Driftnet by Lin Anderson

Driftnet is the first in a thriller series by Scottish author Lin Anderson. A 'tartan-noir' crime novelist, she has written 20 popular mysteries (so far) starring Glasgow-based forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod.

In the early morning hour, Rhona is called by police to a squalid flat where a teenage boy has been strangled to death during sex by a vicious killer. The unusual bites marks on his otherwise fresh young body are unnerving, but it is his noticeable resemblance to her that throws her off - for seventeen years ago, Rhona gave a baby boy up for adoption.

The tight team of investigating DI Bill Wilson and scientific assistant Chrissy uncover trace evidence similar to a case six months prior. The body is rent boy James Fenton, and Rhona is compelled to contact her ex-husband Edward, a well-connected lawyer now remarried with a son of his own, to investigate if this boy could have been theirs.

Rhona has been dating Irish jazz musician Sean for several months, yet when he goes to Paris for a gig, she is not against a light date with Gavin, the police cyber-sleuth on the case. In online chat rooms, they find a connection to the dark web where teens are lured by unknown pedophiles. There is lots of backstory for everyone as Chrissy reunites with a schoolmate Neil, a sometimes rent boy who claims to have incriminating evidence of the pedophile ring, and Edward's own son Jonathan who, feeling neglected, is an easy target for an underworld that preys on the vulnerable.

Using their combined talents, can they expose the anonymous sex ring and the powerful men behind it who have everything to lose?

As the first in a series, this has an abundance of strong characters, first among them Rhona, a scientist with grit who stands out in a sea of crime novels. Anderson makes the pages fly by while dealing with serious issues, spreading the case over a crew you will want to follow into the series. Straitlaced and firm, Bill is a fatherly figure to Rhona, reminding her to stop dreaming before she falls into a romantic trap between Sean and Gavin. The tone of child abuse and forensic detail may turn some people off, but overall the pace doesn't dwell. There isn't time. At just under 300 pages, it's not easy to put down.

For fans of Ian Rankin and Patricia Cornwall, this is recommended.

2003 / Tradeback / 288 pages