Planning Department: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property
PNC: police national computer
PSNI: police service of Northern Ireland
Prat: silly idiot
Premier League: top English soccer division
Proms: concerts held at the Albert Hall
Public Analyst: scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes
RAF: Royal Air Force
Rag: newspaper
Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window
Randy: horny
Recce: reconnaissance
Red Adair: famous oil well firefighter
Resus: resuscitation room
Right state: messy
Ring: telephone (verb)
Roadworks: repairs done to roads
Rozzers: police
RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
RTC: road traffic collision
RV: rendezvous point
Royal Engineers: British army corps dealing with military engineering etc.
Rugger: rugby (posh American football)
Sarge: sergeant
Scrote: low life
Section: to have someone committed to a mental hospital under UK mental health laws
Semi: Semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only
Shedload: a large amount
Shop: store
Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way
Sickie: day off work pretending to be ill
Sixth-form college: school for high school students in final two years.
SIO: senior investigating officer
Skip: a large open container used for building waste
Slapper: slag
Smackhead: heroin addict
Snout: police informer
SOCO: scene-of-crime officer
Sod: an annoying person
Sort: to do or make
Solicitor: lawyer
Sparky: electrician
Spook: spy
Spuds: potatoes
Squaddie: a soldier of low rank
Stunner: beautiful woman
Super: superintendent (police rank)
Sweeting: endearment, like sweetheart
Tabloid: newspaper
Tea: Dinner (Northern English)
Tea towel: drying cloth
Till: cash register
Tip: a mess
Tipsy: a bit drunk
Top himself: commit suicide
Torch: flashlight
Tutor: university teacher
Tower block: tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)
Upmarket: affluent or fancy
Wacky baccy: cannabis
Wally: silly person
War Cry: Salvation Army magazine
Wash: the washing machine
Water board: company supplying water to an area
White van man: typical working-class man who drives a small truck
WI: Women’s Institute, organisation of women in UK for social/cultural activity
Widow’s weeds: black clothes worn by a widow in mourning
Wilco: will comply i.e. yes
Wrinklies: old people
Yellowbelly: native of Lincolnshire
CHARACTER LIST
Detective Inspector Tom Mariner is, on the surface, an average dedicated policeman, but his experiences as a younger man have given him an insight into life on the dark side, and a clear sense of right and wrong. Not a rule breaker, he is prepared to work flexibly within their parameters, striking out on his own when deemed necessary. He is meticulous and systematic, and professionally and personally contained and self-reliant, though he cares deeply about his team. Mariner has little interest in material things. He lives in a modest canal-side cottage, enjoys the occasional (real) beer and game of dominoes and drives an average car. He is most at home in the outdoors, with an OS map and a compass, and in times of crisis, will take off and walk for miles in any weather.
Detective Sergeant Tony Knox has recently and suddenly transferred to the West Midlands force from Merseyside. Having been temporarily demoted to uniform, Knox has re-established himself in CID ad developed a sound working partnership with his boss, DI Mariner. A scouser with the gift of the gab and a roving eye, which has recently led to the breakdown of his marriage to Theresa and some estrangement from his grown-up children. A relationship with Selina has also ended.
DC Charlie Glover: in his late forties, and with a happy marriage and two teenage children. A born-again Christian, Glover is one of Mariner’s most experienced officers and is calm and dependable and often the voice of reason when situations become stressed.
DC Jamilla Khatoon: newly promoted to CID, Detective Constable Jamilla(Millie) Khatoon is experienced in the role of Family Liaison Officer (FLO). A dedicated and conscientious officer, Millie joined the police against the wishes of her traditional Muslim parents.
Detective Chief Inspector Davina Sharp: Newly appointed to Granville Lane to replace retired DCI Jack Coleman, Mariner’s new boss is an ambitious, modern-style police officer who excelled throughout training and has held senior positions elsewhere in the country. Keen to make her mark, she nonetheless values the knowledge and experience of the people working for her and does what she can to allow them to get on with the job.
Anna Barham: Mariner has been seeing Anna since their paths crossed during the investigation into her older brother’s murder. Following Eddie’s death, Anna has taken on responsibility for her younger brother Jamie, who has severe autism, and so her relationship with Mariner must be fitted in around Jamie’s needs. Following a series of further traumatic events Anna hankers for a life in the country where she and Mariner can settle down and raise a family.
Emma O’Brien: Peter Klinneman’s partner and Jessica Klinnemann’s mother, stepmother to Lisbet and Paul Klinnemann. She is a specialist in sleep disorders though a stay at home mum she is honouring an obligation as a guest lecturer.
Peter Klinnemann: a research scientist at Hamilton Sciences, based in Cambridge. He recently separated from his wife (Mary) to be with Emma O’Brien.
Lisbet Klinnemann/Paul Klinnemann: grown up children of Peter and Mary Klinnemann (now separated).
Katarina: a nineteen-year-old Albanian young woman trafficked and forced into prostitution.
Lorelei Fielding: manager of the Daffodil Project which supports vulnerable women in the Birmingham area.
Trudy Barratt: manager of Jack and the Beanstalk private day nursery.
Christie Walker: a childcare practitioner at Jack and the Beanstalk nursery.
Jimmy Bond: a secondhand car dealer and older boyfriend of Christie Walker.
Marcella Turner: founder of “Families Come First,” which campaigns for wages for stay-at-home mothers.
Jez Barclay: assistant producer for Angelwood independent TV company.
Sheila Fry: a counsellor based at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, who has a child at Jack and the Beanstalk nursery.