Bodies - Robert Barnard

I love the mysteries of Robert Barnard, a prolific writer of interesting, quirky, uniquely English murder mysteries that are (particularly back list) are particularly difficult to casually stumble upon. I keep an eye out when in second-hand book shops, and was delighted to find Bodies recently in a second-hand crime bookshop in the city and read it the following day.
Perry Trethowan worked for the Met’s Vice Squad before transferring to homicide, so he was familiar with Phil Fennilow, editor of seedy, borderline-pornographic publication out of Soho. Phil’s day started like any other, until he discovered the bodies of his photographer, Bob Cordle, his assistant, and two partially clad models. Perry suspects all four were shot to conceal the murder of one of the victims - but which one, and why?
The woman is quickly identified, but tracking down just who the man is, and why they were shot, takes a little more investigation. In the process of determining his identity, unravelling the many potential reasons for the murder, and solving the mystery (in an unpredictable but believable way), Trthowan revisits the world of soft and hard-core pornography, and becomes embroiled in the unique and regimented culture of body building (circa mid-80's) and the adjacent, illicit, world of pornography.
The book was published in 1986, and is therefore a little dated, but no less absorbing for that. Perry is a recurring Barnard character (though I would hesitate to identify the works as a series) whom it was a pleasure to meet again, and the revelation of who and why unfurled genuinely surprisingly.
Barnard's novels are slender, streamlined works with a particularly English air. He includes enough dialect for flavour without (a particular hate of Lynn's) obscuring the text, and the voice of his narrator (making his fourth appearance in Barnard's novels) is clear, slightly cynical and detached, and beautifully observed. The novel is necessarily dated, and to some degree described a universe which no longer exists. I found this added to the atmosphere of the novel, and heightened my enjoyment. - Alex