Unnatural Wastage

When a woman is murdered in an exclusive Bristol residence, Det. Constable Sukey Reynolds must sift through tenants’ complaints to find the killer.   Det. Constable Vicky Armstrong and her colleague, DC Sukey Reynolds, are complaining about the lack of new serious cases. Of course, that doesn’t last long. The body of Fenella Tremaine, who lived in an upscale block of apartments in Bristol, turns up in a skip (trash can) with a distinctive, oriental-patterned knife in her back. Fenella was attractive, outspoken, and not well liked by her fellow tenants’ association members.   Which of her enemies would kill her? Was it a professional rival? Perhaps it was because she was about to testify against the administrators of a local residential facility in a negligent-death case. Sukey will have to use all her wits and get help from her contacts—including handsome journalist Harry Matthews—if she and her colleagues are to solve this latest baffler.   Unnatural Wastage is the twelfth book in the Sukey Reynolds Mystery series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.   “This is a solid British procedural featuring appealing female police officers. It will appeal to readers who enjoy Peter Lovesey and Peter Turnbull.” —Booklist