Diminished by Death

Born in 1916, John Rossiter, writing under the pseudonym of Jonathan Ross, is a retired British detective superintendent, who has written gritty crime novels featuring his series detective, Chief Inspector George Rogers. With his assistant the dandyish, snuff-snorting detective inspector David Lingard, the tough-minded Rogers gets deeply enmeshed in a complex murder investigation. It's a grisly, gory, complicated plot, fast-moving, with a cast of distinctly unpleasant characters. A spooning couple in a rowboat under a bridge is interrupted when a bloody knife is dropped into their rowboat. From that point on, it's a roller coaster ride of a procedural where the squeamish dare not go. It involves a plethora of adulterous and voracious wives. The autopsies alone will be enough to make your flesh crawl. An exhausted Rogers gets a broken leg and a shotgun blast for his troubles. His police crew is well-drawn. I've always been intrigued by Ross's hard-boiled British police fiction, and this one will keep readers involved and, at times, appalled by Rogers savage take on life. Certainly not a coy British cozy. Highly recommended.