The Worm in the Bud – DI Mariner #1

What you need to know before your trail

A puncture wound in the arm of a local journalist found dead in his home gives testimony to his death by lethal injection, and the cryptic note by his side—no more”—suggests suicide. To DI Tom Mariner, however, there is something a little too staged about events, especially given that just that evening Mariner had witnessed the journalist—Edward Barham—pick up a prostitute in a bar.

Despite being about some bloody murders, this book is a thriller and mystery in one and introduces DI Mariner to the Birmingham crime scene. Lots of local sites mentioned or alluded to.