Margaret Murphy's new book is a gripping tale says Sheffield reviewer

She not only has to deal with working undercover to catch a serial rapist – challenging enough for any day’s work, you’d think – she also has the politics, backstabbing and incompetence of her colleagues to contend with.

There’s an awful lot happening, but you’re always in safe hands with author Margaret Murphy.

This book is the first in a new crime series by the prolific author who, over the years, has also written under the pseudonyms of AD Garrett and Ashley Dyer.

This is a writer whose research, while worn lightly on the page, is so thorough we get a real understanding of not only the procedural side of police work, but what it’s like to eat, sleep and breathe the job of solving a horrific crime.

And while the story does contain a lot of violence against women, it’s clear Murphy never treats this lightly or uses it as a mere device.

What is particularly compelling in the book is the insight into the life and work of a psychotherapist.

Alan Palmer – a damaged man himself – has a number of seriously unwell patients and is drawn into Detective Constable Rowan’s case when one of them becomes a suspect.

The clashing personalities of Palmer and Rowan, and the clashing ethoses – and yes, that is the plural, although apparently ethoi is also acceptable but that just seems silly – of their respective professions, provides a fascinating double lens through which to view the content of this complex case.

As rape turns to murder, the chase is on to save an abducted woman before it’s too late and things get seriously tense.

In a gripping denouement to an engrossing book, Rowan and Palmer join forces in their own special way to try and save the day, both getting more and more battered and bruised as they go.

It’s the combination of compelling action and meticulous research that sets Murphy apart – and they’re both very much in evidence here in this top-notch crime thriller.