Splinter in the Blood by Ashley Dyer

William Morrow, 400 pages, $26.99

Ashley Dyer is the pseudonym for veteran crime writer Margaret Murphy (“Darkness Falls”) and Helen Pepper, a consultant with a real-life knowledge of forensics. Their collaboration features DS Ruth Lake of the Liverpool police force.

“Splinter in the Blood” begins with the riveting scene of DS Lake holding a gun on her partner/boss, DCI Greg Carver, who has just been shot in the chest. The scene is meant to lead and mislead. Lake was a member of the police forensics team before she joined homicide, so she knows what to do to “clean up” a crime scene. She methodically wipes down surfaces and steals the work notes Carver has created in his search for “The Thorn Killer.” Is Lake The Thorn Killer?

Well, no, Lake is not, because the killer is watching the aftermath of Carver’s shooting. The killer watches Lake work with the police in transporting Carver to the hospital — no, he is not dead — and in getting forensics started on the scene of the crime. Per protocol, Lake is then off Carver’s case.

Lake is not off The Thorn Killer case, however. So far the killer has murdered five young women. Their bodies have been found with strange tattoos on them. Victim number five has the most and best lasting tattoos. The killer’s skills are improving. But what is the killer’s message? The new forensic police advisor, Dr. Lyall Gaines, part of the local university’s anthropology department, is brought in to speculate on the meaning of the tattoos. The latest victim, Kara Grogan, had been researching psychics shortly before her death, so the murder team follows down that road as well.

Lake lives in fear that Carver will regain consciousness and of what he will say. Does he remember her role that night? Yes, he awakens. Yes, he remembers her. But everything is still hazy and he merely remembers Lake saving him. He tries to remain involved in The Thorn Killer case, despite his disabilities, which includes seeing woo-woo auras around most people. He and others think The Thorn Killer must have shot him and stolen his notes.

Lake becomes obsessed with Vic #5, Kara Grogan. She is convinced the solution lies in what Grogan did in the last few weeks of her life. Although there are four other victims, only a cursory look is given to what they may contribute to the connection to a killer. That made the story a little weak to me, but the intrigue of finding out who The Thorn Killer was and why Carver was shot was compelling.

There are many characters introduced from Kara Grogan’s group and DCI Carver’s personal life. Both indeed hid secrets from their closest friends and colleagues, and the unveiling is suspenseful and worthy of turning those pages as quickly as possible. It is these two whose characters are prised open and laid out for viewing most successfully. The rest, even DS Lake, are supporting acts.

The Liverpool squad is certainly worth another look, should “Ashley Dyer” venture another tale or two.