Wire in the Blood

When a student nurse with a penchant for petty blackmail is lethally poisoned during a routine procedure, Commander Dalgliesh and Inspector Massingham have to discover which, of the many guilty secrets held by the staff and students at Nightingale House, was a strong enough motive for murder.

DI John Rebus is a hard drinking, unkempt, womanizing police officer whose job is his whole life. He is the most senior and most experienced DI at his station. He has a mysterious past that his partner DS Siobhan Clarke learns about from time to time through various comments Rebus makes. She is a young woman who wants to succeed, but does not have much of a personal life. She feels being paired with Rebus jeopardizes her career because of his unorthodox methods, but she is also fascinated by the man and is extremely loyal. DI Rebus' boss is Chief Superintendent Templar, a woman who was one of Rebus' lovers in a distant past. Their relationship is now one where they barely tolerate each other.

Chief Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh investigates the death of Alice Liddell who ran a home for unwed mothers. One of the residents there is Sally Jupp, who was a witness in a drug-smuggling and murder investigation in London. Sally works at the local manor house for the Maxie family, and it is apparent that eldest son Stephen has more than a passing interest in her. When a murder occurs at the Maxie residence, the question is whether it is related to the London investigation or was committed for a completely different reason altogether.

Unable to have children with her husband, sex therapist Linda turns to her brother-in-law for help. Life only gets more complicated when Linda is called in to consult on a sordid murder case.

When Dr. Edwin Lorrimer, a forensic scientist working at a private laboratory is found killed, Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. Dalgliesh had been in the area a few months previously investigating the murder of a young woman found in an abandoned car. There are several suspects: Lorrimer's subordinate, Clifford Bradley, who despises him; the new head of the laboratory, Maxim Howarth, who is jealous of his sister's relationship with him; a colleague, Paul Middlemass, who had a fight with Lorrimer. There is also a gruff and likely unethical policeman who was on the grounds of the laboratory at the time of the killing and a local pathologist who is raising his two young children after his wife leaves him for another man. When one of the suspects is also murdered, Dalgliesh learns a key piece of information.

Department 7 is a secret branch of British government dedicated to investigating the supernatural. Its team of experts, led by Roy Martindale and Dr. Anne Reynolds, find themselves teamed with journalist Tom Crane, who is investigating similar cases for his newspaper.