Our Lady of Pain

Detective Inspector Mark Tartaglia and his partner, Detective Sergeant Sam(antha) Donovan, pull a homicide in the midst of a wretchedly cold London winter. Beautiful art dealer Rachel Tenison is found dead in Holland Park, naked, bound, and arranged in a ritualistic pose that could be linked to an old case. Tartaglia and Donovan, each struggling with their private torments (Tartaglia's failed romance and Donovan's attack by a perp in a previous homicide), work the… (more)

Detective Inspector Mark Tartaglia and his partner, Detective Sergeant Sam(antha) Donovan, pull a homicide in the midst of a wretchedly cold London winter. Beautiful art dealer Rachel Tenison is found dead in Holland Park, naked, bound, and arranged in a ritualistic pose that could be linked to an old case. Tartaglia and Donovan, each struggling with their private torments (Tartaglia's failed romance and Donovan's attack by a perp in a previous homicide), work the murders with their motley, quirky team. Their methodical investigation, hampered by the relentlessly bad weather, digs into the dark underbelly of London's S&M scene. As the case unravels, it is muddied by the messy personal lives of a few of their colleagues with too-close ties to the victim. Forbes draws her readers in with rich atmosphere and meticulous detail. Despite an improbable confrontation and some loose ends that could have been tied up, Forbes's sequel to Die with Me will find plenty of fans who savor British procedurals