I really liked Catherine Aird’s fourth Sloan and Crosby mystery, A Late Phoenix, with its cold case aspect and the connections to World War II. And, in each book, Aird adds a little bit more about Sloan’s personal life. Not only does he have a passion for the roses he grows, but his wife is mentioned in this one. I may be wrong, but I think it’s the first time she indicated he was married.

It’s a construction crew that uncovers a body when they’re digging on the site for a new building. Of course, that’s going to stop construction, which doesn’t make the team happy. Detective Inspector C.D. Sloan isn’t happy either. While he’s eager to say the body is from the war years when Berebury was bombed, the pathologist says a bombing victim would not have been laid out as the skeleton was. Now, twenty-five to thirty years after the victim’s death, Sloan has a cold case on his hands.

As with so many good police procedurals, Sloan spends a good amount of time interviewing people and doing research. In fact, A Late Phoenix helps to set the time period for these books as Sloan tells his supervisor he was in school during the last war, and he has to research what happened in Berebury and the bombing because he doesn’t remember much about the war. He was too young.

Although the friend who recommended these says they can be read in any order, I’d certainly recommend reading them in order. As I said, Aird reveals a little more about Sloan in every book. And, we learn a little bit more about Sloan’s boss, Superintendent Leeyes, in each mystery. While he’s the butt of jokes amongst the police because he takes so many adult classes to try to improve himself, the information from the classes adds flavor and, often, a clue for Sloan. And, in this case, Leeyes’ preoccupation with a new bar across from the station adds humor and a time frame.

I’m very content with this new to me set of police procedurals. A Late Phoenix was an enjoyable additon to the series.

A Late Phoenix by Catherine Aird. Rue Morgue, 1970/2008. 160p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I bought a collection in order to read this story.