Paper Murder
by Ian Robinson
Series: DI Nash and DS Moretti, #5
Publisher: The Book Folks
Publication Date: July 16, 2026
Format: Paperback
Length: 211 pg.
Read Date: October 6, 2026
What’s Paper Murder About?
Nash and Moretti, fresh from losing a case in court (a case, they knew needed some more work before taking to trial, but didn’t get the chance to do so), are called to the scene of a murder. The crime scene is carefully composed, for lack of a better word, the body was posed, there were origami pieces left by the hands—it has all the marks of someone who took their time, wasn’t concerned about being interrupted or overheard, and very likely left little to nothing for the SOCO folks to pick up on.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the victim is the defendant who walked away free that day. The pressure—and maybe some suspicion is coming their way.
And then another body shows up with the same pose and origami shows up. This one is also a recently freed criminal—tied to the same organized crime family.
So they’ve got a vigilante targeting one group—or someone from a competitor posing as a vigilante. Either way, if something doesn’t happen soon, the criminals are going to start their own investigation—and they’re not going to be nice and respectful of rights or anything as they go about it.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I picked this up because it’s an Ian Robinson book, and I will read anything this man puts out. Also, I’ve enjoyed the Nash and Moretti thrillers up to this point, and would’ve given it a shot regardless of the author.
I kept at it for the usual reasons: I wanted to find out who the killer was—and more importantly, how Nash and Moretti figured it out, and how they caught (presumably) the killer.
What does this book tell us about humanity?
If anything, Paper Murder is about limits. These detectives have limits—the other teams of police they interact with have limits, the people in the killer’s life can only do so much, too. Some of these are limits of budget, some are of time, some are related to the ability to do the same kind of soul-crushing job day after day.
Some of these, like budgets, are easy to figure out and stay within (even when you don’t want to). Others will sneak up on a person unaware—the trick is to find them and do something to prevent hitting the limit too hard—or sailing past it to your own detriment.
Nash and Moretti both have to reckon with—and respond to—the limits of what they, as people, can do. The series has been pointing at this for awhile, but Robinson underlines it in bold this time.
So, what did I think about Paper Murder?
This novel delivered just what you want. Some odd murders, just spooky enough to get your attention—not so horrific that you want to turn away. A calling card from the killer you just have to pay attention to. A twisty way for solid police work to find the answers, a couple of lucy breaks along the way, and a very satisfying conclusion.
There’s at least one point, but I think it’s two (I only wrote one down), where the police state something as a working theory and/or fact that hadn’t been brought up before. Just out of the blue, “where’d you get that idea in the first place? And when did the team decide to go with it?” Yes, the theory/fact pushed the story in the right direction, but it felt like Robinson cut a conversation or two along the way—and for a book that seems so good at procedure, jumping a few steps feels out of character. Did this ruin anything for me? No. Did it take me out of the scene and make me go back to check and see if I missed something? Yes.
There’s some solid character work here, if I had to nitpick—there’s not enough of Nash and Moretti together, more of them running around on their own (particularly Moretti), or with other detectives from their team or others. One of the keys to this series for me has been the two of them, and while I understand the choices behind separating them as much as they were, it did diminish my experience a bit.
Solid British police procedural work. If you haven’t taken a ride with Nash and Moretti yet, there’s no reason this can’t be your first, it works fine as an entry point. If you’ve dabbled in this world before, you know what to expect—and you’ll get it. A good mystery that feels authentic as anything out there. I recommend it.
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