When Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick is confronted with the strangled body of Shirley Peters, it is pretty clear that she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend who had been threatening her for months.  That is until the second murdered woman turned up a few days later. Both of the women had placed ads in the Lonely Hearts personal columns of local newspapers in this modest-sized city in the Midlands of England, and when the ex-boyfriend had a rock solid alibi for the first murder and was in jail at the time of the second murder, the investigation turned to the Lonely Hearts column participants. The book ends with a surprising and violent end when the murders are solved.

Resnick is an unexpected anti-hero.  Divorced, childless, a sloppy dresser and messy eater, he is devoted to his three (or was it four?) cats.  Early in the book he is testifying at a child sexual abuse trial when he catches the eye of Rachel Hilton, the social worker supporting the victim. The relationship between Resnick and Hilton develops nicely over the course of the book.

This is one of those English murder mysteries where the focus is on the characters and the setting and the violence is almost secondary.  Harvey does a fine job of sketching these players.  Resnick is an interesting and engaging detective who reminded me of Michael Connelly’s police detective, Harry Bosch, also a jazz-loving, cat-caring, divorced sensitive hard guy, and Harvey’s book was reminiscent of the layered plots that Connelly specializes in.  After ‘Lonely Hearts’, Harvey went on to write a total of 14 Resnick books ending the series in 2013.  He has been awarded both the Silver Dagger and the Diamond Dagger by the Crime Writer’s Association in recognition of his lifetime achievement.

This is a fine police procedural with a strong plot, interesting characters, and spare prose.  I’m looking forward to spending more time with Charlie Resnick, and no doubt Rachel as well.