One man, two families – has it led to murder ?

The Other Woman by Jane Isaac is the first in a series of novels featuring police officer Beth Chamberlain. I haven’t read any of the others but this novel starts the series well and would encourage me to pick up sequels.

When Cameron is killed his family are devastated. Beth is asked to be the Family Liaison Officer and so she spends time with his wife and children guiding them through the process but always looking to gather evidence which will help to solve the crime. At first the murder seems gang related or related to the victim’s work but then a frantic woman phones in from where she and her family have been on holiday to claim that she is the wife of the dead man.

This is a very interesting plot development and you follow Beth as she tries to engage with both families and find out the truth about the dead man while also trying to keep important facts out of the media. This is Beth’s first position as Family Liaison Officer and she is determined to do her best and be noticed.

There is quite a lot of police politics involved and Beth feels like she is fighting for her place. She also has a non-standard love life and a traumatic family past. Those elements flesh out the character and explain her motivations but the main interest in this book is in the character of the bigamous Cameron and finding out what he has done.

This was an easy to read and very competent crime novel. I can’t see that there is anything which elevates it above other series but it certainly holds its own in a crowded field. There are plenty of suspects and red herrings to divert the reader’s attention from the truth and the book ends in a suitably tense situation where Beth can show what she is capable of.