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Castlemere #1
A Bleeding of Innocents
Desperate Measures
The police force of Castlemere loses one of its own to a hit-and-run. Adding stress to the already understaffed force, a young nurse is brutally murdered in her car with her husband as the only witness. Is there a shotgun killer walking the streets, or is her distraught husband guilty of more than he'll admit?
After another horrible shooting murder, it's clear there's a serial killer on the loose. Detective Chief Inspector Frank Shapiro's two most independent officers, an angry Irishman and an ambitious female officer, must forge an unlikely alliance to stop the bloodshed-and stay alive.
The police force of Castlemere loses one of its own to a hit-and-run. Adding stress to the already understaffed force, a young nurse is brutally murdered in her car with her husband as the only witness. Is there a shotgun killer walking the streets, or is her distraught husband guilty of more than he'll admit?
After another horrible shooting murder, it's clear there's a serial killer on the loose. Detective Chief Inspector Frank Shapiro's two most independent officers, an angry Irishman and an ambitious female officer, must forge an unlikely alliance to stop the bloodshed-and stay alive.
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
6 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Jo Bannister
73 books96 followersJo Bannister lives in Northern Ireland, where she worked as a journalist and editor on local newspapers. Since giving up the day job, her books have been shortlisted for a number of awards. Most of her spare time is spent with her horse and dog, or clambering over archaeological sites. She is currently working on a new series of psychological crime/thrillers.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 6, 2021
The English village of Castlemere is being rocked to its roots by a series of deaths. In the first, Detective Inspector Alan Clarke is a victim of a hit-and-run. Also gravely wounded is Detective Sergeant Cal Donovan. Donovan is convinced that this was no accident but rather a cold-blooded murder planned by mobster type Jack Carney and he becomes obsessed with trying to pin the crime on Carney. Detective Chief Inspector Frank Shapiro finds a replacement for Clarke from a neighboring precinct, Liz Graham. The dynamics of the relationship between Graham and Donovan are difficult, but they ultimately end up respecting one another.
Shortly after Graham assumes her new duties, a young nurse, Kerry Page, is brutally killed by a shotgun blast to the head. Has she been killed by her husband who was at the scene? Or by Carney who may mistaken her for her husband? Before the answer can be determined, a respected female surgeon, Maggie Board, is also shotgunned. It appears that a serial killer is at work which is reinforced by the murder of an anesthesiologist who also worked with Page and Board.
As Graham and Donovan investigate the hospital records, they uncover the perpetrator (a little too easily). It would have been easy to make this person evil incarnate, but that was not the case. The person had a warped justification for the acts that were performed, one which the reader had to agree with.
The book comes to a rousing climax, and Graham and Shapiro puzzle over some of the decisions that were made to reach resolution. Bannister did an exceptional job of characterization, and the plot was well developed. This was a one-sitting book, and one which I heartily recommend.
Shortly after Graham assumes her new duties, a young nurse, Kerry Page, is brutally killed by a shotgun blast to the head. Has she been killed by her husband who was at the scene? Or by Carney who may mistaken her for her husband? Before the answer can be determined, a respected female surgeon, Maggie Board, is also shotgunned. It appears that a serial killer is at work which is reinforced by the murder of an anesthesiologist who also worked with Page and Board.
As Graham and Donovan investigate the hospital records, they uncover the perpetrator (a little too easily). It would have been easy to make this person evil incarnate, but that was not the case. The person had a warped justification for the acts that were performed, one which the reader had to agree with.
The book comes to a rousing climax, and Graham and Shapiro puzzle over some of the decisions that were made to reach resolution. Bannister did an exceptional job of characterization, and the plot was well developed. This was a one-sitting book, and one which I heartily recommend.
September 15, 2011
This was a fairly simple British Police Procedural. It was well executed, the characters were interesting and complex and the mystery had twists but was still believable. Will definitely be reading the rest of this series!
February 24, 2019
I picked up A Bleeding of Innocents as part of my random author challenge. At first, I picked up another book by Jo Bannister, but I quickly realized in the description that it was a series, so I looked it up to find the first book.
I knew from the description that it was going to be interesting because it’s a mystery set in England. Being from the U.S., some of the terms and hierarchy of the police force are different than what I’m used to, but even so, it was pretty easy to follow.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the book. There was action early on, but it didn’t hook me as much as I would have liked. But after a while, it picked up and I couldn’t put it down. I really liked the way the characters interacted. They were very realistic.
Overall, I liked the book and I would consider reading more in the series now that I’m invested in the characters.
I knew from the description that it was going to be interesting because it’s a mystery set in England. Being from the U.S., some of the terms and hierarchy of the police force are different than what I’m used to, but even so, it was pretty easy to follow.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the book. There was action early on, but it didn’t hook me as much as I would have liked. But after a while, it picked up and I couldn’t put it down. I really liked the way the characters interacted. They were very realistic.
Overall, I liked the book and I would consider reading more in the series now that I’m invested in the characters.
May 22, 2022
I needed this one! So many gaps filled in. Another goodie from Ms. B. 🙂
May 12, 2023
Nicely written with a good pace. Good start for a British series.
January 22, 2025
Decent read. A new series (for me) from this author.
January 10, 2023
I read this book a few years ago and haven't reread it lately, so I'm not going into details. But I don't keep many books and I have this whole series. Well written, interesting plots, great character development.
Edit 1/10/2023: Back before I was a librarian and when there were lots of bookstores, I used to wander around in them and sometimes purchase books. I purchased the entire Castlemere series by Jo Bannister as they came out. I'm rereading the series now.
Bannister excels at featuring friendships that are not romantic. Castlemere features a middle-aged male Jewish Detective Chief Inspector, a female 40-something Inspector, and a young male Irish Sergeant. They each face prejudice on the job and gradually form a tight unit.
I didn't like this as much as I remembered liking it the first time. Bannister frequently subjects her characters to violence, I guess to explore how they handle it. The need to put her main characters through trauma is troubling. But the first book in a series is often not the best. On to book two.
Edit 1/10/2023: Back before I was a librarian and when there were lots of bookstores, I used to wander around in them and sometimes purchase books. I purchased the entire Castlemere series by Jo Bannister as they came out. I'm rereading the series now.
Bannister excels at featuring friendships that are not romantic. Castlemere features a middle-aged male Jewish Detective Chief Inspector, a female 40-something Inspector, and a young male Irish Sergeant. They each face prejudice on the job and gradually form a tight unit.
I didn't like this as much as I remembered liking it the first time. Bannister frequently subjects her characters to violence, I guess to explore how they handle it. The need to put her main characters through trauma is troubling. But the first book in a series is often not the best. On to book two.
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December 7, 2010Yay, a second hand bookshop turns up a copy of the first in the Castlemere series for me. One down, two to go.
I was a bit worried that after enjoying the later books in this series a lot that I would find the earlier out of print ones to be lacking that essential something that made me love them. Thankfully this one lacked for nothing. It's a good introduction to the Castlemere CID as Liz Graham is brought in on a temporary assignment and the crimes in question compare well to those featured in the later books.
January 3, 2020
Very interesting book to read. I enjoyed the story. It kept one guessing who not only were the murderer of Alan Clarke was but also what the real reason was behind the murders of nurse Kerry Page and surgeon Maggie Board.
February 13, 2012
A new author for me but enjoyed it and will read more in this series.
August 13, 2019
Too brutal for me.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews