Book Review: A Detective at Death's Door

Reviewed By: Catherine Thompson - RAM

A Detective at Death's Door     Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada HC
H. R. F. Keating
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural   Woman Main Character
Series: Harriet Martens # 5
Macmillan; $34.95 hardcover; 263 pages

Whilst relaxing by the pool at the Majestic Insurance Club with her husband on the August Bank Holiday, Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens doesn’t expect that her glass of Campari soda contains poison. When she wakes, she’s no longer by the pool but in hospital, recovering from a near-fatal dose of aconitine. As she gradually regains her strength, both physical and mental, Harriet tries to come to terms with the idea that someone wanted to kill her. Soon, however, it becomes clear that she’s only the first victim of the Poisoner, as two more people succumb to aconitine. Harriet must put her trauma as far behind her as she can and find the person responsible.

I’ve enjoyed Keating’s Harriet Martens series since The Hard Detective. Harriet is the sort of ballsy female police detective that most male writers can’t seem to get their heads around: a woman who’s tough in the Job, yet whose emotional life is complex without being over the top. Most male writers seem to go from one extreme to the other, either writing a female detective so tough or so soft that the character becomes a caricature. Keating maintains the delicate balance and ends up with an entirely believable protagonist.

While that makes the series itself enjoyable, what makes A Detective at Death’s Door so good is how Keating digs deep into Harriet’s psyche whilst at the same time weaving a deadly plot around his detective.

Catherine Thompson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM