Published
by Silverwood Books,
11 November 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-78132-567-4
11 November 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-78132-567-4
Detective Inspector Jeff Lincoln had been planning to spend
his day off attempting to tame the garden of his recently run-down old house,
but instead he is called in to deal with a murder case. The body of fifteen-year-old
Emma Sherman was discovered on a Wiltshire golf course, wrapped in a tarpaulin.
Emma had been missing for a few days but, after making initial enquiries, the
police had assumed that she had run away following a quarrel with her neurotic
and over-protective mother.
As the police probe further into Emma’s life it becomes
clear that she was a very pretty girl with a good singing voice and she had
been determined to become a star. Her father had died before Emma was born and
her mother’s mental health problems had resulted in Emma deceiving her about
her whereabouts and friends, which makes it hard for the police to discover the
truth about her social life. Further investigation reveals that Emma had many
more secrets than her mother had ever imagined and opens up appalling links
with child pornography and child prostitution.
Throughout his investigation, Lincoln feels hampered by his
senior officers, who seem determined to settle for the easy suspects, whether or
not they committed the crime. Lincoln soon comes to the bitter realisation that
the wealthy and politically powerful are sacrosanct. Then another teenage girl
is brutally murdered, and a third girl goes missing. Lincoln knows that he has
to discover the truth without delay, despite his bosses, if he is to save her
life.
The Shame of
Innocence is the author’s debut novel and the first in the series
featuring D.I. Jeff Lincoln. It is a book that swiftly engages the reader’s
interest and the descriptions of the C.I.D. team feel totally authentic. It is
a very complex book, both in the twists and turns of the clever plot and in the
large number of characters. The brutal crimes are chilling and are described
honestly but not gratuitously, and the central protagonist, Jeff Lincoln, is
determined to give all victims, whether rich or poor, equal status in their
right to receive respect and justice.
Many of the characters surrounding Lincoln are likeable and
Lincoln himself is an engaging protagonist. He is a fallible man, with social
and emotional weaknesses, but he is also a man of incorruptible integrity who
will do what is right, even at risk to himself. Ultimately, the theme running
through this book seemed to me to be about corruption in all its shades. There
is the corruption where evil is deliberately condoned in exchange for money or
promotion, and the systemic corruption where whistle-blowers are crushed by the
power of unscrupulous bureaucracy, and even those who know that the system is
dishonest are complicit in their silence. In this context, Lincoln is a modern-day
Don Quixote, tilting at the windmills of corrupt power.
The Shame of
Innocence is a fascinating and very powerful read. I enjoyed it and
look forward to reading others in the series. Recommended.
-------
Reviewer:
Carol Westron
Nikki Copleston
was born in Somerset and raised in the
West Midlands and Wiltshire, Nikki Copleston worked in local government in
London for many years. Her grandfather and great-grandfather were policemen,
which may explain why she's always enjoyed watching detective series on
television and reading crime novels. She is an active member of Frome Writers'
Collective, which supports and promotes writers in the Frome area. When she
isn't writing, she enjoys exploring the West Country with her camera. She is
already working on the next DI Jeff Lincoln novel. She and her husband now live
in Wells, Somerset, with their cat.
Carol Westron is a successful short story writer and a Creative
Writing teacher. She is the moderator
for the cosy/historical crime panel, The Deadly Dames.
Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.
The Terminal Velocity of Cats the first in her Scene of Crimes novels, was published July 2013. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link below.
Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.
The Terminal Velocity of Cats the first in her Scene of Crimes novels, was published July 2013. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link below.
Thank you, Carol - what a lovely review! I feel very privileged!
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