The Lake District Murder: A British Library Crime Classic by John Bude

The story begins with the death of a garage man.  He turns out to be one of the only good men in this story so it's an unfortunate death.  His fiance is devastated.  He was moving on to a new life and never made it...

Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published December 6th.

Inspector Meredith begins by trying to figure out if the death is murder or suicide.  They determine it's murder.  When he starts digging for suspects, he finds odd pieces of evidence that points to another crime.  It appears something is being smuggled but he can't figure out what or how.  As he and his supervisors discuss the case and review the evidence, two or three possibilities arise and half the police force is involved.  

They believe the dead man was involved in whatever scheme had been worked out.  He had a lot more money in his checking account than the garage could account for.  But what was it from and why was he killed?

The deeper he digs, the more complex the case gets.  Hidden passage ways, waste dumped in the raging river to hide it, and underground stills come to light.  To catch the gang they will have to set up the sting very carefully.

It's complex story that required intelligent cops to solve it.  They go off in the wrong direction here and there, but then they regroup and head right again.  I still feel sorry for the young man they killed but I didn't have any sympathy for the bad guys.  Sometimes money is the root of all evil.