I haven't read any books by this author, and therefore was intrigued when I glanced at the reviews of this that a number of readers didn't rate this new DC Constance Fairchild series as highly as his previous Inspector McClean series. Not having those as a benchmark, I went in to DC Fairchild's first book with virgin eyes. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.
In fact, there wasn't just 'no time to cry', there was hardly time to draw breath! Constance…or Con…as she likes to be known, is a hard-nosed, feisty, independent, kick-arse protagonist. And she has to use every one of those resources, and more, to prove her innocence when she is accused of wrecking a whole undercover operation that was tragically blown when her boss in charge of it is brutally murdered.
I had a few misgivings about a man writing as a woman, but Oswald does it well. It's hard to dislike Con, not just because she's determined and smart…it's easy to understand why she's a DC…but because she's dedicated to her profession: putting away the bad and badder guys. It's written in first-person POV, which is fine, and in the present tense (sorry, not fine, but a good book makes that just about forgivable).
The book marches along at a cracking pace. The scene is set from the get-go, and then it grips you unashamedly.
One teensy niggle is Oswald's inability to get there's and there are right. 'There's better ways....' There are better ways, please, and too many other instances of this.
Notwithstanding, I'm not only motivated to read subsequent DC Fairchild books, but I'm definitely going to catch up with Inspector McClean too.
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