Daniel Cole, Trapeze

If you’re going to have a maverick detective then Wolf is a good a name as any (real name: William Oliver Layton-Fawkes). And the redoubtable Wolf is back in the third book in this trilogy, which began with the best-seller ‘Ragdoll’ and continued with ‘Hangman’. After the seismic events of the last two novels Wolf begins this adventure in disgrace. But when retired police officer Finlay Shaw is found dead in a locked room – which everyone, invariably, thinks is suicide – Wolf suspects foul play. Not one for licking his wounds he’s soon on the case with his former partner, Detective Emily Baxter, and private detective, Edmunds. Needless to say, not everyone is getting the bunting up for Wolf’s return, and as his investigation leads him into some murky areas, things get a bit tasty. This could be read as a stand-alone adventure but you really need to get hold of the first two if you’re in the market for some beach-read type thrills.