Death Toll [Paperback]

After reporter Philip Dryden, hero of Kelly's earlier novels, passed his BBE date we were introduced to Peter Shaw and George Valentine, both detectives based in Kings Lynn, with the town and its immediate area providing the backdrop to the stories. Like most of Kelly's novels its best to have read the previous books in order, as there are a number of sub-plots that carry over and progress from novel to novel. In particular there's Shaw's ongoing investigation into a child murder his father [also a policeman] investigated and which effectively ended his father's career with the allegation that evidence had been manipulated. Valentine was also on the case as a younger copper and this gives for an interesting relationship between the two detectives.
Kelly's characters are usually believable if somewhat unconventional and he accurately captures the atmosphere of the town in winter, situated on the seaward edge of the wind-swept fens, but whilst his plots twist and turn, just occasionally something so obvious jumps out that it stretches the credibility of the detectives that they did not see it coming.
All in all this book maintains the high standard which Kelly has set and once started its hard to put down. I read it on holiday in two sessions over two days!

The words that most clearly convey the theme of DEATH TOLL are spoken by Mark Antony is Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" - "the evil that men do live after them...."

The story opens on December 12, 2010. The bodies buried at a cemetery are being moved to higher ground to avoid flooding. When the grave of Nora Tilden, buried in 1982, is opened, grave diggers are shocked to find another body, a skeleton, on top of the casket. The body had to have been thrown into Nora's grave on the day she was buried. Nora was the owner of the Flask, a popular pub, which she inherited from her father, Arthur Melville. Nora is a hard woman and her relationship with her husband, Alby, is stormy, that is, until the night Alby pushed Nora down the stairs. With Nora dead and her father in prison, their daughter, Lizzie, becomes the owner of the Flask.

As was her mother, Lizzie is only nineteen when the business is passed to her. Alby wants to protect her so he contacts her aunt, Bea, Nora's younger sister who has been living for many years in the United States, asking her to return to East Lynn to help Lizzie. Bea does as requested and moves back to her home town with her son, Pat, who is twenty.

The major players are now in place but they are by no means the only characters who will walk across this stage. The catalyst of the story is Latrell Garrison, an American GI, a black man, who marries Bea. Together they have their son, Pat. When Bea returns to East Lynn with Pat, the resentments created by Latrell's presence awaken. Pat doesn't have an easy time and when he disappears Bea doesn't look for him, believing that he returned to the United States. Now Pat has been found in Nora' grave. Detective Inspector Peter Shaw and Detective Sergeant George Valentine are assigned this very cold case.

On their own, Shaw and Valentine have been working on another cold case, the murder of Jonathan Tessier, a nine year-old who knew too much about a puppy. Shaw is determined to solve the case because it is the one his father couldn't let go. Valentine wants the solution to be found because a misuse of evidence cost him his rank and derailed a trial. Shaw and Valentine are both in danger of losing their jobs if they antagonize the chief suspect, a wealthy and respected solicitor.

DEATH TOLL is a saga, a big story about a family. Arthur Melville fathered Nora and Bea. Nora gives birth to Mary, who died when still an infant, and Lizzie. Bea is the mother of Pat, the mixed race child she has with Latrell. As other characters are introduced, the frailty of the bonds of the descendants of Arthur Melville are revealed.

DEATH TOLL is a saga that addresses big issues as they impact on one family. There is the hatred between Bea and Nora that surfaced when Bea decides to go to America with Latrell. Nora swore that she would never speak to Bea again if she left with him. Nora isn't a racist; she doesn't want Bea to be out from under her control. Nora keeps her word. She never speaks to Bea again. Racism is the elephant in the parlor of East Lynn. Latrell was welcome, a well-liked man. But by the time Pat arrives in East Lynn, PEN, the Party of English Nationalism, is gaining supporters among the electorate and a black man is suspect.

Overshadowing life in East Lynn is incest, literally and figuratively. There are frequent references to Leviticus , the third book of the Bible. Leviticus describes the punishment in store for those who violate the boundary that protects the family unit. Incest among the players and characters in East Lynn is a poison that is destroying the family Arthur Melville established.

DEATH TOLL is a book that cannot be put down. From the beginning scene, when Nora's grave is found to contain the body of another victim, everyone must question their relationships. Trust is violated. Secrets are hiding in plain sight. The evil that men do live after them and engulf their posterity, an inheritance that poisons the lives of those who should not be punished for the sins of their fathers. This is an exceptionally engrossing book and a satisfying mystery.

ET IN ARCADIA EGO, (I also lived in Arcadia (paradise) is engraved on Nora's grave stone. On one hand, it is a gross mistake. There was nothing of paradise in East Lynn. But another interpretation of the phrase has Death uttering the words. No matter the place, no matter the innocent, death can be found lurking in the shadows.

The author does the reader a considerable favor by including a family tree on page 164.

I was really pleased to be able to read Jim Kelly's latest novel on Kindle because I couldn't put it down and it's easier to disguise a Kindle to keep on reading. This has to be the best in the Shaw and Valentine series.

His writing is vivid and conveys easily the grittiness of the large town of Kings Lynn together with the stark difference of the coast line and coastal towns a few miles up the road.

The plot, like "Death Watch" has twists and turns unravelling family secrets. "Death Toll" was stronger for me because I thought I had it worked out when another twist comes along.

The characterisation is strong too. Firstly the difficult relationship between Shaw and Valentine feels so real - for example when in DS Warren's office together "so they sat, each alone, despite being together". However with developments in the sub plot it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops. There is more depth to them too with Valentine's loneliness more pronounced and Shaw's drive to get results. Other characters are well developed and you connect to them both kindly and unkindly.

It would be great for this series to be televised.