“Dead and Gone” by Stephen Puleston

The case begins with a phone call. A university colleague of his partner says he’s in trouble. And then he disappears. Another colleague is found in a ditch near a park; she’s apparently the victim of a hit-and-run driver. His boss at the North Wales Police believes the crimes are unconnected, but Detective Inspector Ian Drake knows there must be a connection. Somehow. 

The trouble is finding it. 

 

Drake and his team conduct an exhaustive, and exhausting, investigation. The missing man is later found dead, murdered by a stab wound to the neck. His computer suggests ties to both right-wing and left-wing groups, both of which border on terrorism. But evidence of a connection between thew two deaths is elusive, and suspects for each death re questioned but let go. Examination of the dead woman’s bank account shows she was receiving regular payments in the same amount that was being withdrawn by the other victim. That suggests blackmail, but why?

 

Stephen Puleston

Dead and Gone is the ninth DI Ian Drake mystery by Welsh writer Stephen Puleston. It’s heavy on police procedure; it’s lighter on Drake’s behavioral issues with being on the autism scale  than the previous books in the series. Drake is now divorced and living with his new partner, and the change seems to have done him considerable good.

 

Puleston publishes two series of Welsh police detective stories. Detective Inspector Ian Drake is with the North Wales Police Service, and Detective Inspector John Marco is with the South Wales Police Service. The author originally trained and practiced as a; solicitor/lawyer. He also attended the University of London. He lives in Wales, very close to where his fictional hero lives and works.

 

Dead and Gone is the story of what happens when a murder investigation seems to be leading to dead ends and blind alleys. But when the resolution finally begins, it happens very quickly.

 

Related:

 

My review of Written in Blood.

 

My review of A Time to Kill.

 

My review of Another Good Killing.

 

My review of Brass in Pocket.

 

My review of Worse than Dead.

 

My review of Against the Tide.

 

My review of Devil’s Kitchen.

 

My review of Dead Smart.

 

My review of Speechless.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.

 

My review of A Cold Dark Heart.