Where Death Delights (A Richard Pryor Mystery) - Hardcover

Bernard Knight is the author of the Crown John Mysteries series and is a member of The Medieval Murderers.

This entertaining slice of nostalgia for life in 1950s Britain should please Anglophiles and will also appeal to fans of forensically detailed crime fiction. Dr. Richard Pryor, recently returned from Singapore, has joined forces with biologist Angela Bray, a former Home Office scientist, to form a private forensic practice in the Wye Valley. The pair are at first worried about making ends meet, but word of their expertise spreads, and they quickly have their hands full with everything from settling paternity cases to identifying dead bodies to proving that a young woman found drowned off the coast was murdered by her husband. Knight, a former Home Office pathologist, shows off his detailed knowledge of forensics, especially as the science was practiced in the 1950s. The appeal of this story lies very much in the engaging cast of characters, the interplay between Pryor and Bray, and the intriguing forensic details. Although the story may be too gentle for fans of taut, suspenseful police procedurals, it will engage those with either a more scientific mind-set or an interest in the period. --Booklist, 1st May 2010