"The Other Victim" by Helen Durrant

An estate agent is stabbed to death in a house he was about to show the prospective and committed buyer. A burned body in found in a car in a canal. And a sixteen-year-old girl is missing. They all seem like isolated crimes, but Detective Inspector Matt Brindle of the Pennines Police and his team slowly come to realize that the various crimes are connected. But it takes a while to figure that out. 

The Other Victim by Helen Durrant is the second in the Detective Matt Brindle series, and it’s a complex tale of murder, organized crime, revenge, money laundering, and club dancers gone missing. Brindle is still dealing with a leg injury from an attempt on his life – an attempt which took the life of his police partner. The man the police ordered the hit is likely involved in this set of crimes as well.

 

Helen Durrant

Brindle lives with his mother on the family estate – one which needs a lot of work and with no money to pay for it. He convinces his mother to hold a fair and offer house tours. During the fair, his mother is seemingly saved from a robbery attempt by a charming older man, and she becomes quite smitten. Brindle, however, is convinced that the man is up to no good. He doesn’t know just how right he is – and there’s a connection to the crimes he’s investigating.

 

Durrant has published some 24 mystery books in several series. The first in the Detective Matt Brindle series is The Third Victim. Durrant is a retired teacher and lives in the northwest of England.

 

The Other Victim is a solid police procedural, but little seems to happen except the investigation for a considerable part of the book. And when things do begin to pop, they come with a rush. And while the estate agent is the first case to be investigated, it ends up being the last to be solved.

 

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His Third Victim by Helen Durrant.

“His Third Victim” by Helen Durrant

Detective Inspector Matt Brindle of the Pennines Police has been home for six months. He’d turned in his resignation after he and his partner had been ambushed at a remote cottage they’d been led to by a police informant. A hand grenade tossed in a window had killed his partner and left Brindle’s leg shattered. He’s overcome the physical problems, but the psychological and emotional scars are deep. 

His superintendent never accepted Brindle’s resignation. And soon the detective finds himself drawn back to work, to a case involving the murder of a friend. And it appears that a serial killer is involved, whose crimes appear to be without rhyme or reason and only sharing a mysterious colored mark on the victims’ arms.

 

As Brindle and his new assigned partner investigate, they discover that the mistress of the dead man has no history; they can find nothing anywhere about her background or past. When her child is kidnapped, they know there’s something really strange going on. And they’re right.

 

Helen Durrant

His Third Victim is the first in the Detective Matt Brindle mystery series by British author Helen Durrant. It has an intriguing premise and an engaging and sympathetic police hero. It’s well worth reading, but it’s a bit uneven in places and needed a good editing to polish and smooth the story.

 

Durrant has published some 24 mystery books in several series. The second in the Detective Matt Brindle series is The Other Victim. Durrant is a retired teacher and lives in the northwest of England.

 

My criticism is meant well; with little effort, this could be a first-class mystery series.