The world’s only fictional, murder detective with ME in his life is back for round two in the DCI Parrish crime thriller series – but he’s not a pretty sight!
In ‘Recognition Man’, writer Bear Lawrence once again lifts retired Detective Chief Inspector Parrish out of the obscurity of retirement from the Metropolitan Police. He places him in a battle of wits with a serial killer in the United States, a drifter who just wants to have his neat but nasty line of revenge killings recognised.
If crime thrillers are your thing, and I must admit that Lawrence has persuaded me to return to them after many years of abstinence, this one is set in a large font that will make it an ideal beach read.
Parrish, known as ‘Scratcher’ to his mates, worked in the Met until he was forced into medically-induced retirement at the age of 39 when the cognitive overload caused by ME and fibromyalgia took him down. He had been one of the force’s star murder detectives.
In retirement, he has already re-established his name and reputation with ‘The Embleton Murders’, the first of Lawrence’s DCI Parrish series, in which he works with the local constabulary to solve some strange and mysterious deaths at the local university.
Now, with an eye on the American market, the author gives him a trans-Atlantic twist where he is often having to talk to fellow detectives in the States about Remah, the wierdo who makes first contact with him through an email that chillingly challenges him to become “a fan of my work”.
Photos show the covers of the first two DCI Parrish crime thrillers and the author, Bear Lawrence, sitting on his Chesterfield at home. Read his latest book to work out the significance of that last remark!
With his illness and its propensity not to allow you refreshing sleep, Parrish can look quite dishevelled in his video calls with American colleagues. He’s unshaven and, if he’s got up late, looks quite the opposite of a spring chicken. Bit like the working in your pyjamas only to be caught out by someone coming to the front door!
Ditto if Parish has forgotten to take his medication on time. And sometimes his memory does take time to kick in.
Not that appearances and the underlying illness cancel out his importance to the lead investigators in the States – Det Lt Jacob Johnson from the Twain Lakes Police Department in Missouri and the hyper-efficient but tricky police department boss, Det Lt Col Shasta Hans-Ciapanno, in Indiana. Johnson at least has worked out that Parrish might have valuable insights to offer, but he must be given time to think things through.
It would spoil the surprise to tell you exactly how Parrish tracks down the killer but he has to solve a complex code puzzle before the Americans can make their arrest. Lives lost in a long-forgotten bridge collapse lie at the heart of this particular mystery.
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, with the loss of six lives, happened last year while Bear Lawrence was still writing the book. The story and the film of the ship crashing into the bridge made news round the world.
“Yes, the bridge collapse happened during my writing of the book. I wasn't able to write any quicker to keep it topical. Plus, the subject was pretty raw for the American public at the time,” he told me by email from his home in Northumberland.
What’s next up for former DCI Parrish?
“I've started writing, ‘Hanging Stone', but am taking a break to enjoy the fine weather.
“A body is discovered by walkers at the foot of a local landmark, The Hanging Stone, on the North Yorkshire Moors. The police first on the scene, are perplexed by what they find, has the person died from hanging, or have they burnt to death? When forensic detectives examine the scene, other possible causes of death come to light and the mystery deepens.
“With such a remote location, very little digital evidence exits and no eye witnesses, the case has few leads. DCI Parrish has been following the case in the media, as the murder site is a few miles from his home in Helmsley. When the wife of the deceased makes an appeal to find the killers, she reminds him of a previous case and he contacts the detectives with a possible lead.”
If you like to slip a copy of ‘Recognition Man’ into your tote bag as you head for the beach, buy it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recognition-Man-Parrish-Crime-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B0DPCN5ZTJ/ref=sr_1_1?
The paperback costs £10.99 while the Kindle edition is £7.99.
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Volunteer, The ME Association
fundraising@meassociation.org.uk
