Over several investigations Portsmouth cop Faraday has stepped into the vacancy left by Inspector Rebus and he's shaping up quite nicely.

Hurley's crime novels lack Ian Rankin's humour but they're dark, intricate, gritty, topical, credible, and almost as gripping.

And the gradual turn to the dark side of Paul Winter -- originally Faraday's deputy but now gang boss Bazza McKenzie's fixer -- has been compelling.

Latest hardback Borrowed Light sees McKenzie a victim of the recession, his criminal empire collapsing, and grasping for a solution.

Only Winter can help, but the consequences of his desperate measures are compounded both by his guilty conscience and I distracted Faraday.

David Knights