Kate Power

Personal tragedy cut short Kate Power's accelerated-promotion career in the Met. She's lucky, though – Birmingham CID give her a job, and chance to make a new start in the house her great-aunt has given her. Soon Kate discovers that she's trying to fix up the house from hell, with garden to match. Domestic equals professional pressure: though most of her new colleagues are helpful and supportive, some just think she's fresh female meat to harass.Some seem to think Kate's not pulling her weight in their current case of abduction and abuse of young boys. Then personal life starts overlapping with the investigation. Should Kate follow the conventional line of enquiry, or strike out on her own?

Detective Sergeant Kate Power of Birmingham CID has had bad luck with romance, so when a polite stranger flirts with her on an airline trip home from Florence, she's more than a little suspicious. She gives the man her business card and forgets all about him. Two days later he's found hanging from a canal bridge-with Kate's card in his pocket the only means of identification. The easy conclusion for the investigating officers is suicide, but Kate isn't convinced. As her subsequent investigations prove, the cause of Alan Grafton's death-and it's consequences-are more serious than she and her colleagues could have imagined. Still regarded as a newcomer in the Birmingham police force, still battling against prejudice and intimidation among the ranks, still fighting to prove that she's got what it takes, Kate is determined to stick to her guns until she finally uncovers the shocking truth. Judith Cutler's keen insight into the contemporary police force and her winning sleuth Kate Power are a recipe for excellent crime fiction, and Staying Power is the second compelling novel in a gritty modern cop series that's been praised by critics and fans alike.