The case is complicated, but this is a novel where the characters hold sway. Both Raymond and Ryan are glorious creations, beautifully drawn and entirely human. Ryan is the star turn, waltzing through the story creating mayhem wherever he goes. But Raymond isn’t his straight-man. His character is slowly revealed as the story progresses and he’s far more complicated than first appears.

The provost has friends in high places and complains loudly to them, so within a matter of hours Raymond – suave, sophisticated and considered a safe pair of hands – has taken over the murder investigation, with Ryan demoted to deputy. The men are chalk and cheese. Raymond goes by the book, one step at a time, and Ryan, for all his aggression and rudeness is an instinctive policeman, capable of making inspired jumps of logic. Rich Oxford is not Ryan's natural habitat. St Barnabas' irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning. But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost's study? Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina, a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others? The author (or perhaps the publisher) seemed to want to emulate the Morse novels but this book just isn’t in the same league. Again this was possibly just the publisher, but the novel seems to be ripe for adapting into a TV drama, especially because the author keeps referring to Ryan as ‘trailer trash’ which is a purely American term

Customer reviews

The plot worked for me. Again - what do you expect from this genre? Everything simple, straightforward and believable? Not me. The domestic abuse storyline was really well done – this part felt very atmospheric and frightening and could have been expanded into a book by itself First of all, thanks to the publishers for sending us copies of this so we could all read the same book for a change. It's Book 1 in the series and we loved it! Oxford-set detective odd couple book, both called Detective Inspector R. Wilkins. Raymond is a posh Nigerian-Brit with Oxford pedigree, Ryan is a white underclass foul-mouthed chav brought up in an Oxford trailer park by an alcoholic (Oxford area has some of the worst income inequality in the UK). It is not entirely filled in how Ryan became a DI with his amazingly bad attitude and refusal to adapt his clothing or manner or anything else, though he's a kind of crime solving savant. He's definitely the centre of the books and it's notable that the sheer force of classism directed against him is shown here as more powerful than wealthy privileged Raymond's experience of racism, from which class privilege provides some kind of shield. Rich Oxford is not Ryan's natural habitat. St Barnabas's irascible Provost does not appreciate his forceful line of questioning. But what was the dead woman doing in the Provost's study? Is it just a coincidence that on the night of her murder the college was entertaining Sheik al-Medina, a Gulf state ruler linked to human-rights abuses in his own country and acts of atrocity in others?

Jag råkade se en tidigare recension jag skrivit flasha förbi i Goodreadsflödet, och kunde därmed landa i hur jag skulle inleda även denna: When a woman is found strangled to death in an Oxford college, these two are thrown together to solve the crime. Their methods are different and their styles are different. Neither likes or apprecites the other but they do like the way they can solve crimes together.The actual murder which the storyline is built around is an interesting one and involves the reader in various side issues, including the misuse of academic power, sexual harassment, possible terrorism links and always the discomfort of Ryan with the privilege around him. The author does an excellent job of creating two well defined detectives, who each have their own issues to deal with and who complement each other well. Ryan has a genuinely warm and moving relationship with his young son and a tendency to think creatively, which is let down by his inability to control his mouth or his anger. As you might have noted, both detectives have the same surname. which is how a mistake is made at the beginning when it is Ryan who is called to the scene of a murder at Barnabas College, the victim a woman who has been strangled in the Provost's study. There had been a dinner in the honour of the controversial billionaire Sheik al-Medina, with his history of human rights abuses at home and atrocities in other countries. The anxious Provost had been hoping to elicit funding for the new Institute for Peace Studies, only to be disappointed in what turned out to be a disastrous evening. As you might imagine, Ray and Ryan have little in common, chalk and cheese, and initially struggle to get on, but slowly they begin to form a bond, Ryan might well be a wild card, but he notices details and is able to make breaks in a complex and intriguing case, where it takes some time to identify the murdered woman, and which involves a valuable stolen Koran, and another death. The first book in an Oxford-set crime series of surprising twists, troubled pasts and a dynamic duo who are brought together by a mysterious murder investigation.