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KINGDOM OF LIES pulls off the extraordinarily difficult task of transcending genre. It functions perfectly on one level as a police procedural--Wood plays by all the rules, from the body on the first page through the introduction of suspects through the violent showdown with the killer at the end. At the same time, she devotes the kind of attention to character development that's more common in "serious" novels, especially with her primary protagonist, Yorkshire Sergeant Keen Dunliffe, whose personal and professional history is teasingly revealed as the story unfolds. There's also romance, an "amateur detective," several detours through English history, and a bit of cloak and dagger conspiracy.

Despite its complexities --or maybe even because of them--the plot grabbed me early and had me sprinting through the last 100 pages. The woman whose murder launches the story--an intriguing and fully developed character, though we never see her alive--was a historian, chasing a real-life mystery, the alleged marriage of King George III to Hannah Lightfoot, the "Fair Quaker." The novel pursues both historical and present-day motives for the murder, and sends Dunliffe on a temporary assignment to the London Metropolitan Police, where he becomes increasingly involved with Dr. Jillie Waltham, a US historian and friend of the victim.

Dunliffe and Waltham are both survivors of bad marriages, both carrying emotional wounds that have been bleeding internally for years. Their tentative, repressed, mismatched attraction is the heart of the novel, and is beautifully and realistically handled.
My only real problem with the book was that there were so many characters. They were all vividly drawn, but there were dozens of them, 200 years' worth, and I there were two or three times where I was at sea for a while before I finally made the connections I needed. I actually longed for one of those "cast of characters" cheat sheets. I also had a few quibbles with word choices--people "grin" a lot, a word I've never liked--but that's really a matter of taste.

All that is more than outweighed by the things the book does well. The daily routine of cop life--especially the endless paperwork--is totally convincing. British crime writers rarely do people from the US well, but Wood, being from the US originally, doesn't have this problem at all. (As a devoted Anglophile, I found no fault with her British slang either, but I'll leave final judgment on that to somebody who's more expert.) Unsurprisingly, she also does a great job with the female characters. Her copious research (documented in the Acknowledgements) comes across as lived-in expertise, whether she's talking about Yorkshire drystone wall construction, pharmacology, police procedure, monasteries, or pub food.

I was reminded of Barry Maitland, my favorite police procedural writer, who also likes to pin his novels to a particular subculture. Like Maitland, Wood is also great at throwing the curve balls that make you stop and reconsider everything you thought you had figured out. To cite just one example, how did a pane of broken window glass *inside* a kitchen end up with the print of a tire tread on it?

Maybe the thing I liked best is that once the mystery is solved, the book doesn't slam to a stop. Wood cares too much about her characters for that, and by that point, so do you.

I only bought it because a long lost couse wrote it. I hope that I get to read it soon

In Leeds, a teenage jogger finds a drowned naked woman in a pond on the grounds of Harewood House; the current owner is a first cousin to the Queen. Leeds Police Sergeant Keen Dunliffe heads to the scene hoping an accident not murder occurred.

American Professor Gillian Waltham calls the police because her roommate at a conference at Leeds University is missing. Dr. Waltham arrives at the Weetwood Police Station and identifies the victim as Dr. Christine Swinton, an eighteenth century English Royalty historian.

Soon afterward Met Chief Superintendent Pete McCraig and Justin Scudder, personal assistant to the Home Secretary, arrive to ask Keen to stay close to Gillian to see if he can learn something about Christine's death. She is the fourth such victim left on a royal estate in the past few months. Though he believes the Met blokes are hiding much of what they know, he agrees to the assignment because he has an opportunity to see his twin sons living with his former wife and her fiancé in London. He might have reconsidered taking the job if he knew what awaited him in town.

KINGDOM OF LIES is an interesting police procedural starring a cynical police sergeant and an upbeat professor. The story line is fun to follow as the audience along with Keen wonder what the Met is hiding. Though the Keen-Jillie relationship is an overused plot device, their working together make the tale succeed and leads to the final odd twist with the "guardian angel". Fans will enjoy this spin that sets up future tales starring the acrimonious cop who is somewhat mellowed by the élan for more in life professor.

Harriet Klausner

The basic premise is terrific and the book blurb makes this sound fascinating. The first few chapters are quite good. Then, it all goes awry. There is too much packed into this book, creating an incoherent mess. The convolutions are either too neat or too bizarre. The text often read more like a screenplay than prose. Where was the editor?

And, what a depressing book! The main characters are so flawed that I spent most of my time diagnosing their problems and wondering what a bit of group therapy plus meds could do for them. Keen definitely could use an anger management course, some behavioral therapy, and a mood stabilizer.

I also downloaded this to my ipod to take on a long trip. It was perfect. The reader was very adroit at doing not just various British accents but also American accents.

Keen Dunliffe, the disgraced Yorkshire copper, is a very appealing character. Flawed, but honorable by his own lights, he makes a good foil for the rather uptight American history professor.

There is twist after turn of the plot and the conclusion does not disappoint. I am waiting hopefully for the next in this series.

This is one audio book that will keep your attention. I started my trip (automobile) with it, and upon my arrival had to take it inside to hear the ending.