Shifting Skin. Chris Simms. Orion Books (2006)

A very engaging and sharply written police procedural. Partially skinned bodies have been dumped around the Belle Vue area and Detective Inspector Jon Spicer is struggling to get a grip on the case. At the same time a battered woman felling from her home is sure she has heard a murder at the hotel she was sheltering at. She only has a card from an escort agency as proof and embarks on her own investigation when the police do not. Jon Spicer is assigned a new partner and together they start to find a trail to follow, unlicensed cosmetic surgery. The two investigations slowly start to draw together and overlap in a very satisfactory and effective climax.
Chris Simms has written a very well constructed crime story that stages it reveals with care and at the same time allows its cast to breathe and develop and deal with some very interesting issues. Rick Saville, Jon Spicers' new partner is gay and Chris Simms handles the story thread this leads to very nicely. Jon Spicer is a very macho character, it is not Rick's sexual orientation that bother him, it is his competence as a police officer. Once that is established the matter of his being gay is still relevant but minor. This allows Rick emerge as a rounded character rather than a token.
Fiona, the battered wife, slowly emerges as character, her investigation is as much as assertion of her control over her own life, long absent, as anything else. The way the threads of the story are drawn together and the horribly plausible well of hate and bile that lie behind the murders is expertly revealed. A gripping and very enjoyable story.

Savage Moon. Chris Simms. Orion Books (2007)

A very engaging police procedural with a superbly constructed plot and a very well realised cast. A woman is found mauled to death on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester. A rouge big cat is suspected and the evidence supports the idea. When a man is killed in a similar fashion at a gay rendezvous, DI Jon Spicer is assigned to the case. While the investigation does reveal a lot about the lives of the victims, there is no apparent connection between them nor any evidence that it was murder. The plot develops strongly as the investigation continues and the threads begin to tie together in a grim and very effective fashion, leading to a surprising and hard hitting conclusion.
In addition to the excellent plot Chris Simms has taken two threadbare genre staples and given them a very welcome breath of life. DI Spicer has a domestic problem, his wife is a new mother and does not appear to be coping well. The issue and impact of post natal depression is handled with care, the struggle to manage domestic and professional demands with a male character in the vise is deftly done. In addition Spicer has conflicts with superiors at work, this too is handled well, organisational pressures, ambition and differing agendas are the context rather than stupidity. The mix of the two is very well drawn together as well as the escalating pressure of the investigation.
Chris Simms pulls of a major reveal that has the potential to unbalance the book and topple the reader out of the story with elegant skill. A lengthy exposition is given a clever context and tension that neatly tie it to the story and feels natural. This is a very well written novel that pushes the boundaries of the genre while scrupulously respecting them,a pleasure.

Killing the Beasts. Chris Simms. Orion (2005)

A gripping, thoughtful and low key crime story that very effectively utilises a splintered narrative. In Manchester a woman is found dead, she has been killed in a very unusual fashion. Detective Jon Spicer is assigned to the case, taken off an ongoing investigation into a series of thefts of very expensive cars. DI Spicer is concerned about his friend Tom Benwell whom he has not seen for a while. The narrative loops back some months to the lead up to the Commonwealth Games due to be staged in Manchester and follows DI Spicer, Sly a car thief, Tom and a very odd man called George. As the story shifts time and perspective the threads start to weave together, the reveals are very cunningly staged and the plot meshes in a compelling and unexpected fashion. The conclusion is superbly orchestrated.
The structure of the book takes a little getting used to and Chris Simms is willing to take time to tell a story before it becomes clear how it relates to the criminal plot. By taking the time Chris Simms gives the principal cast the opportunity to fully establish themselves. As the story of the murder investigation moves forward Chris Simms skillfully exploits the opportunities he creates in the flashbacks to develop the plot.
One of the very nice things about the book is the absence of the overly theatrical serial killer that frequently haunts similar stories. While this can be an effective element in a story, in this case the low key approach has a substantial pay off. This is a really enjoyable, superbly crafted and gripping story.