How to describe Anne Cleeland’s Doyle and Acton mysteries? They are as difficult to summarize as Louise Penny’s works. While Cleeland’s characters work for Scotland Yard, she’s created her own unusual world for them. Murder in Containment, the fourth in the series, is a complex, riveting story that draws the reader in from page one.

It’s hard to turn away when a Detective Chief Inspector is bait for a killer. And, that’s only the beginning of a convoluted trap. While Detective Sergeant Kathleen Doyle struggles with her morning sickness, she also struggles with the knowledge that Scotland Yard somehow seems involved in containment murders. Someone wants to keep scandal from reaching the higher levels in Scotland Yard, and a few murders seem ominously convenient. And, Doyle, with her uncanny ability to recognize lies and her “gift”, senses that her husband, Acton, may have been involved in a few of those murders.

Doyle’s nighttimes are as disturbing as her days. She’s tormented by a recurring dream, and both she and Acton are aware that it may be warning. Acton is already obsessed with Doyle’s safety. Now, the foreboding dream makes him take extra precautions despite Doyle’s restlessness.

Cleeland’s mysteries have an intimacy that is lacking in most other books. The reader is drawn into the extraordinary lives of Doyle and Acton. Perhaps it’s because of the unusual protagonists. Perhaps it’s because of the tangled relationships in the books. Characters are skillfully drawn with fascinating stories. Perhaps it’s the author’s skill in creating ingenious plots and original characters that draws the reader back again and again.

Murder in Containment is the fourth in this compelling series. But, you must read the earlier three books in order to understand the characters and the storyline. Pick up Murder in Thrall, and, if you’re as entranced as I am, you’ll soon be caught up in a Cleeland’s world of Doyle and Acton.

Anne Cleeland’s website is www.annecleeland.com

Murder in Containment by Anne Cleeland. Artemis Press. 2016. ISBN 9780692774427 (paperback), 323p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – The author sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.

Note: The winner of the copy of Murder in Containment was Willetta H. from Dearborn, MI.