Inspiring Older Readers

posted on 05 May 2018

Baby Lies by Chris Collett

This is the fourth book in the successful Detective Inspector Tom Mariner series, a couple of which we have already reviewed on The Letterpress Project website. I should probably say that I know the author as a friend and ex-colleague and so am always intrigued to read her work (no I am not, as far as I know, included as  a character in any books so far). I feel that our relationship gives me an advantage -  as if I can see a little bit more closely into what she is trying to do because she often talks about her writing. Another reason to feel closely involved with the series is that they are all set in Birmingham with lots of references to local landmarks which I know very well.

Chris has recently found a new publisher and is in the process of revising the original books in the series with new titles. This one was first published in hardback by Piarkus in 2007 as ‘Blood Money.’ I read the original but this revised paperback edition with the title ‘ Baby Lies’ published by Joffe Books still made a big impact.

So how does it differ? I know that she has taken the opportunity to polish the text and hasn’t made any significant plot changes, but the new title emphasises the importance within the story of various babies that appear throughout the story.

Chris is an ex-Early Years teacher and this enables her to write very confidently about a private nursery which offers a crèche facility for medical professionals who attend conferences at the nearby medical school. When a mother turns up to find that her baby has already been collected by a stranger, Detective Mariner is called to investigate this nightmare scenario. He has already had a busy few days organising a raid on a brothel crammed with young Eastern European women who have probably been trafficked. As ever, he is trying to juggle work with his personal life and things are going very badly because his partner has recently had a miscarriage.

The missing baby should have been safe at the nursery and there are clearly several flaws in the security arrangements. The individual staff members need to be questioned as Mariner tries his best to untangle various dubious connections.  I liked the way that Chris gave an authentic glimpse into this world where space is limited, furniture and fixtures are tiny and the workers are often very young:

‘Going in, Mariner and Knox had to dodge a path through painted paper leaves that dangled from the ceiling. A baby lay on the carpet happily batting at an arc of dangling rattles, but what first assaulted Mariner’s senses was the high- decibel wailing of the second small child, which seemed to reverberate back at them off the walls’.

I really admire the skill with which she moves between describing such different environments and manages to make us feel Mariner’s discomfort almost everywhere he goes.  The investigation into the baby’s disappearance has to take priority over his personal life, but he wants to be a good and sensitive partner to Anna so eventually goes along to meet some of her new friends, although he is not really in the mood to be sociable. He is also discomfited by the forthcoming trial of his half- brother who had held him prisoner in the dark and filthy cellar of his canal side home for several days.  The poor man has a lot on his plate.

I don’t want to give the plot away but as the investigation progresses Mariner learns about what appears to be a murdered baby and well established baby trafficking going on in Birmingham. Woven throughout all this horror are bleak glimpses of blackmail, prostitution, the effects of domestic violence and suicide which I guess are part of being a detective anywhere. Despite this, Mariner comes through as a well- rounded, flawed but very likeable main protagonist who is one of the good guys.

If I ever need to call the police, I would be more than happy for him to lead the investigation because he seems to be competent and compassionate, which seem to be essential features for anyone working with people.  

Karen Argent

May 2018