Paul Charles, I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass

I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass

Paul Charles

St. Martin's, Nov 2004, $22.95, 240 pp.

ISBN: 0312319029

Hearing fire trucks in his neighborhood, Detective Inspector Christy Kennedy goes to look and sees that the home of Peter O'Brien, founder of Camden Tour Records, has burned to the ground. He later learns arson caused the blaze as someone placed an incendiary device inside a cassette holder. A few days later, Kennedy's girlfriend reporter Ann Rea tells him that Peter has not been to his office for a few days nor called in, and this is very uncharacteristic of him.

Kennedy learns from Peter's secretary Mary that her boss was being blackmailed for record hyping. A paper trail shows that Peter's Access card was used on the train and at a restaurant. He also left a message for Mary claiming he is okay and will be in touch. Soon afterward, Peter's corpse is found in his Mayfair Mews Studio. The coroner claims he died twelve hours ago although he vanished five days ago. Christy finds that the victim had numerous enemies with varying motives, but which one would kill remains the question.

The protagonist makes I LOVE THE SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS a cut above the usual British police procedural as Christy empathizes with those he questions even those he considers a prime suspect. He understands that his inquiry could destroy the lives of innocent people by opening unrelated skeletons best left buried, but still does the job he is expected to do. The love between Christy and Ann Rea adds a humanizing element to the hero. This classy mystery will appeal to sub-genre fans for sure, but readers who welcome a strong, well-written tale will appreciate Paul Charles' fine novel.

Harriet Klausner