Clean Break

While this wasn't a story about serial killers or any of the darker manner of mystery books, it was an engaging read that had Kate burning the candle at both ends to solve both the cases on her docket. I was completely won over by the characters. I thought they were exceptionally well done. Along with Kate's own humor, this was a very good read.

Kate Brannigan is a Manchester-based private investigator that is having a bad day. She is investigating the robbery of a Monet painting from one of her client's homes. What really gets her craw is that during the previous day she installed the client's home security system. Kate is also involved with a second case involving industrial sabotage. Kerrchem is facing a rash of lawsuits after one of its cleaning fluids killed a man. The police stated that the man died from inhaling arsenic.Kate does her best to solve these two cases despite her trouble with her boyfriend. Apparently they are at a crossroads after a previous case and they are having trouble getting back in the swing of things.I knew I had to read more of Val McDermid's work after reading A PLACE OF EXECUTION. One thing I enjoyed about CLEAN BREAK was that it was easy to read and I liked the characters. Kate is not a superwoman but she works very hard at what she does. She is loyal to herself and her friends. She knows when she is wrong and she knows when to ask for help. I really enjoyed reading her story and I intend to read the other books in the Kate Brannigan series in the near future.

It's like a sorbet - light and refreshing. It's not too heavy on character development, but just enough to keep the characters interesting without an Oprah-esque heaviness. It's got a couple of different mysteries running at one time, but the writer handles that with ease. There was one section (a chase through Europe) that was a bit long, but other than that, this is a very good, very quick read. It's similar in style and tone to Patricia Cornwell's early work. And beware that it's a British book, so there are a few phrases that might be a bit difficult to understand at first.