In this 21st book in the 'Inspector Lynley' series, the Scotland Yard detective and his team investigate the death of a policewoman. The book can be read as a standalone, but knowing the characters makes it more entertaining.
*****
Detective Sargeant Teodora (Teo) Bontempi, a woman of Nigerian heritage, is found unconscious in her apartment, suffering from a head injury.
The policewoman later dies in the hospital, and because this is the death of a cop, the case immediately goes to Scotland Yard.
Acting Detective Chief Superintendent Thomas Lynley.....
.....and his team, Detective Sargeant Barbara Havers and Detective Sargeant Winston Nkata, get the case.
The detectives soon discover that Teo had been part of a small squad investigating the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). This procedure, which involves slicing off a female's external genitalia, is done to 'cleanse and purify' the girl for marriage. The practice is illegal in England but still practiced in Somali and Nigerian communities. FGM is sometimes carried out as early as infancy and almost always on very young girls, and Teo herself had undergone the procedure many years ago.
Teo was trying to shut down covert FGM clinics and arrest practitioners, usually untrained Somali or Nigerian women who use box cutters, glass slivers, knives, razor blades, and the like for 'the surgery.' Teo also spoke at community meetings and schools, to educate people about the horrors of FGM, which often leaves girls with lifelong pain and chronic infections. Some girls are even driven to suicide from the agony and humiliation.
To investigate Teo's homicide, Lynley's squad interviews Teo's co-workers, family, friends, and acquaintances; examines CCTV footage; looks at phones and phone records; examines computers; etc. This leads the detectives to many persons of interest, including Teo's inner circle and members of the Nigerian community. Thus, as the story unfolds we meet numerous characters, including:
⦿ Teo's former boss DCS Mark Phinney and his wife Pietra.
Mark and Pietra have a severely disabled pre-pubescent daughter, and the ongoing strain has made them more like roommates than spouses. Mark was having an affair with Teo.
⦿ A Nigerian family composed of Abeo Bankole, his wife Monifa, their 18-year-old son Tani, and their 8-year-old daughter Simi. Abeo is an old-style Nigerian man who thinks he's king of his household, and uses his fists to prove it.
Both Monifa and Abeo seem determined to 'cleanse' little Simi via FGM, while Tani wants to save his sister from the abhorrent practice.
⦿ Teo's estranged husband Ross Carver. Teo and Ross are amicably separated, and Ross claims he still loved his wife. Ross visited Teo on the day she was injured, and alleges she asked to speak with him. Ross is now preparing to move back into the apartment he once shared with Teo.
⦿ Teo's sister Rosie. Rosie is a beautiful woman who instinctively flirts with any man in her vicinity. Rosie was heard arguing with Teo, and says it's because Teo wasn't attentive enough to their father, who had suffered a stroke.
⦿ A Nigerian woman called Zawadi, who runs an anti-FGM organization called Orchid House.
Girls in danger of FGM can seek help at Orchid House, which will hide them away while Zawadi 'negotiates' with the parents. As it happens, Thomas Lynley's friend, photographer Deborah St. James, is working with Orchid House to publish a book of photos and stories about girls who suffered from FGM, to be used in schools.
⦿ A medical practitioner who claims to repair (as much as possible) women who have undergone FGM.
As always in this series, we get a peek at the personal lives of many characters, which adds a lot to the story. For instance:
⦿ DS Winston Nkata, who's almost 6'6" tall, lives his dad and mom - who calls him Jewel. Winston's mom is a gem herself, who's anxious to learn Nigerian cooking for the restaurant she owns. It's interesting to see the Nigerian dishes, which would be fun to taste.
⦿ DS Barbara Havers always dresses in a T-shirt; drawstring pants, and high-top sneakers, and her clothes often harbor food stains. Barbara can't pass a take-out shop without buying a meal, and her oversize purse holds crackers, candy bars, custard cremes, hard candies, Pop-Tarts, etc, for emergencies. Barbara's co-worker at Scotland Yard, secretary Dorothea Harriman, is always trying to arrange activities for Barbara and herself to meet men, like tap-dancing, sketching, badminton, family camp, and the like - though Barbara says she's NOT INTERESTED in romance. All this has fun consequences in the story.
⦿ Acting DCS Thomas Lynley is still involved with zoo veterinarian Daidre Trahair, though he seems more invested in the relationship than she does, largely because of Daidre's difficult past. The relationship appears to approach a turning point in this book.
Thomas (who's actually a Lord) has a manservant who takes care of
the house and leaves meals for Thomas to warm up, like steak and kidney
pie minus the kidneys (which Thomas hates.) 🙂
⦿ Photographer Deborah St. James lives with her husband, forensic specialist Simon St. James, and her father Cotter in a beautiful house commensurate with their wealth.
Deborah and the men have a difference of opinion about a young Nigerian girl who's been hidden away by Orchid House, and there's some man-splaining that infuriates Deborah. 🙂 Deborah also experiences resentment from Nigerian women at Orchid House, who'd prefer to work with a black photographer.
This is a very long book, and some reviewers have criticized the extraneous elements. I didn't mind at all. I enjoyed reading about the hunt for Teo's killer, the attempt to save young Simi from being cut, and everything going on with the characters.
I'm a long-time fan of the series and highly recommend the novel.
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