks someone murdered his father.
Because he wants DCI Andrew Fenwick to fail, Harper-Brown
assigns the case to him with instructions not to disturb
the family or rekindle the media frenzy. With his hands
tied up, Andrew begins an investigation that he sure will
substantiate the current official position. To his
surprise, Andrew and his crew begin to find discrepancies
and perhaps illegalities that reach from Wainright
Enterprises to the local community leadership. FATAL LEGACY is an engaging English police procedural
that entertains sub-genre fans due to a story line that
works on two levels: that of the investigation and a
glimpse or two at Andrew's personal life. Though the
murderer is in clear site the climax using sociopath
behavior (someone kills Alan at the beginning of the tale),
seems unnecessary, as avarice would have sufficed. On the
contrary the most likely associate to the killer gets off
free because of a lack of solid evidence and the need for
closure due to the immense visibility of the case.
Elizabeth Corley provides a strong tale for those readers
interested in a tight investigative novel. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted September 16, 2001
|
