Review: It’s a Sin by Steve Burford

Title: It’s a Son

Series: Summerskill and Lyon: Book one

Author: Steve Burford

Length: 243 Pages

Category: Mystery/Police Procedural

At a Glance: I know for sure Steve Burford has got me hooked. This is an excellent mystery, and I am more than curious to find where Dave Lyon and Claire Summerskill will go from here.

Reviewed By: Maryann

Blurb: “He is a talented and very promising young policeman. Make no mistakes, he deserves the promotion.”

But when gay Detective Sergeant Dave Lyon is assigned to Detective Inspector Claire Summerskill’s team as part of the Service’s ‘positive discrimination policy’, no-one at Foregate Street Station is happy. And that includes Summerskill and Lyon.

Mutual suspicion and mistrust must be shelved however, when a young man’s beaten body is found on a canal tow path, and a dead-end case of ‘happy slapping’ unexpectedly turns into a murder investigation.

Why would someone want to kill middle class arts student Jonathan Williams? And how is his death linked to that of rent boy and would be ‘adult’ film star Sean?

As Summerskill and Lyon’s investigations proceed, the newly promoted detectives begin to untangle a web of connections, false assumptions and sheer prejudices that force them both to question closely not just their relationship with each other but with the rest of their colleagues at Foregate Street Station and with the Police Service as a whole.

Review: Claire Summerskill is married to Ian, who works in the school system, and they have two sons, Tony and Sam. She’s just been promoted to Detective Inspector at the Worcester Foregate Street Police Station. Having worked hard to get this big promotion, Claire feels she’s worthy of a major case and is more than disappointed when she’s handed a “happy slapping” case by Chief Superintendent Madden. She’s disappointed but thinks, if nothing else, she would get to choose a new partner. But again, she’s given orders to work with the new transfer, Sergeant David Lyon. When Claire gets a look at Lyon’s file, there’s somethings that raise her suspicions and she has to wonder if she’s being set-up.

David made a choice to transfer to Foregate Street Police Station for his own reasons. He lives with his boyfriend, Richard, who also works in the school system. Besides the new environment at the job, Dave has issues to consider about his relationship with Richard.

Adjusting to a new partner is difficult for both Claire and Dave, but they do what’s needed to get the case solved. The simple assault case of “happy slapping” turns into something much bigger: murders and gay porn.

This novel is set in Worcester, England, and the verbiage really sets the tone for this story. The mystery was very well plotted, and it made way for an intricate and in-depth police procedural. There’s subtle humor but on a serious note, there’s bigotry and how a woman is considered in a predominantly male profession. There’s plenty of character building for Dave and Claire as they start a working relationship and a lot they both have to learn about each other and who they are to really gain trust. I didn’t mind that this wasn’t so much about romance but about how Dave and Claire have to juggle their personal relationships/lives when they are buried deep in complicated murders. It reflects how Claire and Dave are treated by their husband and boyfriend, and Claire also has a teenager and young son to consider.

I know for sure Steve Burford has got me hooked. This is an excellent mystery, and I am more than curious to find where Dave Lyon and Claire Summerskill will go from here.

You can buy It’s a Sin here:
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