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DCS Palmer & the Serial Murder Squad #1-2
Future Riches / Felt Tip Murders
THE PALMER CASES
Justin Palmer started off on the beat as a London policeman in 1964 and is now Detective Chief Superintendent Palmer running the Serial Murder Squad from New Scotland Yard.
Not one to pull punches or give a hoot for political correctness if it hinders his inquiries Palmer has gone as far as he will go in the Met. and he knows it. Master of the one line put down and slave to his sciatica he can be as nasty or as nice as he likes.
The mid-1990's was a time of reawakening for Palmer as the Information Technology revolution turned forensic science, communication and information gathering skills upside down. Realising the value of this revolution to crime solving Palmer co-opted Detective Sergeant Gheeta Singh, a British Asian WPC onto his team. DS Singh has a degree in IT and was given the go-ahead to update Palmer's IT with all the computer hard and software she needed to do the job. Most of which she wrote herself and some of which is, shall we say, of a grey area when it comes to privacy laws and accessing certain restricted databases!
Together with their small team of officers and Claire, a civilian computer clerk nicknamed 'JCB' by the team because she keeps on digging for clues, they take on the serial killers of the UK.
On the personal front Palmer has been married to his 'princess', or Mrs P. as she is known to everybody for nearly thirty years. The romance blossomed after the young DC Palmer arrested most of her family who were a bunch of South London petty villains in the 1960's. They have four children and eight grandchildren, a nice house in Dulwich and a faithful dog called Daisy who Palmer dotes on. They also have a neighbour called Benji, a retired, rich Advertising Executive who Palmer doesn't dote on although all Mrs P's friends seem to!
Gheeta Singh lives alone in a fourth-floor Barbican apartment having arrived on these shores as part of a refugee family fleeing from Idi Amin's Uganda. Her father and brothers have built up a good computer parts supply company in which it was assumed Gheeta would take an active role on graduating from University. She had other ideas on this, and also on the arranged marriage her mother and aunts still try to coerce her into. Gheeta has two loves, police work and technology, and thanks to Palmer she has her dream job.
Combining the old 'coppers nose' and 'gut feelings' of Palmer with the modern IT skills of DS Singh the two make an unlikely but successful team. The books have been described as 'NCIS meets the Sweeney' which seems to sum them up well. All the cases involve multiple killings and twist and turn through author Faulkner's signature red herrings and hidden clues alike keeping the reader in suspense until the very end.
Faulkner comes from a family of small-time South London villains and his insights into that world add a ring of truth to his writing. He assures you he avoided that career path himself.
Justin Palmer started off on the beat as a London policeman in 1964 and is now Detective Chief Superintendent Palmer running the Serial Murder Squad from New Scotland Yard.
Not one to pull punches or give a hoot for political correctness if it hinders his inquiries Palmer has gone as far as he will go in the Met. and he knows it. Master of the one line put down and slave to his sciatica he can be as nasty or as nice as he likes.
The mid-1990's was a time of reawakening for Palmer as the Information Technology revolution turned forensic science, communication and information gathering skills upside down. Realising the value of this revolution to crime solving Palmer co-opted Detective Sergeant Gheeta Singh, a British Asian WPC onto his team. DS Singh has a degree in IT and was given the go-ahead to update Palmer's IT with all the computer hard and software she needed to do the job. Most of which she wrote herself and some of which is, shall we say, of a grey area when it comes to privacy laws and accessing certain restricted databases!
Together with their small team of officers and Claire, a civilian computer clerk nicknamed 'JCB' by the team because she keeps on digging for clues, they take on the serial killers of the UK.
On the personal front Palmer has been married to his 'princess', or Mrs P. as she is known to everybody for nearly thirty years. The romance blossomed after the young DC Palmer arrested most of her family who were a bunch of South London petty villains in the 1960's. They have four children and eight grandchildren, a nice house in Dulwich and a faithful dog called Daisy who Palmer dotes on. They also have a neighbour called Benji, a retired, rich Advertising Executive who Palmer doesn't dote on although all Mrs P's friends seem to!
