Spider Trap by Barry Maitland

Publisher's Synopsis

When human bones are discovered in Cockpit Lane, a poor area of inner south London, D.C.I. David Brock and D.S. Kathy Kolla of Scotland Yard are called in to investigate. The first twist in the case comes when Brock and Kolla learn that the victims died over twenty years ago, during the Brixton riots, information that leads the two of them on a dangerous journey into the heart of the West Indian community in London. Making matters worse, a formidable old antagonist, Spider Roach, returns, weaving together past and present in an intricate web of deception and intrigue. Now the two have to uncover the truth of those long ago deaths, and be able to prove it with a crucial piece of evidence, in order to prevent the violence of the past from revisiting itself on them.

My Review of Spider Trap by Barry Maitland

The 9th book in Barry Maitland's consistently strong police procedural series featuring DCI David Brock and DS Kathy Kolla, Spider Trap returns Brock to Lambeth where he began his career as a detective. As part of Scotland Yard's Serious Crimes Unit he takes the lead in a murder investigation that will have him crossing paths with an old enemy, crime boss Spider Roach. It's an investigation that will bring back memories from 20 years ago, few of them pleasant.

The discovery of a couple of young Jamaican girls, shot dead in a Cockpit Lane garage sparks a massive police investigation in the area. Compounding the intrigue is a seemingly unrelated accident involving a boy who was crossing the nearby railroad tracks and accidentally touched the third rail which would have gone unnoticed except that he had a human jawbone in his pocket. He had found the bone in a wasteland that bordered Cockpit Lane and a subsequent search by the police forensic team uncovers the 20 year old remains of three bodies.

The 20 year old skeletons are almost certainly the remains of 3 Yardies*, local Jamaican gangsters who had been involved in drug dealing and petty crimes. They had been shot in the head execution-style and then buried in shallow graves in the wasteland. As far as Brock is concerned the killing bears all the hallmarks of some kind of gangland retribution and it just so happens that the bodies were buried smack dab in the middle of Spider Roach turf.

DCI David Brock is a Scotland Yard detective but back when he was a Detective Sergeant he was stationed at Lambeth and the discovery of the remains brings back memories from all those years ago. His wife walking out on him, the Brixton race riots and an organised crime family headed by Spider Roach who controlled the area are all part of a turbulent past. These days the Roach family appear to be respectable entrepreneurs heading a series of successful businesses, but Spider still controls Lambeth and Brock is certain that the old criminal and his sons are far from reformed men. If anything they are to be even more feared now that they can hide behind a legitimate facade.

It’s one thing to have your suspicions about someone's guilt but it's a completely different matter to have the evidence to make an arrest and this is exactly the problem facing Brock. His connection to Roach through his past makes it appear that Brock is unreasonably obsessed with the man and his attention could be viewed as harassment, so progress on the case has to be made very carefully, like traversing a minefield.

Kathy Kolla's part in the case is largely influenced by her blossoming relationship with a Special Branch officer, Tom Reeves, who specialises in undercover operations. He shows an interest in the case and gets himself seconded onto the team bringing an added dimension to the investigation, but also bringing a tendency to proceed without proper authorisation. He's the kind of guy who makes things happen, but sometimes that may put the entire case, and everyone working on it, in jeopardy.

Spider Trap unfolds in a manner that is typical of many police procedurals beginning with what appears to be a straightforward murder investigation that grows more complex as more details are uncovered. In this case the original murder investigation is almost completely overshadowed by the older, more intriguing triple murder thanks to some significant involvement by some high profile political figures. The early going is fairly slow with a lot of legwork taking place, followed by theories and research before the case explodes in pandemonium. Naturally, the pandemonium serves to take Brock and Kolla significantly out of their comfort zones, leading to a seemingly inevitable showdown with Spider Roach.

Brock finds himself in the unfamiliar position of having his competence and his motives questioned by his superiors thanks to an antagonist who knows enough about his enemies to reveal every real or imagined skeleton in their closet. The entire case is conducted under a shroud of uncertainty with plenty of circumstantial evidence pointing in one direction without the hard facts required to back them up. But the strength of the story lies in the way in which Maitland manages to gather together a series of disparate clues to tie them together into a neat, sustainable and completely credible scenario.

Together both Brock and Kolla form the ideal team complementing each other to form a comfortable professional unit. They are each distracted by personal issues that threaten to take their attention away from their job but, where others might fall apart they are able to provide the right level of support for one another without ever crossing the line into intrusiveness.

Spider Trap continues what has become a fresh and varied series combining clever, intuitive police work with solid, likable characters. Although the most advisable way to enjoy the book is to have already read some of the earlier books in the series, it can just as readily be picked up and read as a quality stand alone mystery.

* Yardies is the term applied to Jamaican-born gangsters operating in Britain. The name refers to criminals from the impoverished back yards of Kingston, Jamaica.