Review of Murder in Gilmerton

vanessajknipe
2 days ago
3 min read

When I find an author who uses forensics in their detective fiction, it encourages me to seek more of their work. So, it was a great pleasure to be asked to join in this blog tour for Val Penny’s Murder in Gilmerton.

Murder in Gilmerton

First, let’s take a look at how the book is described.

Behind Edinburgh’s genteel facade, a killer is settling an old score . . .

An elderly man is shot dead on his own doorstep in the leafy suburb of Gilmerton.

One bullet. Point-blank range. A professional hit on a harmless old man who lived a simple life collecting rare books.

Detective Hunter Wilson knows the victim. George Reinbold was once head of Crime Scene Investigations. He’s one of their own.

What Hunter can’t understand is why George’s modest flat is fortified with reinforced doors, bomb-blast curtains and a Cold War pistol under the bed.

That same morning, a young woman vanishes from a luxury car showroom. No struggle. No witnesses. Just a discarded coat and a missing blue Volvo.

Two cases. One killer?In a city where everyone guards their secrets, the past has come knocking.

Detective Hunter Wilson must catch a murderer who has waited a lifetime to strike.

I met Detective Hunter Wilson in Murder in Edinburgh. He’s a resolute member of the Lothian and Borders Police Force, from before Police Scotland formed. Murder in Gilmerton continues on from Murder in Edinburgh. However, both are complete, standalone reads, but some of what happens in Murder in Edinburgh, leads directly to the actions in Murder in Gilmerton.

An old man, a former forensics officer, has been murdered in what looks to be a professional hit. Hunter Wilson and all his team knew the man. Their anger and loss drives this investigation. And what has the missing girl got to do with the case?

Murder in Gilmerton is all about the drugs. Cocaine brought down the former Police Chief. Even with the major drug salesman in prison, with the ex-police chief, illegal drugs are still flooding into Edinburgh. A stash of Cocaine is found and tested.

“… the burnt-out car held high-grade cocaine from Peru.”

“Peru? That’s different.”

A package of drugs doesn’t come labelled ‘Made in Peru’. Here’s where the forensics come in. In my medical career, I used to analyse samples from recovering addicts, but when I studied Forensic Science, I learned that it’s possible to track drug samples as they travel the world. It’s done by examining the wrappings and testing for adulterants. (I won’t go into specifics, but if you want to know more try here.) In summary, to be high-grade as stated in the book, it has to have travelled almost directly to Scotland.

The Author never includes too much forensics, so a lay person will not get lost. There’s just enough information, so that someone with the knowledge can fill in all the details. I feel like there’s a nod in my direction. In these books, the detective’s intuition combines with the forensic evidence, such that the arrest is satisfying.

Modern policing is boring and routine. It’s the little things that catch the criminal. Tracking the route the drugs enter the UK is the tedious task, and it involves much staring at CCTV footage. In Murder in Gilmerton, this is the detail that solves the murder.

What I like best about Val Penny’s detective fiction, is that life goes on. A couple of police officers get married. A son visits his father in prison. A father brings up his twin daughters on his own. I happily recommend Murder in Gilmerton to any lover of detective fiction, but especially to those, like me, who want a little bit more than just a clever detective.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Val Penny’s crime novels, form the bestselling series of DI Wilson Series set in Edinburgh.

She is an American author living in SW Scotland with her husband and their cat.