LAPTOPS CAN KILL: Book 13 in the DCS Palmer and the Met's Serial Murder Squad series.

by Barry Faulkner

Case 13 in the DCS Palmer and the Met's Serial Murder Squad files. When petty thieves are murdered by a team of professional hitmen whose MO matched other unsolved killings Palmer wants to know why? What could bring a professional hit on a bunch of petty thieves? What had they done to upset somebody so much that the hit was called? There's a big search going on in the underworld for a certain laptop, why? What's on it and where is it and is it connected to the case? Who is 'Sammy' the person being sought so aggressively by the hitmen and what does 'Sammy' know? Palmer brings in help from Organised Crime and starts to unravel the tangled threads of the case whilst suffering the usual attempts of Mrs P at home to improve his health with a vegetarian diet that he resists and his nemesis neighbour Benji unwittingly causing him pain.

142 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 18, 2021

About the author

Librarian note:
This author also writes as:

B.L. Faulkner - Crime, Thriller

Reviews

[Alyson Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

DCS Palmer and DS Gheeta Singh arrive at a freshly dug grave in West London Cemetery to find someone has already placed the bodies of three young men in there overnight, ready to be covered up by the real owner. How many times has this method of disposal been used, wonders Palmer? There could be bodies hidden in other people’s graves all over the place! They are quickly identified by Supt Hawkins of Hampstead as brothers George and Harry Lane and their cousin Fred Smith, petty thieves of this parish, and Hawkins passes it over to the Serial Murder Squad. One clear shot to the head each indicates to Palmer a very professional job. So what did these small-time stealers of sat navs and phones from parked cars do to merit this kind of execution? The reader of course already knows this. They picked the wrong Range Rover to break into, and people trafficker and all-round nasty piece of work Robert Day wants his laptop with all that incriminating evidence back immediately. He has called in Black and Houseman, two highly experienced sixty-something hitmen with a proven history of killings and woundings to do the job for him but they seem to have messed up slightly and now Sammy Johnson (an extremely clever friend of the Lanes) is on the run with said laptop. They’re really in for it Day finds out the burial’s gone belly up too! A happy find of CCTV gives Palmer the name of the laptop owner and they realize who they’re up against. With the loan of DI Knight from Organized Crime, now all Palmer needs to do is find the girl, stop the hitmen in their tracks and get to the laptop and its pandora’s box of information before Day does. And all in time for one of Mrs P’s excellent dinners too!
Each book in this series is an absolute pleasure to read. Palmer might be old-school after coppering since the 1980s and working his way up from the bottom but a dinosaur he is not! His co-opting of Singh from Cyber Crime was a stroke of genius, both saving the old dog from learning new tricks and bringing into the team all manner of computer wizardry to fight modern day crimes. Palmer and Singh form the perfect team and their results go to prove it. I adore all the recurring characters like Reg Frome who I can immediately picture from his description (think Doc from Back to the Future!), Mrs P, Daisy and Palmer’s nightmare neighbour and nemesis, mincing WI favourite Benji. With a clever and well written plot, the narrative is warm and humorous, and feels just like the author is recounting the tale over a pie and a pint. Book 14 is out soon and I am salivating already!! 5*

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Book 13 in the DCS Palmer and the Met's Serial Murder Squad series and although I haven’t read them all I’ve read a few and this is another enjoyable, relatively short, read. These are well written police procedurals with great narrative and good plot lines.

Briefly, three petty criminals are shot and buried in an open grave in a cemetery but spotted by the gravedigger before they are fully covered. A professional hit by two men trying to recover a stolen laptop but even though the men gave up the location of the laptop it is gone. Their employer, Robert Day, a criminal gang leader, is not happy so they are sent to trace the person who has it but it’s not so easy; the person they are after is always one step ahead of them. Palmer and his team are after both parties and if they can get the laptop then they can grab Day as well!

Palmer is a great character, a real oldschool copper, who has the respect of his team. There are also a number of other great characters, outside of the police force, in particulars Palmer’s long-suffering wife and his rather eccentric neighbour. This really was another very good short read and I’ll definitely be reading more of the series soon. Although I wouldn’t quite categorise them as cosy mystery they are not overly gruesome and if you’re a cozy reader who likes police procedural you you will enjoy these. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Grace J Reviewerlady · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I work my way through this series, one each month, I find myself relishing each story.

When petty thieves are murdered with all the markings of a professional hit, DCS Palmer wants to know why; what did these minor criminals know that resulted in their death. What - and where - is the laptop everyone seems to be looking for and who on earth is Sammy?

Each book in this series contains a very cleverly crafted mystery and it's down to Justin Palmer and the Serial Murder Squad to get to the bottom of things. Whilst the solution is never simple, it's intriguing to see how it's worked out and there is the addition of some great humour. Palmer's neighbour never fails to mess up and entertain. I enjoy everything about this series, and can't wait to read the next one. Highly recommended and an easily deserved 5*.