The Lady in the Park
Three years ago DCI Jim Domino caught a serial killer who is now behind bars. But Jim was suspended from the Met for failing to follow the correct procedure when interviewing the killer – all because he wanted the man to keep talking and reveal the whereabouts of a missing woman whom Jim believed might still be alive.
Now the Met would like Jim to rejoin, but he’s happy running a private-detective agency where he employs four other detectives in Peckham where he lives.
When a popular mother of six is found unconscious on an outdoor ping-pong table in a local park, Jim investigates. He is helped by his colleagues: feisty Kylie Jones; martial-arts instructor Clayton Ginevra; computer geek Stefan Popkiewicz; and superficially dull McCormick, former cop and recently sacked security chief of a west-end store.
Jim was widowed when his two daughters were children. Now he often looks after his six-year-old grandson Danny, when his daughter Laura, a professional jazz singer, is out working at night. Grandfather and grandson are close, and Danny sometimes helps with an investigation by pointing to something that Jim has missed.
The search for the villain who assaulted the lady in the park leads Jim and his crew into a maelstrom of drug dealing, people trafficking and organised crime. Simultaneously they take on more mundane problems such as
shoplifting, money laundering, homophobia and a peeping Tom. Behind the intriguing plot, The Lady in the Park is about love, grief, childhood and the good in most people.
“‘ . . . lots of reflections on modern British society and social norms in a plot that ranges to include organised crime, people-trafficking, dog-smuggling and police dynamics. A relaxed pace and easy writing as well as reading
with plenty of description. An easy summer read.’ Jeremy Black, The Critic
‘The plot quickly establishes the underlying dark side of the community’s life, what with human trafficking and drug-dealing rising to the fore. But where the book stands out is not so much in the straighforward plot but in its depiction and understanding of everyday ordinary characters faced with adversity, which Reynolds covers with a powerful sense of empathy. I was asked for a blurb for the book pre-publication and said it was clever, humane, affectionate and realistic. For once you can trust what it says on the cover!’”
“‘ . . . at the heart of the novel is a vivid and warm portrayal of domestic life, and in particular of Jim’s sweet relationship with his 6-year-old grandson, Dan – who makes the observation that unlocks the mystery.’”
“‘ . . . there’s more than enough interest here to keep you turning the pages.
. . . Jim’s a football fan; some of his other likes seem rather outré for an ex-copper. He reads the Guardian, quotes Rupert Brooke and Lorca and is moved to tears by the paintings of Joaquín Sorolla.
Will the adventures of such a humane protagonist be enough to whet readers’ appetites for more? I hope so.’”
“‘The Lady in the Park is a crime story with a distinctive style and a big heart.’”
“Peter Fleming, Peter Turns the Page”
