Search - Exit Lines (Dalziel and Pascoe, Bk 8)

It can't just be mere coincidence when three elderly men die violently on the same rainy night. One succumbs on a muddy playing filed muttering "Polly", another goes under in his bath gasping out the name "Charley!" The third chap, run down by a car, lives long enough to blurt out three understandably churlish expletives...their final words may be the clues to their sudden deaths..but do they point to murder?
Naturally, Detective-Inspector Peter Pascoe is looking for foul play, but he must tread lightly to avoid stepping on some very big toes belonging to none other than his boss, Detective-Superintendent Dalziel...who is playing a most suspicious part in this three-case drama of the old men who died saying their exit lines.
A rare read...manages to be tender and moving while being a novel of clever detection.