Dead Centre

Inspector Best #7

by Joan Lock

1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Trafalgar Square. London. Unrest has been building for days, the unemployed gathering daily to protest and nightly to sleep. The police are exhausted by extra duty; blamed for failing to do more to prevent the disorder, they grow increasingly bitter about the protesters’ accusations of brutality. When a prominent member of one of the new socialist organisations is found dead at the foot of Nelson’s Column, it only adds more fuel to the protesters’ fire. DI Best and Constable Roberts must juggle competing priorities as they search for the killer and attempt to manage the Trafalgar Square situation. To make matters worse, Best catches a glimpse of Stark, a man guilty of murder in Whitechapel — the only witness to the crime is Florence Bagnall, Roberts’s fiancé.As tensions rise and time begins to run out, Best realises that something terrible is about to happen…and that he may be powerless to stop it.Praise for Joan ‘Gripping Victorian mystery’ – Publisher’s Weekly ‘Everyone with an interest in police history will know that Joan Lock has written a series of books notable for their perspicacity. and immaculate research. Scotland Yard Casebook is a new peak in her career, a fascinating account of the great and not-so-great detectives of a golden age. She has examined the official case files and put together a history told through the careers of policemen and giving a professional view of such dramatic events as the Turf Fraud Scandal, the Dynamite Campaign, the Jack the Ripper murders and the Anarchist outrages — side by side with stories previously ignored by historians, yet often crucial to the development of the CID. With a style that is authoritative, dispassionate and witty, Joan Lock has delivered a book of lasting importance.’ - Peter Lovesey The author of a number of fiction and non-fiction books, Joan Lock began her writing career in the 1980s as a regular contributor to Police Review. She worked for twenty years as a part-time in-house journalist for the John Lewis Partnership; upon retirement, she decided to try her hand at crime fiction. Her first fiction book, Dead Image, was published by Hale in 2000. In addition to writing, she occupies her time giving talks on writing crime, both fiction and non-fiction.

Genres: Historical Mystery, Mystery

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ex-policewoman JOAN LOCK is the author of non-fiction books and crime novels. She has been a regular contributor to the police press and the journal of the Crime Writers' Association. She has also written short stories, radio plays and radio documentaries. She lives in London.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Dead Centre is the seventh instalment in the Inspector Best Historical Mysteries Series by Joan Lock.
I was really looking forward to this series, but unfortunately, I just couldn't find my groove. Maybe I will revisit this series again at a later date just to see if I was just having an 'off-reading-day' this time around.
-Historical Mysteries
-Victorian era
-crime and investigation
-intrigue
-Based on fact

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1887. D.I. Best is sent to investigate the death of Andrew Myers of the Social Democratic Federation who had been found dead in Trafalgar Square. London. Competing with this is Best's search for Stark, a man guilty of murder, and the only witness is Florence Bagnall, Constable Roberts’s fiancé.
Another enjoyable mystery in this series.

[Paritosh Vyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the first inspector best book which I have read and I am tempted to read a few more although this story is very slow for 80% of the book. but the final chapters are fast paced and well written.

However, the main plot of the murderer as a very timid end.

[Kim Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was another in the series that was far too political for my tastes. So whilst I would like to follow the lives of Ernest and Helen and Albert and Florence, I'm sorry to say they will have to get on without my knowing.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story

Good story, not my usual type of book, but enjoyed it, looking forward to reading the others, although i'm not going to read them just yet

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This historical mystery is very well documented and centered on actual events. Ms. Lock's writing is as good as ever; it's just that the topics involved were not as interesting to me and harder for me to follow --- no fault of the author's.

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the seventh outing for Inspector Best a kind-hearted and dedicated detective in Victorian England. When Dead Centre opens it is 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee but also a year of unrest with unemployment in England high when the only options for destitute people was the dreaded workhouse.

In Trafalgar Square the masses congregated, in the daytime for political speeches, at night to sleep sheltered by the walls and the fountain they bedded down for what must have been an uncomfortable rest. When one man finds his place taken by a dead body, Inspector Best is called to investigate the suspicious event. Taking his young protégé Albert with him they identify potential suspects, was it to do with the fact that the dead man had been a rising star in the Social Democratic Federation but has recently resigned or could it be connected to his job at the dockyards where he was a ‘caller-on’, a man who decided which men had work that day, and who didn’t. The latter role caused Albert to don a disguise and join the desperate men.

Parallel to this storyline is that of Albert’s fiancée, Florence a member of the Salvation Army who had witnessed a crime (in an earlier book) but the perpetrator Stark had disappeared but Best is sure he has seen him among the masses in Trafalgar Square. Protecting Florence is nigh on impossible though with her route of visits taking her to some of the worst alleys and hovels in London, rescuing the poor by introducing faith into the lives. Albert can’t do it, even when he is not working undercover at the dockyards he is on his feet for twelve hours plus a day, he barely gets to see Florence let alone keep her safe.

This is a very interesting book, clearly incredibly well-researched and although there is a mystery, the solving of it comes via public marches, gypsies, working-conditions, the Salvation Army and politics and to be honest after the convoluted journey I didn’t really care. That said if I really wanted to know more about this period of history, I’m not entirely sure that I would choose this genre to do so as fascinating as it has been. The book did develop some pace before the end in a fantastic description of that year’s Bloody Sunday when the dissatisfied mounted marches to diverge on Trafalgar Square on 13 November 1887 and young Albert, probably my favourite character is ordered to repel the protesters as part of the establishment’s determination to uphold a bill that forbade gatherings in Trafalgar Square. By this stage the author had lost the somewhat irritating habit (or poor editing) that meant that some of her points were reiterated in subsequent chapters and I was easily able to picture the melee that ensued.

In conclusion this is a fascinating read but far more so for the historical elements than the mystery which I felt would have been lifted out of the research with more in-depth characterisation as the protagonists were just a little too worthy and provided little contrast although maybe if I’d read the previous books in the series, which are referenced in this one, these wouldn’t have fallen a little flat. I will probably pick up this series from the beginning for the well-researched insights into Victorian life as a contrast to the more bloody investigations in modern crime novels.

[Mervyn Eastman]

Hanging by a thread

I found this mystery novel sometimes fairly captivating, but more often than not easy put to one side, thinking I'd probably not return. I'm not one to complete novels because I've started. Life is too short & I have too many unread books awaiting my attention. That said, there was something about the two police protagonists, the relationship between the young inexperienced officer & his Salvation Army girlfriend & the historical setting of Bloody Sunday which led to me in fits and starts to finish it.

I'm pleased I did. Will I read the second book in the serious? That will depend, like unopened wine, what mood I'm in at a given point in time. That said, I'll try a different vintage, but will remember the narratives that held my attention and who knows........? "Best" wait and see!

[Eileen Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping Victorian London mystery.
A story involving a selfless Salvation Army worker who visits people who have nothing, have reached rock bottom and can go no further, trying to help and giving them what food she can.
A dedicated police officer, trying to cope with the riots, gypsies, disease, plus it's Quenn Victoria's Jubilee and all the perceived dangers that accompany that celebration.
Joan Lock is a great writer of police mysteries. Her knowledge of police procedures comes through very well.
I received a digital copy of this novel by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspector Best and Albert are looking for the murderer of a socialist leader in late Victorian England. Such and interesting look at the beginnings of labor unions and the conditions at the dockyards in London. Gypsies, political opponents, love triangle - I was left guessing until the end.

Looking forward to the next "Best"!