BLOOD MONEY

Tom Bradby's been working on endings. No doubt about that. His last book, The God of Chaos, hugely disappointed fans with its weak denouement. So Tom must have noticed ... it's taken five years to get another title on the shelves.

Set in 1929 New York, Detective Joe Quinn is tasked with solving the murder of a Wall Street banker, originally thought to have topped himself, before a group of his pals suffer the same gruesome fate. Recession and depression. Nice timing, Tom. Just wait, 80 years from now, fictional historical detectives will be hunting killers of 2009 RBS executives. Anyway, where were we? Ah, that's right. Quinn, New York, 1929, dead bankers. Bradby spins a web of intrigue that Quinn must entangle himself in to find answers.

Connections to organised crime denizen Lucky Luciano develop and, of course, there's the woman. Quinn's sweetheart, adopted by his mother, is about to marry his brother. Follow that, did you, at the back? As the case develops, the path seems to lead Quinn towards his own father, once New York's best-known cop.

It's a clever murder mystery, inspired by tradition, but hardboiled at the same time. Noir, maybe it's not. Thriller? Nah, not going there either, but it's a quietly satisfying piece of crime fiction, with a conclusion that will earn the author forgiveness from his previously-let down backers.

Not top of your wish list, but Blood Money's a decent showing and a worthy addition to any collection.