The Somerset Carnivals are the largest illuminated processions in the world. Detective Chief Inspector Nick Dixon of the Avon and Somerset is meeting his pregnant wife-to-be, Detective Sergeant Jane Winter, and good friend the coroner, Dr. Roger Poland. He arrives almost too late; a good part of the procession in Bridgewater has already paraded.
Then comes the procession of a small carnival club, with members carrying squibs, fireworks attached to broom-like devices. One of the club members ignites his and is suddenly engulfed in flames, right in front of Dixon and his party. Dixon uses his coat to smother the flames; the man survives but is badly burned.
As it turns out, this was attempted murder; an accelerant was used. The man is an estate agent (what Americans would call a real estate agent). As Dixon and his police team investigate, they discover the victim was involved in a number of shady deals that cheated landowners – and providing a lengthy list of suspects. A second agent is killed, and a third disappears. Just as the police are making headway, Dixon is suspended, pending an investigation that he may have actually murdered a criminal who’d invaded his home. (It may sound like a case of arresting the victim that happens in places like New York City.)
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| Damien Boyd |
But this is DCI Nick Dixon, and he’s not going to let something like an Internal Affairs review get in his way of solving the crimes.
Carnival Blues is the 12th mystery in the DCI Nick Dixon series by British author Damien Boyd, and it bears all the trademarks of its predecessors – solid plotting, thrilling episodes, and police bureaucrats who seem more interested in stopping than helping investigations.
Boyd uses his own experience as a legal solicitor and a member of the Crown Prosecution Service to frame his stories, and then infuses considerable research in just the right way. In the novels, Dixon had been a promising young barrister, until he chucked it all and joined the police. As it is, he’s one of the youngest detective inspectors in the Avon and Somerset police force; he’s also the most brilliant at solving cases which look unsolvable.
Carnival Blues is one entertaining mystery.
Related:
My review of Damien Boyd’s As the Crow Flies.
My review of Damien Boyd’s Head in the Sand.
My review of Damien Boyd’s Kickback.
My review of Damien Boyd’s Swansong.
My review of Damien Boyd's Dead Level.
My review of Damien Boyd’s Death Sentence.
My review of Damien Boyd’s Heads or Tails.
My review of Damien Boyd’s Dead Lock.
My review of Damien Boyd’s Beyond the Point.
My review of Down Among the Dead by Damien Boyd.
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