ON the face of it Inspector Jim Bible is a caring character.

He easily feels the frustrations of failing, as though it’s his fault a child killer is still on the loose and the mothers at his daughter’s school - including his own wife - feel the need to group together, to try and do something to stop them feeling so helpless.

The chap at the reservoir arouses suspicions, there’s more to him and his associations than meets the eye.

And what about the young girl, Carol, captured on camera?

She came to Inspector Bible’s attentions after spotting the reflection of a shadowy image in the water.

A familiar face to Carol, it reminded her of a friend and now she just cannot shake the haunting image out of her mind.

The quest to find out more about the identity of the person she had seen proves an integral part in the conclusion of the plot in this intriguing tale.

It is also one of the threads binding this interesting and thrilling investigation connecting an impressive cast of characters.

The tale centres around Carol’s desperate escape from her domineering father and the roguish hired helpers he was recruited along the way to bring her, and his other daughter who has followed in her sister’s footsteps, back to him.

His brutish behaviour had pushed his girls away and for them there was no going back - but Logan had other ideas....

Set in the Fifties, a time when technology wasn’t the great assistance it is now in catching criminals, Stone and Water follows an enthralling and fast-paced plot with all the twists and turns you expect in a crime solving quest.

Bible is a likeable character; an inspector who appears to question his own crime-solving ability at times when he fails to find the killer within his home community.

He’s as close as his fellow officers in bringing this crime-solving quest to its conclusion. Perhaps Bible is just a little too close for comfort in his eagerness to protect one of the plot’s key characters?

Readers also learn about Bible’s home life, his fractured relationship with his older son plays a part in the plot and compares with the doting Dad image we glean from his relationship with his young daughter - a pupil attending the same school as the young lad whose death Bible is investigating.

The discovery of some unsavoury images introduces a darker side to this thriller which features references to the author David James Buckley’s Bradford roots such as the ornate architecture within Bradford City centre and the contrast between the bleakness and beauty of Ilkley Moor.

David James Buckley has had radio plays on Radio 4 and BBC Radio Leeds and Sheffield. He also reviewed fiction regularly for The Observer and also wrote for The Independent; The Guardian; New Statesman and Society; The Yorkshire Post and The Times Educational Supplement.

Now living in Sheffield, David has also had short stories and poetry published.

His crime writing began after studying for the MA Writing at Sheffield Hallam University and Stone and Water, published this year, is the fruits of his studies.

This riveting page-turner is a must-read for those who love a thrilling detective whodunnit.

I couldn’t put it down in my quest to bring the crime to a conclusion.

There is a clue too on the cover that this may be the start of a series.

Perhaps Inspector Bible could even spawn a TV series? Who knows, he could be another detective we could come to know and love......

‘Stone and Water’ is available through Amazon. Kindle edition is priced at £1.99 and paperback is £8.99.

Visit Amazon’s book store or davidjamesbuckley.com.