Search - Ruling Passion (Dalziel and Pascoe, Bk 3)

In this 3rd installment of the series that was published way back in 1973, Peter Pascoe and Ellie go to visit friends for a weekend in the country. Sadly, they find three of the friends shotgunned to death and the fourth missing. Of course the local cops think the missing friend is the culprit despite Peters efforts to disabuse them of this notion. Meanwhile Fat Andy Dalziel, ignoring Peters willingness to help the country cops, demands Peter return to Yorks to assist with the a series of burglaries with violence. Excellent story and the characters change from book to book. Fat Andy is one of the truly great creations in detective fiction. Or any fiction.

Having renewed his relationship with college girlfriend Ellie Soper, Detective Peter Pascoe re-establishes contact with other school friends, who invite Ellie and Peter to spend a long weekend in the country with them. Work detains Peter, so that when Ellie and Peter arrive at the cottage, they find all their frinds brutally murdered, except for their host, who is missing.
Peter is out of his jurisdiction and on the other side of the witness table, trying desperately to convince his colleagues that his friend can't be the murderer.
Meanwhile Ellie does some investigating of her own, in which she finds an unexpected ally, the cop she detests, Superintendent Andy Dalziel.
If you have enjoyed later Dalziel and Pascoe books, don't miss this earlier effort. There are some great character developing scenes in this book, especially for Ellie and Dalziel.