Faith, Fiction, Friends: "The Zodiac Murder" by Roy Lewis

Thursday, April 22, 2021

"The Zodiac Murder" by Roy Lewis

Attorney Eric Ward finds himself in one of the most gruesome mysteries yet.

Ward and his colleague Sharon Owen are defending a man charged with being the “Zodiac Killer.” Three women have been tortured and murdered. But the evidence assembled by the police is sketchy, and how the police identified and captured the defendant is sufficient for the judge to throw the case out. No forensic evidence tied the man to the killings; what little there was could have been planted by police. Even the place of death has never been found.

Ward and Owen are more than professional colleagues; they are increasing involved romantically. As a favor, Owen asks Ward to represent in settling a family trust dispute involving a cousin. And both Ward and Owen have their hands full warding off journalist, including a struggling one who wants to write a book about the murders.

Public opinion is outraged. So is police opinion. The Newcastle police learn that the former defendant plans to stay in the area, and Detective Chief Inspector Charlie Spate is put in charge of the team that will track the man’s every movement. Spate is on watch when he has to choose between helping his colleague/girlfriend Elaine Start get home after a drunken party with friends or stay and keep an eye on the suspected killer. He opts to help his girlfriend; and the killer disappears. Then there’s another murder.

Roy Lewis

The Zodiac Murder by British author Roy Lewis is the 17^th of 18 mystery novels in the Eric Ward series. Originally published as Design for Murder in 2010, it has all the hallmarks of its predecessors – a gripping story, solid plotting, and well-drawn characters. It also has both Ward and Owen making some really stupid and potentially fatal decisions.

Lewis is the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. The Arnold Landon series is comprised of 22 novels. Lewis lives in northern England.