Darkness and Light by John Harvey

Darkness and Light is the third in the Frank Elder crime series from John Harvey. Elder has been retired four years now, but is called back to Nottinghamshire to look for a missing person by his ex-wife Joanne. Her friend's sister has disappeared.

At this point he should just move back up from Cornwall, he spends all his time in Nottinghamshire, anyway.

Elder agrees to look into the case of Claire Meecham, a middle-age woman who lived a quiet life. She has been gone over a week and the police have done nothing; she is a grown woman free to go where she likes. Elder works with her sister Jennie and interviews her friends, her daughter and son. He connects again with Maureen Prior of Major Crimes, who thinks he is playing hunt the thimble - until Claire appears back in her apartment, meticulously dressed and placed on her bed, dead from strangulation.

This is reminiscent of Elder's first case from 1997, when he was a London detective and first met Maureen who showed him the ropes. Irene Fowler was the same age as Claire, found dressed but strangled dead on her hotel bed. Several suspects were investigated but the case remains unsolved. These two cases are so similar they begin to reinvestigate those suspects, including a man with a penchant for attacking women in the park.

Although Claire seemed tentative, she had an active private life on internet dating sites. Three recent men are a retired suburban man, an arrogant shady investor, and a photography gallery owner. One said she often stood him up, another that she liked to be tied down, and the gallery owner has no recollection of her.

Interspersed with this investigation are flashbacks to the first Irene Fowler murder case, and a further flashback to 1965, where a frustrated social worker deals with a violent eleven year-old boy, a borderline psychotic with a pattern of sadistic behaviour.

Was one of these men the misfit child back in 1965? Will Elder finally solve his first case?

This has several cases running in multiple timelines. It is the most involved Elder case, but again, another enjoyable puzzle from John Harvey. It was great to see Maureen Prior again, someone who should have her own series, as they work both the present case, and flashback to the earlier unsolved case in London. This series needs to be read in order to get the most out of the character development. Elder has one more book in his series, and I look forward to reading it.

Rich in detail and complexity, this is recommended to crime fans.

My other reviews for John Harvey:

Flesh & Blood (Elder #1)

Ash and Bone (Elder #2)

Body & Soul (Elder#4)

Other British crime novels I have reviewed:

Inspector Rebus by Ian Rankin

Knots & Crosses, Hide and Seek, Tooth and Nail, Strip Jack, The Black Book, Mortal Causes, Let It Bleed, Black and Blue, The Hanging Garden