Yeadings learns that the man was a Customs official who was involved in an investigation of counterfeit money. Following the trail of both investigations leads Yeadings to Fraylings Court, a failing estate that the family has turned into a retreat, offering such lessons as dance, art and dog-training. A group of enterprising guests have also started a poker lesson, and Detective Sergeant Rosemary Zyczynski is there to be dealt in as she investigates the murder and possible connections to the counterfeiters without showing her hand.

Cold Hands is a dependable English police procedural. The investigation is methodically plotted, with very few surprises thrown at either the police or the reader. Yeadings is a solid, dependable character, though readers are not privy to much of his life outside of work. Zyczynski is portrayed as a competent investigator as she maintains her undercover role and is still able to sniff out the suspects.

The ten-year-old daughter of the house, Joanna, provides some relief from the otherwise straightforward plot. Joanna sulks her way through her summer holiday, thinking of new ways to torment those around her, eventually involving one of the guests' daughters in her escapades.

Cold Hands is a solid entry into the English police procedural genre without a lot of surprises.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry