When Death Calls by J M Dalgleish

When Death Calls by J M Dalgleish
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Blood is thicker than water… and runs just as freely…
When the body of a man is discovered face down one morning in the swimming pool of his upmarket family home, the team wonder if it is the result of a tragic accident or serious foul play.

DI Tom Janssen is currently suspended pending the outcome of the events at the close of his previous case. Using the time away from the office to consider his future, and how this will impact on his family life, Tom is invited to attend a school reunion which he reluctantly agrees to. Coming face to face with people he hasn’t seen in years leads to more than a reunion of old friendships. Some people find it hard to let go of the past while others foster long-held grudges. It isn’t long before Tom finds old feuds rekindled and scores that aim to be settled… one way or another.

Finding himself at the centre of a murder inquiry – only this time as a witness rather than an investigator – can he steer clear of the case or will temptation, and a search for the truth, be too much for him to ignore.

DI Tom Janssen is suspended and trying to make the best of his undesired time off. When his wife insists, they attend his high school reunion Tom is less than thrilled, but really has nothing else to pass the time with. Meeting back up with a bunch of people he hasn’t seen in decades might not be Tom’s idea of a good time, but he’s shocked when the following morning he hears that he’s now on the opposite side of a murder investigation – being a witness and possibly the last person to see the victim alive. Can Tom resist the impulse to help with the investigation?

I was thrilled when the author released another book in this series – it’s been a while – and I was delighted to read another investigation with Tom and his team. Even though Tom is suspended – and deeply unhappy about it – I admit that I was pleased to find Tom for the most part tried not to nudge his way into the investigation. Sure, he is deeply curious, and when a few tidbits of other people involved came his way he followed along. But I found it quite refreshing from other similar stories where he didn’t insert himself into the investigation or run his own shadow or side investigation.

I liked how Tom was clearly interested but also very respectful of his team conducting the proper police investigation. I found that quite refreshing.

Readers who enjoy a British police procedural murder mystery should find this a good book and quite easy to pick up. With Tom suspended from duty his team is all still present but not as “front and center” as usual so this is actually quite a good book to my mind to pick up if you haven’t read any of the previous installments or if you’re a few books behind in the series. A lot of this book focuses on Tom and on the characters and setting and not as much as usual on the rest of the team and their dynamics.

With a strongly plotted mystery and a number of interesting and layered characters I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable mystery book. Recommended.