From The Dead by Mark Billingham

 

When Tom Thorne hears that Alan and Donna Langford's daughter has gone missing, he remembers the family well as they came to his attention first as a case.  Alan Langford was burned alive in his car a decade ago and Thorne worked on the case.  Donna was arrested and charged with paying a hit man to kill Alan, who was the head of the local gangster group.  She has been in prison since but has just been released on parole.

Donna hires a woman who is starting a career as a private investigator.  That woman, Anna Carpenter, comes to the police when she realizes she is in over her head.  The police learn that Donna has been getting pictures of Alan somewhere on a beach enjoying his life.  Apparently, the man killed in his car wasn't Alan.  Unfortunately for Thorne, his superiors ask him to let Anna shadow him as he works the case.  As more bodies pile up and Thorne starts to like Anna, he feels that it's a very bad situation as anyone associated with the case could be in line for more violence.  Can he solve the case again without anyone else being hurt?

This is the ninth Tom Thorne detective novel.  In this one, Thorne and his girlfriend who is also in the police, are having issues after a life loss.  The feel is that they may soon be breaking up as they drift further and further apart.  Thorne's darker, vindictive side is also on display in this novel, more than some of the previous ones.  When he is engaged, he is bullet-focused on catching the criminal he has in his sights, no matter what it takes.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.