Locked In is the first in a detective series by Kerry Wilkinson, starring Manchester Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel. His success story, detailed in an afterword, has him turning thirty and still wanting to write a novel. He did it for his own pleasure, and then self-published it on Amazon UK, where it became a runaway bestseller - the number one book, not just ebook - on the site, and placing him on the top ten list of British authors worldwide for 2011. Sequels followed and he was picked up by a publisher for worldwide print distribution. Locked In is the first I read.
Jessica Daniel does not have it all together, nor is is she a complete mess. She is an every day hard working cop, recently promoted at thirty after her partner left the force. DI Cole is her new superior, and they work well together - Jessica is good at the nuts and bolts, while Cole prefers the office work. Her first big case as a new DS is odd. A woman has been found strangled to death in her home - the windows and doors locked from the inside. As the investigation precedes, another body turns up the same way - also in a locked home. All the suspects have alibis, the victims have nothing in common. Meanwhile, a lowly (and lonely) local reporter begins contacting Jessica, scrounging for information - and corroboration of leads leaked from someone on the force. They naturally can't be 'friends' but the two form an unlikely team that I hope to see continue in future novels. Jessica's previous partner is on trial for an assault and she is involved with the court case as a witness. There is a lot going on.
Although the story ambles at its own pace rather than rip along with tension, Wilkinson does a good job of maintaining interest. Halfway through my interest was just OK, before the threads started to knit together and I found I was really engaged, as each of the storylines came to a satisfying finale. The culprit was not picked out of thin air, but was far enough in the background that I didn't see him coming. As a first novel, there was naturally plenty of set-up - for the characters, as well as laying out the location and even what each building looked like - that kind of groundwork readers of police procedurals have heard before, but in this case, overlooked because he really pulled the novel together.
A police procedural that doesn't rely on macabre violence, action, or twisted personalities, just complex investigation by competent professionals doing the hard work. A good read in a time when things have to be overly sensational.
My other reviews in the Jessica Daniel series:
2011 / Tradeback / 394 pages
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