On the morning after Boat Race Day, a man's body is found in a nature reserve beside the Thames. He has been viciously stabbed, his tongue cut out, and an Oxford college scarf stuffed in his mouth. The body is identified as that of Nick Bellamy, last seen at the charity quiz organised by his Oxford contemporary, the popular newsreader Melissa Matthews. Enter DI Garibaldi, whose first task is to look into Bellamy's contemporaries from Balfour College. In particular, the surprise 'final round' of questions at this year's charity quiz in which guests were invited to guess whether allegations about Melissa Matthews and her Oxford friends are true. These allegations range from plagiarism and shoplifting to sextortion and murder...
The Final Round by Bernard O Keeffe is published in paperback on 27 May 2021 by Muswell Press. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
I have read a couple of books by this author in the past and enjoyed them. This is his debut crime novel and the first in the planned DI Garibaldi series. Crime fiction fans are in for such a treat, this first instalment is a terrific read and I think the author has set us up for a fabulous continuing series.
The two main themes in The Final Round are the actual crime case, and the detective in charge of solving it. Both are done so very well, the reader learns about Garibaldi as the investigations take place, yet the focus is never taken away from the actual crime.
The title of the novel is excellent, for this murder took place not long after a group of ex Oxford students took place in their annual charity quiz night, and it was the questions posed during the final round of the quiz that caused an uproar. Whilst most of this group have gone on to be successful in their chosen careers and some are extremely wealthy, one of them; Nick Bellamy, was clearly the odd man out. He'd missed many quizzes over the years, and his life appeared to be chaotic with tattered relationships and issues with drink and drugs mentioned. When Nick is found, brutally murdered with his tongue cut out and an Oxford scarf stuffed into his mouth, it appears that some of questions in the quiz may have been closer to the truth that any of the others would like.
Set in and around Barnes in London, the author does a great job of creating an area of large houses filled with wealthy, if not so nice people. In fact, none of the ex Oxford students appear to be very pleasant at all, and I had my suspicions about all of them during the novel.
Garibaldi, on the other hand, is a fabulous character. One of a kind, although he does have that baggage that all lead cops in series seem to carry around with them. He doesn't drive, which gives the author the opportunity to introduce his sidekick DS Milly Gardner too. Garibaldi is well-read, likes country music and is tentatively approaching a new relationship after the break down of his marriage. There's more too, things from his past, things that lurk on the surface, but haven't yet been fully explored. I look forward to getting to know more about him.
I really enjoyed this police procedural. I thought the plot was tight, well structured and kept me guessing, right through to the final pages. I'm excited to read more in this series.
Paul’s School in Barnes, where he currently lives with his wife and two children.
He has previously written two Young Adult titles.
Twitter @BernardOKeeffe1
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