Least of Evils

The Northumberland detective makes "a memorable hero, as distinctive as Inspector Morse" in this thrilling whodunit of murder among the moneyed ( Booklist).   DCI Percy Peach has been called to the sprawling Thorley Grange estate in Brunton to investigate the murder of Oliver Ketley. The beloved philanthropist was found in his Bentley, shot through the head. When he arrives, Peach discovers a wounded intruder lurking on the grounds, hoarding a bag of priceless gems. Case closed? Not exactly. A guy like Oliver doesn't die in a simple robbery gone wrong. Not with his secrets.   The suspects are far more high-profile: the victim's society wife; her lover, a former member of Her Majesty's Secret Service; and a brutal, powerful gang lord. Now it's left to Peach to find the killer—by exposing the charitable victim as the disreputable fraud he was.   "Peach is a formidable opponent whose insight and persistence earn him top honors among British procedurals." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review