No Smoke Without Fire. Paul Gitsham (Writer) HQ HarperCollins (2020).

A very engaging and enjoyable UK police procedural. A murder victim is found in a rural location, she had been raped and strangled. Chief Detective Inspector Warren Jones leads the investigation. The murderer was very forensically aware, taking great care to cover his traces. The attack is like those caried out by a man recently released from prison for previous rapes. The difference being that this time the victims have been murdered.  The man has a solid alibi, and the lack of forensic evidence is a huge problem. The story moves nicely, the tension and pressure on the police mount as the attacks and deaths continue. The reveals are cleverly staged, and the final resolution is very satisfactory. I have a strong dislike for stories that use sexual violence as a plot device and this story is no exception. It does deal with sexual violence and the extended impact of sexual violence with care and the victims are never blamed. The plot mechanics are very well done, the investigation is conducted with competence and application by the police. They pursue logical lines of enquiry and the problems they encounter are credible. The increasing pressure created by the subsequent attacks and murders is skillfully portrayed as is the frustration at not being able to prevent them. The cast are engaging and given the time and space to involve the reader with them. Warren Jones is a career police officer whose competence, patience and energy is directly challenged by the unending pressure of the investigation as well as a significant personal tragedy.  He is neither isolated nor battling with the management. He has a boss who is very conscious of the impact of failure and attempts to position himself accordingly. This is the ordinary status quo of any organization and presented as such. Very happily he has a successful, working, personal relationship that is neither overshadowed nor undermined by his work.   The rest of the cast, including the walk on parts are all given sufficient detail to become someone rather than convenient victims or room fillers. There is little humour in the story, it involves a serious matter taken seriously by the writer. Paul Gitsham does not need it; the writing is engaging and attractive. The atmosphere is created, conveyed, and sustained with apparent effort and the events are described with force and vivid detail. Excellent crime fiction.