A Bleeding of Innocents [Hardcover]

Jo Bannister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

Female inspector Liz Graham and Irish Sergeant Cal Donovan both endure the bigotry of the Castlemere police force, but during a search for a serial killer, their position as misfits becomes useful. By the author of Striving with Gods.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A double murder and two coppers with scores to settle and divergent methods keep Bannister's ( Striving with Gods ) series launch moving at a brisk clip. Sgt. Cal Donovan of the Castlemere CID is assigned to the shooting murder of a young nurse from an old folks' home. Normally an intuitive bobby, Cal is recovering from the death of his former partner and superior officer in a suspicious hit and run that nearly killed Cal too, and for which he blames Jack Carney, a local crime kingpin. Then the shotgun murder of a surgeon suggests the possibility of a serial killer with a medical fixation. As Cal and his new superior Liz Graham pursue leads--resulting in several serious beatings for Cal-- Bannister keeps the suspense tight as a drum. Toward the end, a killer is revealed with surprising sympathy, and Cal, with Liz's help, fools the bad guys (and all but the most attentive readers) with a crafty sleight-of-hand.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A first appearance for Castlemere police sergeant Cal Donovan, who's convinced (1) that the hit-and-run that killed his partner was masterminded by underworld biggie Jack Carney, and (2) that there's a link between the murder of nurse Kerry Page and Carney. The dead woman's husband, a pilot, recently ferried the crook and his muscleman Terry to the track, and just may have heard something he shouldn't have--and gotten his wife killed to buy his silence. Inspector Liz Graham, new to Castlemere and now Donovan's superior, is not convinced, however, that there's a connection. Then a surgeon who used to work with Kerry is also murdered, and the anaesthetist, Dr. Saunders, the third member of the operating-room team, seems to be next in line. Still hassling Carney, Donovan is given the once-over by his goons, then reprimanded sharply by Liz, who's drawing closer to tying in the medical murders with a ghastly hospital mishap and coverup. Taut and suspenseful, but a cut below the author's best work (The Going Down of the Sun, 1989). The Donovan-Graham duo behave predictably (railing against machismo on her part, and against Brits and career lowlifes on his), but need more individuality and spark to find a loyal readership. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312097506
• ISBN-13: 978-0312097509
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,226,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very suspenseful and tightly written, a real page turner, June 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Bleeding of Innocents ( A Castlemere Mystery) (Paperback)

This book was a gift and I had never heard of the author before, but from the very start I was hooked on the story and the interplay between characters. The end was a nicely brought off suprise. Based on this book I have ordered her other books and can't wait for them to arrive. I'm sure that they will be a great summer's read like this one was.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written page-turner involving a series of murders, June 22, 2005

By 

M. C. Crammer (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Bleeding of Innocents ( A Castlemere Mystery) (Paperback)

This is my first "Jo Bannister" but I'm looking forward to reading more of her work. This is one of the better-plotted mysteries I've read, although I can't say it was difficult for a serious reader of mysteries to stay ahead of the detectives through much of the book -- a few red herrings would have helped.

The plot of this police procedural involves the brutal late-at-night-in-the-country murder of a young nurse by a stranger with a shotgun. The husband is the first suspect, since husbands are often the killers of wives and he was with her when it happened and yet wasn't killed himself. Eventually another similar death occurs, and since there's a connection of sorts between the two victims, the police have another avenue to pursue.

Will they catch the killer before he kills again?

At the same time, there's a plot involving a police detective who was run down and killed. Donovan, the detective's hot-headed and uncompromising sergeant (who was with the detective at the time and also injured), is obsessed with nailing the killer -- whom he believes is a local gangster named Jack Carney. He's not the easiest person to supervise, and the "temp" detective, a woman brought in from another area, has to try to solve the shotgun killings while resolving some issues with Donovan. Donovan has to solve the shotgun killings and ALSO the hit and run death of his inspector.

All told, it moves right along, and in the end, all makes sense. If I had any complaints, it would be that too often I was not as surprised as I would have liked to have been.