Death In Profile is an absorbing crime thriller written in a clever mix of old school and contemporary style.
This is the first in the Hampstead Murder series and it certainly gets off to a good start with a serial killer nicknamed the condom killer, who has been giving the police the runaround for the last eighteen months and they've just claimed their fifth victim.
Tom Allen has been heading up the investigation since the start but he's been replaced by new kid on the block Simon Collison when it's felt that a fresh pair of eyes are needed. When a profiler is brought in it gives the team some new leads to follow and it's not long before they have a scrap of forensic evidence as well as a suspect.
However, it soon becomes clear that this case isn't going to be as clean cut as it appears and once again the investigation takes another turn. The story that follows is a skillful blend of old and new detectives as the perplexing quest to catch the killer unfolds.
I really enjoyed this book as I experienced the highs and lows of the teams sometimes bungling attempts to solve the crime. I initially found the references to the bygone era of the fictional Lord Peter Wimsey and the role playing amongst some of the characters a little odd, but I soon got used to it and thought it was a very inventive twist, which for me, gives it an edge over other police procedural novels. Guy Fraser-Sampson has written a novel which has left me wanting to find out more about his real, but flawed characters and I'm genuinely looking forward to reading the next in the series.
With kind thanks to the author and Urbane Publications for the review copy.
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