The Lady in the Park by David Reynolds

The Lady in the Park

 by David Reynolds

The Lady in the Park by David Reynolds was published on 5th June 2025 by Muswell Press. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour.

Synopsis

When a woman is found unconscious on a ping-pong table in Warwick Gardens in Peckham, South East London, it looks like a case of mistaken identity. Why would anyone want to injure this popular local mum of six? But Jim Domino, ex-CID detective turned private eye, keeps asking questions. As the crime escalates to murder, Domino finds himself collaborating with his old colleagues in the Met. And, assisted by sharp observations from his six-year-old grandson, Danny, he finds that important clues can come from unexpected sources.

The first in an exciting new crime fiction series, The Lady in the Park weaves a rich tapestry of characters together with a twisty immersive plot that will leave readers craving for more investigations featuring the inimitable Jim Domino and his young sidekick, Danny.

As well as being about murder, people-trafficking and drug-dealing, The Lady in the Park is about the good in most people; about love, grief and childhood. Children notice the things that adults miss; sometimes Jim Domino’s grandson Danny leads Jim towards the truth, almost without trying.

My Thoughts

This is one of those books that you may find you need to stick with. It didn’t catch me straight away with the intensity that I like in crime fiction, however, it does pull you in as you read on until you find that you can’t put it down. 

I was drawn to the idea of “ A unique and unorthodox crime - solving duo of Jim and his six year old grandson Danny “ though, for me, this didn’t fully deliver in the way that I was expecting and I will be interested to see how their partnership develops in future books.

The storyline is an interesting one that has many threads weaving in and out until you reach the conclusion and I certainly didn’t guess, or come anywhere close to guessing the identity of the murderer.

Reynolds writes in a relaxed style that shows the characters in their daily lives , giving detail to basics as well as to the facts of the case. Consequently it is this style of writing that has you comfortably reading the narrative until you suddenly get caught by surprise with “Where did that come from ? “

I’m looking forward to reading more about Jim Domino and Danny in future books.

About David

• David Reynolds was a co-founder of Bloomsbury Publishing in 1986 along with Nigel Newton, Liz Calder and Alan Wherry. He left Bloomsbury in 1999 to teach and write and, as a qualified teacher of literacy to adults, was instrumental in the Quick Reads initiative which provides six books annually by well-known authors at a level suitable for emerging adult readers. From the programme’s inception in 2006 until 2024, he was its literacy editor, checking authors’ texts for suitability.His non-fiction has been widely reviewed and his memoir Swan River (Picador, 2001) was shortlisted for the PEN/ Ackerley Prize

• He lives in Putney but knows Peckham well having been there most weeks since 2012 to look after his grandchildren.

• The Lady in the Park is his debut novel and the first in the Peckham Private Eye series.