In the beautiful city of York, England, a man hangs himself in his apartment. Once he was a high-flying financier, but he helped to engineer a massive Ponzi scheme and went to prison for several years. Inspector Jack Husker, just back on the job after suffering a major injury, is dispatched to dot the bureaucratic i’s and cross the t’s. But the crime scene officer has his doubts about the death, and soon Jack is thinking murder.

When one of his partners in the scheme dies in a fall from his balcony soon after, all doubt is removed.

Jack Husker, hero of Time to Die, has a reputation on the force. He’s the cop the brass send in when they want a battering ram and are willing to overlook a little excessive force. But Jack, teamed with his colleague Lisa Ramsey, with whom he is carrying on a tentative flirtation, will be walking a little softer on this case.

Jack will extend his inquiries to the city of Leeds, where he’ll meet another female detective who makes a strong play for his attention – a distraction he doesn’t need. He’ll find connections to international crime and dangerous gangsters. The final showdown, when it comes, will be (for this reader) a bit of an anticlimax.

I was amused when, in one scene, Lisa has a meeting with a confidential source at the Jorvik Viking Centre (a place I’ve always wanted to visit).

I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this book. It’s part of an ongoing series, and although I didn’t feel that the author shortchanged me at all (except for a frustrating refusal to describe his characters physically), I have an idea I would have followed along better if I’d started at the beginning. Jack’s tactics seemed kind of scattershot to me, and he went into the climactic confrontation without any plan at all, being rescued only by a sort of deus ex machina.

Also, Jack’s relationship with Lisa was kind of hard to understand. Two people strongly attracted to one another who seem determined to mutually sabotage their chances. (But what do I know about relationships?)

I wouldn’t rate Time to Die high on my list of favorites, but it was all right. The prose was good. Cautions for strong language.