It's not every Detective Inspector whose sidekick is a little old lady, but Alice is really something special and - in the end - DI Tom Ashton recognises his luck.

Boxing Clever has many strands - a body in the canal, a death from an overdose and a whole whiteboard full of other cases - and we see it through several different pairs of eyes. As the pressure grows, with a name from one file coming up in another connection, and when Tom's girlfriend Ellen is kidnapped for what might be industrial or political blackmail, who can he rely on?

There are his mates in the office, though the top brass look more likely to contrive a tragedy. And there's Alice, with her visions, her good sense and more pluck than Tom has any right to expect. As the strands come together and too many people get hurt, every helping hand is needed to get the questions answered, the hostage released and the right people behind bars.

Maureen Devlin has the courage to leave you holding small pieces of the picture and move off with another character, and you rapidly gain the confidence to follow, picking up every new piece until the jigsaw is complete. Nicely done.