"A Game of Cat and Mouse
"For three days a tall, enigmatic stranger has followed Inspector Rudd's every move. Hour after hour, Rudd nervously waits for the stealthy predator to pounce. Instead, a pale-faced pickpocket fresh from gaol delivers a mysterious message -- MELLY RUDD ESSEX TRANSIT -- which reopens the unsolved murder of a young girl strangled in the bleak salt marshes of the desolate North Sea coast. But can Rudd elude his own pursuer long enough to track down the killer?

"Detective Inspector Rudd, Chelmsford CID
"His detective instincts are tempered by psychological insight. A most satisfactory master of British police procedure, the Inspector welcomes the challenge of a murder investigation now and again. Just as, when winter cold invades the lonely Essex countryside, even a sober, courageous man appreciates a beer at the local pub."
~~back cover

I love this series! It's a lovely, "old-fashioned" British murder mystery, with lots of character development of both the good guys and the bad guys, lots of description of the countryside, and lots of tea, and a beer at the pub. Exactly the style of thing I like best!

This one was a bit of a stretch for me: the good Inspector seemed to be following tantalizing wispy theories, some based on the turn of a phrase, some based on evidence that was ambiguous. But a delicious read for all of that. I'm sure I'll enjoy it as much when I reread it in the future. ( )