This book, the 4th in the Cassie Raven series, is as good as the others, which is saying a lot.

Cassie is a twenty-something mortuary technician in Camden, a neighbourhood in north London. Her “special power” — if it exists — is that the dead speak to her. Not literally; this isn’t Stephen King. But when she’s taking care of her “guests” in the mortuary, some of whom have been murdered, she often feels that they are speaking to her. And she learns things that more experienced pathologists and police don’t pick up.

Unlike so many series of this kind, Raven is rarely in physical danger, and some of the stories have a Holmesian edge to them — she sees clues, and we see them as well, and by following the logic, we can guess who may have committed the crime, and how.

Raven is a very appealing character, a bit of a cross between Lisbeth Salander and Hercule Poirot, and the supporting cast are well-drawn and appealing — Cassie’s Polish grandmother who raised her (and who, while living in Poland battled the Stalinists — and the author actually uses the word “Stalinists”); the ice-cold blonde police detective Phyllida Flyte; and a newcomer, but very appealing DI Alvin “Streaky” Bacon. (OK, the author is having WAY too much fun with names here.)

Turner has captured a lot of the essence of London, and north London in particular. Very few of her characters are the kinds of people who would pop up in an Agatha Christie novel — in fact, Cassie Raven would rather be dead than live in the idyllic English countryside. Her Polish grandmother is forever preparing Polish food, the victim in this book is of Greek Cypriot origins, and one can almost smell the cooking and hear the accented English. Welcome to one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

A wonderful series — may it long continue.