I don't read too many crime novels, but I got hooked on Dixon's Sam Dyke private eye series, of which there are seven so far, and try to keep up with his latest. STOREY is a crime novel all right, as the title indicates, but it doesn't feature Sam Dyke. It shifts gears to the story of Storey, a former homicide detective in London who quits the force after remorse over fatally shooting a man.
Paul Storey is at loose ends as the story begins. After the death of his father, he has returned to his childhood home of Coventry to sell his father's house and wrap up the estate details. He has an eye for ladies, and in an intriguing opening chapter he strikes up an relationship with an attractive young woman in a coffee shop They are pulled toward each other, but with mutual suspicion that the other is not quite what they seem. She claims to be a journalist, Storey claims to be an insurance agent. Both are lying.
From here, Storey almost accidentally gets involved with a gang of thieves. It comes about when he meets the woman, Janice, again. He has a good nose for phoniness and begins to doubt even more that she is a journalist. If he were smart, he would have walked out. Instead, almost in spite of himself, he defends her against the gang leader who is harassing her. He uses some tough physical tactics which get him grudging respect, but also animosity from the gang members.
Janice, who also goes by the name of Araminta Smith, however, turns out to be friendly with the gang, and before he knows it, Storey finds himself mixed up in their criminal activity, or more accurately, he finds he is unable to easily extricate himself. .
The gang of four men are dangerous, all right, but not particularly bright so there is an element of humor in the story. The plot concerns a theft of smuggled treasures from Syria, especially a valuable owl ( a nod to Hammett's Maltese Falcon?). Storey is in on the robbery, feeling very ambiguous as his speciality was in law enforcement, not law violation. He has a growing sexual interest in Janice/Araminta, who has a a side operation of embezzlement going on, and added to this mix are some very dangerous Arabs who think they've been double-crossed by the treasure thieves.
It's a gripping read to see how this works out, and near the end in an upbeat aspect, the dark character of Janice, the femme fatale, is replaced with a figure of light, a good woman, a police officer, so not all romance is lost for Storey. Dixon's previous Sam Dyke books, have had satisfying twists and variations, never repeating themselves, but this one goes a step farther by changing the perspective from private detective to that of a former police detective who becomes an almost reluctant force for good. As I mentioned I don't read that much crime fiction, but when I find myself unable to put the book down, compulsively turning pages, I know I'm in the hands of a excellent writer.