A Forsyth and Hay Mystery

The head of the Canadian High Commission’s trade section is found brutally clubbed and stabbed to death in the Official Residence in London, England. Scotland Yard’s Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Hay is called in to investigate, while Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Liz Forsyth is dispatched from Ottawa. There are a number of suspects from the diplomatic community: the High Commissioner and his beautiful wife, the smarmy head of the political section, the charming military attaché, the high-strung Deputy High Commissioner, and a deeply troubled engagements secretary. After a second murder, the case takes a turn and radical environmentalist Dr. Julian Cox becomes a suspect.

In London, Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Hay of Scotland Yard heads up the investigation into the puzzling murder of a young Canadian woman travelling alone. Her killer was meticulous, leaving a serene-looking corpse and no clues. In Ottawa, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Liz Forsyth searches for the murderer of a young Chechen woman, who was shot at the gates of the Russian Embassy. No one knows who would want to kill her, except, perhaps, the Russians.

Separated by continents and responsibilities to their respective departments, Forsyth and Hay doggedly work their cases while still feeling the pull of their recent partnership. As Forsyth chases her case further into the complicated world of Russian and Chechen relations, Hay is at a standstill—until the murderer resurfaces.

Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Hay of Scotland Yard believes he is dealing with a serial killer. Two young female victims bearing a superficial resemblance to each other are found asphyxiated and posed, with indecipherable writing on their right hips. A hostel caretaker, a journalist and his photographer, a bariatric specialist, the Canadian High Commission in London, and a psychic all have roles to play in the ongoing investigations—and are unsettled at the thought that the killer is already seeking his next victim.

Meanwhile, Inspector Liz Forsyth of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and DCI Hay had plans to meet again, unofficially this time, but their anticipated trip to Paris was scotched by the killings on Hay’s patch. To the surprise of both of them, Forsyth learns that she is to be sent for a three-week training course at the Bramshill Police Academy outside London.

In this jarring third novel in the Forsyth and Hay series, Janet Brons explores the murder and mayhem inflicted on the women who just might be Measured for Murder.