I didn't start out wanting to like this book. The cover put me off, for a start. And I don't usually go for surprise-twist openings. After a few pages, though, I was well and truly drawn into the story, especially when I discovered it was a whodunnit and that the main detective-protagonist was not only female, but a woman of mature years. Paul Musgrove's story-telling talent is considerable, his sense of humour appealing, and his writing skilful without being self-consciously clever. He is, I suspect, a natural.

On these review pages, we don't seek to assess the relative merit of the books we receive, only to comment on their individual qualities. However, one of the many criteria that guide me to a personal opinion on everything I read is the answer to this question: can one tell from the content of the early chapters that it has not come from a major publishing house? The answer in this case is no - I have read many best-sellers that displayed nowhere near the technical expertise of this writer. I emphasize that I look at the content because it is so often the cover design, poor proof-reading, or some other aspect of a book from a small publisher that gives it away. Regrettably, the cover of The Mailman, though certainly eye-catching, isn't, I feel, designed to attract the right kind of audience. The skull, against a bright gold background and sporting a jaunty little hat of green leaves, looks almost festive when it should look sinister. It looks, in fact, like an economy exercise, and that's a pity.

But there's no doubt that this is a compelling read. Not perfect - rather too much time is spent in dwelling on Police Chief Samantha Bentley's wealthy background, which needed to be mentioned only once or twice to make the point. Once or twice the narrative slips into instructional mode, a là Kathy Reichs. Nor is the whodunnit element particularly challenging for a devotee of the genre. The semi-pornographic opening scenes are perhaps necessary to the story, but they appeal to the worst in the reader. On the plus side, though, I've never read a more effective description of a murder scene, right down to the nitty-gritty of what it feels like to handle a dead body. That's not to mention the autopsy sequence.

This kind of gory detail is presumably Mr Musgrove's way of putting us in Samantha Bentley's shoes, a woman accustomed to genteel surroundings confronted with the grim realities of police work. Up to a point, it works, but I would give the author a little warning: there's a fine line between the essential and the gratuitous. Williston, the Karloff-like pathologist's assistant, comes close to being a comic figure, and little touches like these, whilst helping to lighten the mood, are in danger of debasing the effectiveness of this story of sadistic violence. To quote Nietzsche via Michael Connelly, "when you look into the darkness of the abyss, the abyss looks into you".

In general, the tension is built up extremely effectively. An exception is the protracted dialogue, close to the climax of the book, in which police chief and psychiatrist attempt to obtain full details of the crime from an elderly prisoner whilst the town is in the process of burning down and Samantha's own daughter is in mortal danger. It's one of those scenes where you want to yell at the characters to hurry up and stop asking irrelevant questions, and it could have been efficiently dispensed with in half the number of words.

These minor failings are made up for by the presence of Samantha Bentley herself at the centre of the action. You have to hand it to Paul Musgrove for striking out in a direction seldom attempted by male authors, introducing a woman - and an intelligent woman at that - as the leading character and making a serious effort at a three-dimensional portrait, something he does unusually well. He is confident enough to include the beginnings of a possible romance between Sammi and a professional acquaintance; this, too, is as convincing as most of the others I've come across, regardless of the gender of their authors.

Overall, then, it's a quality novel, one that could easily have been picked up by any major publisher with any talent for talent-spotting. No doubt this is intended to be the first in a series featuring the characters, and good luck to it. One can only hope that, in time, Samantha Bentley, Harlan Steeples, Bill Blake and the Tipple police department will gain the regular following they deserve.