Used as she is at looking at murder victims, the odour and smell of this decomposing body really gets to her. Try as she might, Detective Constable Kathleen Doyle knows there was not much point in keeping things away from her husband ... and boss. Kathleen is surprised that Chief Inspector Michael Sinclair, Lord Acton, is happy with the news she is expecting. With a special gift of intuition from her Irish heritage, the lovely young red-haired police officer just knows when people are telling the truth or not and for this discernment, Acton often asks her along when they interview witnesses and suspects.

For her part, Kathleen loves her job and police work, but this morning sickness is killing her. She can barely eat and none of the usual ways of dealing with it work. She has been working with Acton on what appears to be a series of murders related to criminal turf war retributions, but something is off and Kathleen senses it, but is too sick to grasp what is bothering her. She worries. Can Acton be involved? But how and why? Is she just lousy at being pregnant or is it something else, and something more dangerous, getting to her? Why would someone want to harm her? What does her taxi driver know and just can't tell her?

MURDER IN RETRIBUTION is the second book in Anne Cleeland's New Scotland Yard Mystery series featuring Doyle and Acton, now as a married couple. Fans of Murder in Thrall are sure to be thrilled with this latest adventure facing this highly original and very engaging couple. The story is set very closely after the highly unexpected conclusion in Murder in Thrall and people in their personal and professional lives are dealing with quite diverse reactions to the news they are now married. With her new role as Acton's wife and all she experienced in the first book in the series, Kathleen is now a little more mature, still very likeable and engaging, but more willing to get her own digs in where she can (much to the delight of this reader). While MURDER IN RETRIBUTION is complete enough to be a stand-alone book, I definitely would recommend reading the highly acclaimed Murder in Thrall first to full appreciate the relationship, skills and little flaws of this awesome partners in handling crime. It is a treat you will not want to miss and reading MURDER IN RETRIBUTION will have richer meaning for you.

I love Acton as a hero and appreciate his obsessive nature, especially as it relates to Kathleen. Given that, he has his own methods of dealing with those who operate outside the law and he isn't above doing some of that on his own. As a very religious Catholic, Kathleen has her fears and concerns about that, but understands her husband, despite the shortness of time they have been together.

One of Cleeland's many skills and talents is her ability to quickly develop her characters, so they instantly become alive in the reader's mind-eye. I love how Reynolds, the new housekeeper/butler, is dramatically introduced into the storyline. I hope he is a "keeper" in future books in this series. I am sure he will manage all with aplomb, yellow rubber gloves and all.

Another strength of Cleeland is that she strives to research her books well and, as I love police procedurals, I really appreciate that. Picking up on some threads from the first book, MURDER IN RETRIBUTION draws one right into a complex and multi-plot thriller based in London, England that have the police investigating Russian and Irish criminal activities as well as personal attacks on the home front. Like the well-crafted Murder in Thrall, the murderer is hard to decipher, the dialogue is witty and on-point and the characters are all intriguing. I found MURDER IN RETRIBUTION to be totally engrossing and hard to put down. I am sure your reaction will be the same. It is a race to find out how it ends while dreading the ending of a terrific story. Fortunately, Cleeland has a third book coming! I can hardly wait to get my hands on that! Meanwhile, get in on the action with MURDER IN RETRIBUTION! The title says it all! Enjoy!