A Bribe Against the Innocent is book one of M.C. Halliday’s Detective Inspector Olivia Cambridge Mystery series.

Detective Inspector Octavia Cambridge is assigned to Major Enquiries with the London Metropolitan Police Service. Her current case appears to be linked to a twenty year old murder that has remained unsolved. The method of murder is extremely unusual and the details of the old case were never released to the public so only the original murderer could have duplicated it so precisely. Octavia’s boss has brought in some forensic help in the form of DC Superintendent Dan Richmond, who is an extremely attractive man. The information from the original case is limited and as Octavia and her assistant Sergeant Nyland begin to work the case they are hampered by records in poor condition and people who claim they can’t remember twenty years ago. Will Octavia be able to get enough information from the old case to put her on the right track for the current one? Or will she be too distracted by her attraction to Dan Richmond to stay professional?

This title, A Bribe Against the Innocent, by M.C. Halliday is a great start for a new mystery series. The main character, Octavia, is determined to unearth the criminal and bring them to justice. I liked her professional demeanor, intelligence, guile, and that she can function despite problems in her personal life. She is a very complicated woman but I liked her. Octavia’s assistant Len also has an impressive skill set to help round out what they need to be able to get the bad guy and solve the crime. But what I liked best about the characters is that they are also fallible and human. Both Octavia and Len make very human errors that could cost them the case and hurt their careers but for me it just adds to their charm. Being familiar with some of Ms. Halliday’s other work, I was half expecting this to be a historical but it is not. This is set in modern times and is very well done. If you want a good mystery with a very human, female detective, you will enjoy Octavia Cambridge in A Bribe Against the Innocent. I am looking forward to Octavia’s further adventures in book two!

Reviewed by: Stephanie B.