By Phillip Jordan https://www.pwjordanauthor.com/ @pwjordanauthor
Published by Five Four Publishing
491 pages
Publication date 19 July 2023
The Crossed Keys Detective Inspector Taylor Crime Thriller, book 2 in the Belfast Crime series and follows on from Code of Silence.
I would like to thank Mr Jordan for sending me an eARC in exchange for a fair review.
The cover
A very sinister underpass just the thing to get you feeling on edge before page 1. I like it.
From the blurb
Detective Inspector Veronica Taylor is still reeling from the fallout following her last case. Although, her nemesis Gordon ‘Monster’ Beattie is now on the side-lines his influence remains with elected representatives calling on the police and other public bodies to take urgent action in the war against organised criminality.
Now tasked with finding the culprit behind a spate of vandalism targeting a prestigious developer and their client, a controversial evangelical group, Taylor resolves to move on from her pursuit of Beattie and the spectre of police collusion.
As her investigation uncovers some troubling historical allegations a tragic accident stalls her inquiries and the police ombudsman are engaged to examine the team’s actions.
With her case now at a standstill, Taylor receives assistance from an unlikely source, their information putting her on a collision course with an enemy who could not just end her career, but also her life.
My thoughts
Earlier this year I reviewed The Belfast Crime Case-Files Volume 1 which is a collection of three stories featuring DI Veronica Taylor and DS ‘Doc’ MacPherson which I enjoyed immensely. Those were relatively short, fast paced novellas whereas The Crossed Keys, like Code of Silence, is somewhat longer, even longer than many contemporary crime thrillers. This means that there is plenty to get one’s teeth into, and whilst naturally there are changes to the writing style, for me the quality remains just as high.
The chalk and cheese pairing of Taylor and MacPherson provides the scaffolding for the story and allows so many different emotions and attitudes to develop as it progresses. She is the more serious, career minded and at times a little dour, whereas he focuses on results, has a wicked sense of humour and being in the twilight career not afraid to ruffle feathers. What they have in common is that they are both are highly driven individuals.
Veronica is very determined woman, but one struggling to have a normal fulfilling existence. Her obsession to pursue criminals, the very thing that makes her such a great police officer is slowly destroying her private life. To hide grief in your work is understandable for a short while, but at some point, there must be a balance in life. Veronica is waking up to this, but she still wants to nail Beattie, almost like the addict’s ‘just one more’ fix. Fearless almost to the point of being reckless she fights to do it her way, gaining a freedom which causes Doc a lot of worry and some regret.
Doc is a magnificent example of the old school unreconstructed man; the antithesis of the modern metro-sexual man as is possible withing the bounds of good taste. The sort of man who considers a balanced diet to be a sausage sandwich in one hand and a bacon one in the other. His bluff direct style being the perfect counterbalance to that of Taylor, not so much a man stuck in the past but one who can see that sometimes the old ways were better. Doc worked alongside Veronica’s father who was murdered with a car bomb and since then he has kept an eye of her, mentoring her and becoming a replacement father figure. A spiky exterior hides a kind heart of solid 24 carat gold.
I’ve seen some repeated comments, supposedly from publishers, on social media that fiction set in Northern Ireland won’t interest the mainland book buying public. Well, I think that is nonsense, it’s a great setting. It’s like Britain but retains a sense of individuality. It shares many of the economic and social issues that blight much of the North of England and Scotland, but it also has problems of its own making. The years of ‘The Troubles’ blighted the landscape stymying development and investment as well as creating huge divisions with communities. This is a great backdrop for crime fiction, and one used to great effect by the author, even Doc MacPherson knows when to tread carefully. A healing community, one that may take several generations to reconcile the past only for a festering boil to erupt like in this novel.
The plot is one that keeps unearthing painful memories of the past. The advice might be to bury painful memories but when the effects are felt every day, and a building stands as a tangible testament to suffering, then closure can never be achieved. Justice and closure are the goal, but that will mean exposing rich and powerful people determined to keep the past buried and confident that they can do that. The theme is only too realistic, power and wealth can corrupt. In real life similar revelations have been made and will continue to be made for years to come, such has been the control exercised by and the trust placed in authority. Some of the revelations beggar belief, but when there is a whole class of person whose motives are never to be questioned like doctors, the clergy and the police amongst many, then there is fertile ground for the seeds of corruption and abuse.
Whilst not as fast moving as earlier stripped back works, it doesn’t hang around, as there is much ground to be covered. This is a procedural at its core but one with regular injections of action and some violence. There is a classic manhunt, albeit it with the twist of three sides in pursuit, at least until there is an unofficial joining of forces. The storyline might appear to meander at little in the middle but its only working to build up the pressure like a volcano filling with magma. The action scenes are excellent, he really has a great feel for writing these, pushing the scope without becoming unbelievable, these are not indestructible heroes. Doc provides some amusing diversions and there are moments of gallows humour to provide a bit of lift, but it is respectful of the victim’s plight, it may be fiction but there are similar cases in the real world.
The Crossed Keys is an intense and explosive crime thriller that examines the dark heart of abuse and conspiracy. I’m already looking forward to the next instalment in this gripping series.
The Crossed Keys can be purchased via the author’s website here
The author