The Killer in the Cold by Alex Pine

With this beautiful snowy festive cover it came as a shock to discover that the dog walker found the dead body of…Father Christmas. As it turns out, it was actually the retired Inspector in fancy dress, Still sad of course.

This is the latest seasonal book by this author and fifth following Detective Chief Inspector James Walker. In case the reader has just dropped into the series there is a cast list at the start of the book complete with name, job title and a brief history. Very thoughtful. Set in a village in Cumbria, Christmas is an unusual but deserved break this year so the DCI can spend some time with his young family. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work out that way when the victim is a neighbour and friend.

This is a detailed police procedural that includes press conferences and interviews with friends and family, made even more difficult because they are all known to the DCI. There are the usual search for suspects, weapons and so on, but it is carried out in a slow, gentle manner, with everything found out repeated often while the police try to decipher the pattern of events and possible reasons for the crime. This is undoubtedly very realistic and the pace will be in keeping with the rural aspects as well, but often this is a tad drawn out as we wait for the next discovery. However, the chapters are short and thus keep the tempo.

In the main, this investigation is from the viewpoint of DCI Walker, but there are some chapters from his wife as she rearranges family plans and puts a more local and domestic element to the story. Interesting characters from the past increase the suspects list making a real whodunnit. I had no idea who the culprit was until the very end.

A story about family, entitlement and accountability, this is a good read for the time of year – who needs high action when that’s what the build up to Christmas is in real life? There is a good sense of place here, with real areas interwoven into the tale including Lake Windermere and Kendal for example, as the landscape and seasonal snow makes the whole thing feel Christmassy.