For a brief stint I had the honor of sharing an indie authors group with the talented Mel Comly and being the greedy hussy that I am, when Mel offered up free copies of her book “Impeding Justice” of course I snatched up a copy for to drool over for review.

“Impeding Justice” is a the second book in the Lorne Simpkins series. Lorne is a tough as nails, British violent crimes detective with a past dotted with powerful lovers and a future haunted by the Unicorn. Lorne’s future should be bright, as a wife and mother as well as a rising star at work, except for the fact that she seems to have caught the Unicorn’s eye and this dastardly criminal mastermind has decided that Lorne is his favorite plaything…

I’ll admit to being at a bit of a disadvantage with this book, since it’s the second in the series, I was left a little out of the loop as the story tosses the reader right into the action. The feeling of being just a little out of step with the story only deepened as I realized that not even detectives dealing with violent criminals seem to get guns in Britain. I’m sure American readers may well share my winces of bewilderment and pain imagining a detective going into a raid without a deadly weapon in their hands, of course the criminals don’t share the same handicap and it creates an absolutely huge imbalance of power that’s evidenced almost from the first page when Lorne’s partner is killed by gunfire while both detectives where unarmed.

Speaking of the criminal element, I suppose I should address the Unicorn; who, we’re told, is a very nasty sort of criminal indeed. I didn’t get that bit at all. Despite the early death of Lorne’s partner, I was still confused by that assertion. So confused I actually had to stop reading and do a little research to see if there was some hidden meaning to the name “Unicorn” that would indicate fear, loathing, or anything nefarious that I’d missed in my own girlhood unicorn and rainbows faze. There really isn’t and I never did discover why this particular baddy decided to take up such a lame monicker – but he does eventually cross the line from mildly lame and annoying to downright disgusting SOB that definitely needs not capture but a short walk off a tall building.

Other than these disconnects that could have been my own fault for jumping into the middle of the series, I really enjoyed reading “Impeding Justice.” I especially enjoyed watching Lorne’s romantic life become an ever thornier entanglement culminating with the Unicorn’s last nasty little twist. That alone was enough to spur me toward buying the next book in the series, I needed to know how it all turns out!