Dead Man Upright — Derek Raymond

Never before available in the U.S., the final episode in the Factory Series is another unrelenting investigation with the nameless detective into the black soul of Thatcher's England.

The fifth and final book in the author's acclaimed Factory Series was published just after Derek Raymond's death, and so didn't get the kind of adulatory attention the previous four titles in the series got. The book has been unavailable for so long that many of Derek Raymond's rabid fans aren't even aware there is a fifth book.

But Dead Man Upright may be the most psychologically probing book in the series. Unlike the others, it's not so much an investigation into the identity of a killer, but a chase to catch him before he kills again. Meanwhile, the series' hero -- the nameless Sargent from the “Unexplained Deaths” department -- is facing more obstacles in the department, due to severe budget cutbacks, than he's ever faced before.

However, this time, the Sargent knows the identity of the next victim of the serial killer in question. But even the Sargent's brutally blunt way of speaking can't convince the besotted victim, and he's got to convince a colleague to go against orders and join him in the attempt to catch the killer... before it's too late.