A British police procedural set in London

This is a British police procedural set in London with the usual proper policing vs arse covering mismanagement by management issues that seem so common in British books. While I found it a little underwhelming, all of the main ingredients were there for a good book and the narrator was OK so it may be worth revisiting this author at a later date to see if his next book is more interesting, A second tier effort for me.

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Atmosphere and Angst to Burn

Colin Falconer writes with all of his senses alive. You feel damp, cold London, watch shards of light illuminate darkness (on streets and within souls), soak up mounting dread. Detective Charlie George is complex, conflicted and compelling. You veer between understanding his despair and wanting to give him a smack for being so dense. His sidekicks, Green, Lovejoy and Sister Agatha, are deftly and vividly drawn. Falconer's touch is almost always light, though the religious symbolism is a bit too distended, drifting uncertainly between uplifting and creepy, not often enough settling into a balanced depiction of day-to-day spiritual questioning. The novel's grit is welcome; its philosophizing needs to be more sophisticated. But the reader can bring his or her own mind to the matters at hand. Those bedeviling matters, ghastly, familial or personal, are set down with skill and insight. Falconer is a full-fledged writer. He sees humanity whole. He's written a thriller I couldn't stop listening to. I'm eager to read the next novel in the series.

Where is the next one?

My new favorite author, narrator, series....
I just hope that Mr. Falconer is working quickly on number 2 in the Charlie George series.