Only the Dead

This book was previously published as Keen as Mustard. Only The Dead is the very first in a well-established series of six books to date. Featured is DCI Cyril Bennett and his partner DS David Owens. They say that opposites attract and that is very true in this case. Bennett is a ladies' man, polite, mannerly, and dresses well. Owens is younger, messier, but makes a great partner in his dedication to the job. Bennett and Owens are called in to investigate when 2 bodies of infants are recovered at a teacher training college. After obtaining a list of students and instructors who were at the school when these babies died, they soon find more suspects than they know what to do with. The two detectives also take on the investigation of random sulfur mustard attacks. Or are they random? Although Bennett and Owens work differently, they must work together to find this serial killer. The story lines run side by side, so at times it feels a little disjointed. Not heavy on suspense, but there is a mysterious air. I really enjoyed the development of the characters. Both Bennett and Owens are rather unique and the way they relate to each other is fun to watch. Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.