Gheeta Singh lives alone in a fourth-floor Barbican apartment having arrived on these shores as part of a refugee family fleeing from Idi Amin's Uganda. Her father and brothers have built up a good computer parts supply company in which it was assumed Gheeta would take an active role on graduating from University. She had other ideas on this, and also on the arranged marriage her mother and aunts still try to coerce her into. Gheeta has two loves, police work and technology, and thanks to Palmer she has her dream job.
Combining the old 'coppers nose' and 'gut feelings' of Palmer with the modern IT skills of DS Singh the two make an unlikely but successful team. The books have been described as 'NCIS meets the Sweeney' which seems to sum them up well. All the cases involve multiple killings and twist and turn through author Faulkner's signature red herrings and hidden clues alike keeping the reader in suspense until the very end.
Faulkner comes from a family of small-time South London villains and his insights into that world add a ring of truth to his writing. He assures you he avoided that career path himself.
388 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2017
About the author
B.L. Faulkner
24 books5 followersBarry Faulkner was born into a family of South London petty criminals who ran with the Richardson's Crime Gang in the 60's-90's. Being the youngest his mother, a top fashion model, was determined he would not follow in the criminal footsteps of the rest of the family and enrolled him into the Morely Academy of Dramatic Art to pursue a career in acting. Sadly young Faulkner was asked to leave after three months when no acting ability had surfaced. He went onto become an advertising copywriter with the English branch of the US Agency Erwin Wasey Ruffraf and Ryan where he got lucky with some scripts he sent to the BBC TV and became a scriptwriter and editor for them and several ITV companies. During this time the DCS Palmer plots were amassed in various notebooks and three years ago Faulkner finally found time to write and publish them. His early insight into the criminal world of his family has added authenticity to the characters and plots that makes them credible and the pace keeps the reader glued to the end. His signature end twist will always surprise you. Check out his top rated crime blog at geezers2016.wordpress.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 1, 2024
Palmer and Singh are a fun crime-fighting duo!
Importantly, the world that the characters occupy feels real. Characters are intelligent and proactive, and while they draw on well-known genre conventions, they do not speak or act cartoonishly. The settings incorporate gems of truth, undoubtedly drawn from the author's lived experience (including his screenwriting background).
The plots of both cases are fast-paced and resolve satisfyingly. Villains' methods and motives are believable. The cases have some great twists.
The prose is smooth and confident. (The author understands how to use semicolons - an under appreciated skill!) The print version was typeset well and easy to read. Very enjoyable as a beach read.
Also, I really appreciated was that while Palmer was written as a (very capable) man set in his ways, not once did he ever question Singh's talent or hard work. He stands up for her inside the workplace, as well as on the job. It's endearing and refreshing.
Importantly, the world that the characters occupy feels real. Characters are intelligent and proactive, and while they draw on well-known genre conventions, they do not speak or act cartoonishly. The settings incorporate gems of truth, undoubtedly drawn from the author's lived experience (including his screenwriting background).
The plots of both cases are fast-paced and resolve satisfyingly. Villains' methods and motives are believable. The cases have some great twists.
The prose is smooth and confident. (The author understands how to use semicolons - an under appreciated skill!) The print version was typeset well and easy to read. Very enjoyable as a beach read.
Also, I really appreciated was that while Palmer was written as a (very capable) man set in his ways, not once did he ever question Singh's talent or hard work. He stands up for her inside the workplace, as well as on the job. It's endearing and refreshing.
October 22, 2019
Having read two of the books in this series I enjoyed them so much, I now have to start at the beginning although each book can be read as a stand-alone.I absolutely love this authors style of writing, the era the books are set in and the three main characters. These books are a must read for all crime lovers, they come thoroughly recommended l
July 5, 2022
At best an ok book. Read or not read, won't miss anything either way.
Read like a soap opera, 4 murders, 4 killers, with a minimum of a plot.
To be fair I only read book 1 of this two book volume, but it was enough and I doubt I will read book 2 in this series. If there is a plus, I bought this book on the cheap.
Read like a soap opera, 4 murders, 4 killers, with a minimum of a plot.
To be fair I only read book 1 of this two book volume, but it was enough and I doubt I will read book 2 in this series. If there is a plus, I bought this book on the cheap.
March 27, 2019
Nice easy read with believable characters. Palmer must be of a similar age to myself as some of his reminiscences ring true to me and made the read more enjoyable. One criticism would be the repeated correction of his rank became slightly tedious.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews