Last Respects is the tenth in the series featuring Inspector CD Sloan. I have to tell you that it is the best one since book #2, Henrietta Who -- it totally flows as a good mystery should. Nothing abrupt about the ending of this one, and there are a lot of very nice red herrings to take you totally off track. Having said this, a brief plot review with no spoilers:

In the small village of Edsway, a local man out in his boat on the river sees a body floating. The police, naturally, are called in to investigate, and the pathologist, Dr. Dabbe, determines that the man wasn''t drowned after all. But trying to figure out not only who he was and what happened to him is the least of Sloan''s problems -- murder, it seems, is still afoot.

As noted, much better flow in the mystery and its denouement. I would most definitely recommend this one both to British mystery readers and those who read police procedurals. If you''re considering trying Catherine Aird''s books, start with number one and work your way through -- you''ll miss a great deal as far as character development goes if you do not.