The dead hand of history. #1 : a DCI Monika Paniatowski mystery

the First In A New Series Featuring Charlie Woodend's Protege, Dci Monika Paniatowski - It Will Be No Easy Task To Fill Dci Charlie Woodend's Shoes, The Newly-promoted Monika Paniatowski Tells Herself, But, Given A Little Time, She Thinks She Can Grow Into Them. Yet, With The Discovery Of A Severed Hand, Time Is The One Thing She Does Not Have. When Her Colleagues Prove Untrustworthy, The Urge To Call Woodend For Help Becomes Almost Irresistible . . . publishers Weekly spencer Elevates Monika Paniatowski, The Protégé Of Det. Chief Insp. Charlie Woodend (a Dying Fall, Etc.), To Center Stage In This Pedestrian Police Procedural Set In 1973 Lancashire. On Her First Day As Woodend's Successor, Paniatowski Faces A Misogynistic Sergeant With An Axe To Grind And Visits The Site Of A Grisly Discovery—a Bag Containing A Severed Human Hand. After Another Hand Turns Up And Proves To Be That Of Baker Tom Whittington, The Police Figure Out The First Hand Belongs To Linda Szymborska, Whittington's Managing Director At The Bakery, With Whom He Was Having An Affair. Szymborska's Husband Is The Obvious Suspect, But Paniatowski Hesitates To Arrest Him, Opening Herself To Charges Of Bias Due To Their Shared Polish Background. Readers Should Be Prepared For Stock Characters—the Single Mother Trying To Succeed In A Man's World, Her Subordinate Determined To Undermine Her—and A Routine Plot. (nov.) "The Woodend series has always been one of the best British police procedurals around. Now Spencer has taken up a new series with Paniatowski in the lead, and she proves again that she is in the league with Peter Turnbull and Lynda La Plante" - Library Journal The first book in the page-turning DCI Monika Paniatowski British police procedural series, set in the 1970s. It will be no easy task to fill the shoes of a local legend like DCI Charlie Woodend, the newly-promoted Monika Paniatowski tells herself, but given a little time, she thinks she can grow into them. Yet time is the one thing she does not have. On her first day in the new job, a severed female hand is discovered on the riverbank. The obvious suspect is Stan Szymborska, the victim’s war-hero husband, though Paniatowski refuses to arrest him. But is it the lack of evidence which is holding her back . . . or is it the fact that he is not only the most attractive man she has met in a long time, but also a fellow Pole? Woodend is preparing to leave for a new life in Spain, and Paniatowski is determined not to ask for his help. But when her colleagues prove untrustworthy, the urge to call him becomes almost irresistible . . . This is the first in a new series of British procedurals, featuring the newly promoted DCI Monica Paniatowski. On her first day on the new job, a severed female hand is found on the riverbank, with the killer alerting the press On Monika's first day in the new job, a severed female hand is discovered on the riverbank. Only hours into the case, she finds she can no longer trust her colleagues-- or even herself