BLOODLINE

Will a British copper be able to use a newly acquired skill to save a life?

DI Joanna Piercy is thrilled that her longtime friend DS Mike Korpanski is returning to work in Staffordshire a year after having been badly injured. On the same day, an elderly man named Joseph Holden opens his door to a stranger with a gun and struggles to understand whether the man wants the valuable objects Joseph’s acquired in his travels or revenge for some past misdeed. Joseph’s neighbor Doreen Caputo, who checks on him every day while walking her dog, goes to the police after several odd interactions make her fear that something’s wrong. The two police officers she talks with check out her tip, duly noting the rental car parked near Joseph’s home. Meantime, Joseph is mostly kept tied to a chair while he considers his sins. When his cleaner, Clarice, who’s Somali, arrives, he has to wonder if she’s involved. After talking to the officers who checked up on Joseph, Joanna has a niggling feeling, and she and Mike decide to look in on him themselves. A call from headquarters alerts them to the fact that a caller has claimed to be holding Joseph and Clarice and demanded to talk to Joanna. Although Joanna recently completed a course on hostage negotiations, she feels ill-equipped to deal with the situation, but she has no choice. While the police search for clues in Joseph’s past that might explain why someone would hold him hostage, Joanna continues talking in hopes of resolving the dangerous situation.

A tense, engrossing examination of why good and evil aren’t always easy to tell apart.