Improving the Silence

A brilliant stand-alone novel – dark, gritty, and compelling – marking a new departure for the author - When a body is discovered in a rough grave, deep in the woods, the police find that it is of one of their young undercover officers – who died nearly thirty years ago. As their inquiries from slender clues progress, it becomes clear that they are also uncovering a sordid tale of corruption and murder within their own ranks.

Publishers Weekly

Despite the surprising killing off of a major character, this competent stand-alone police procedural from British veteran Turnbull (Turning Point) offers little suspense or excitement. The digging of a trench in a forest northeast of London turns up the corpse of Det. Constable James Coventry, who disappeared almost 30 years earlier at age 27. Det. Insp. Archibald Dew, who’s grappling with a mentally disturbed daughter, and Det. Sgt. Harry Vicary, a recovering alcoholic, take the usual steps to investigate. The pair discover from Coventry’s parents that their son was on a special assignment that frightened him. Early on, Turnbull lets the reader in on who’s behind the killings, leaving only the identity of one of the bent cops to be revealed at the end. In the absence of any real twists, the book must stand or fall on its characters, who are hard to distinguish from countless similar fictional figures. (Jan.)

Peter Turnbull was born and raised in Yorkshire, England. He has had a variety of jobs—in a former incarnation he was a social worker for twenty-three years, an occupation he gave up to become a full-time writer. "Fear of Drowning" is his twelfth novel.