A Sensitive Case

The murder of masseuse Linda Thomas quickly became a sticky situation - her clients included important people in high places.

It was a case for Staff Inspector Charlie Salter of Special Affairs and his new investigator, Sergeant Mel Pickett. They soon kick open a hornet's nest of hostile and secretive suspects, including a provincial deputy minister, a famous television host, the tenants of the woman's building, and a nervous member of academia. There's an unidentified secret lover in there somewhere; is he the last person to see the victim alive?

A lot of people have a lot to hide - with even more at stake than their careers. To make things more difficult, Salter is worried his wife is having an affair.

For Charlie, it's a sensitive case at home and on the job. He's doing a lot of tiptoeing around .. with a killer lurking in the shadow of every step!

Librarian's note: all the characters, settings, description updates, etc. have been done for the Charlie Salter 11 volume + one novella series: 1. The Night the Gods Smiled, 1983; 2. Smoke Detector, 1984; 3. Death in the Old Country, 1985; 4. A Single Death, 1986; 5. A Body Surrounded by Water, 1987; 6. A Question of Murder, 1988; 7. A Sensitive Case, 1990; 8. Final Cut, 1991; 9. A Fine Italian Hand, 1992; 10. Death by Degrees, 1993; 11. The Last Hand, 2001; and 11.A. My Brother's Keeper, a novella with Howard Engel featuring both Salter and Benny Cooperman, 2001.

Staff Inspector Charlie Salter of the Toronto police department makes his seventh appearance in this gem of a procedural. Teamed with Sergeant Mel Pickett, a widower nearing retirement, he takes over the investigation of the murder of Linda Thomas, a massage therapist with several influential--and nervous--clients. Dealing with an irate deputy provincial minister anxious that his involvement with the victim not become public knowledge, Slater and Picket develop a number of promising leads and learn the victim was nothing more than a legitimate masseuse. While the demands of Salter's career threaten his marriage, Pickett is tracked by a Brit punk rocker who could be a granddaughter resulting from a wartime dalliance. Wright's deftly realized walk-on characters, such as Pickett's blade-faced sister-in-law who is maneuvering to make her son his heir, contribute to this appealing mystery.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.