Another excellent story featuring DI Nick Dixon who goes undercover at a Somerset private school to investigate the brutal murder of a girl pupil which brings back unpleasant memories of another schoolgirl's murder which involved Dixon personally. As always the character of Dixon and his girlfriend, policewoman Jane Winter, is finely drawn as are the many characters Dixon encounters at the school, staff and pupils. The author keeps up the mystery of the perpetrator almost to the end, with several credible red herrings thrown into the plot. I also like the depiction of many real locations used in the plot, which is a regular feature of this author. ( )

I hate when the first time I meet a character in a murder mystery I say, "He's the killer." Is it because I read too much detective fiction or has the author telegraphed something? It happened in "Swansong", #4 in the DI Nick Dixon series. Here I don't think Mr. Boyd telegraphed anything, it just had to be that guy from the getgo.

"Swansong" is better than the previous three DI Dixon books, but is still nothing special. We learn something of DI Dixon's past and meet a serial killer. Mr. Boyd's writing remains sloppy, with redundancies, strange locutions and statistical improbabilities, but at least DI Dixon is more polite than before, the unnecessary bits about Jehovah's Witnesses aside. (There is no reason to mention the sect by name, their doctrine is not a part of the plot.)

I received a review copy of "Swansong" by Damien Boyd (Thomas and Mercer) through NetGalley.com. ( )