DI Hilary Greene has her work cut out for her in the excellent audiobook nicely read by Patience Tomlinson. A sniper is on the loose targeting policemen as they exit police stations. And her new DS is a loose cannon. Without revealing anything, the investigation centers on the murder of a woman for seemingly no reason.

Some nice lines that provoked a chuckle: “he gave her coffee in one of those polystyrene cups that would make a 1962 claret taste like creosote,” and “she must have rented out part of her belfry to a colony of bats.”

Just a couple of complaints: the rationale for Hilary’s DS searching her narrowboat (boats that people live quite comfortably on which are able to navigate the many canals) for clues to the whereabouts of an ill-gained fortune seemed bizarrely peripheral and unnecessary at best. Secondly, the interrelationships among the senior officers, I would hope, was totally unrealistic.

Good police procedural and a great listen. ( )