Vexed

Jack is joined by earnest new partner Georgina 'George' Dixon to investigate the murder of car salesman Carl Mercer,whose corpse is found in the boot of a car at his work-place. Jack is convinced the killer is one of his work colleagues,including service manager Dave Jackson and his daughter,receptionist Debbie,who was engaged to Carl,or sales rival Emma. Top of the list is Debbie's jealous ex-boyfriend Ryan Kinnock,who detested Carl. To lazy Jack's annoyance George makes him help her check the suspects' phone records and he actually finds the person who had sex with Carl the night he died. This in turn leads to George unmasking the killer.

Laura Edwards, a student of Gender Studies,is found murdered in the university library. George and Jack investigate,though he annoys her by going on about new girlfriend Danielle. Laura's tutors point the detectives towards her circle of post-genderist,butch friends and the pair go undercover,George as a tutor and Jack a mature student. He manages to antagonize most of Laura's clique including ex-lover Rainbow,who says that Laura left her for a man,Ian,but he claims Laura used him and had sex with lots of men and women. One of these - or their jealous lover - is the murderer.

After Jack's juvenile antics get him - and George - demoted to the missing persons unit they investigate the disappearance of lawyer Ted Finch, whose body is later found in a river. His widow was having an affair with work colleague Charlie,but he had an alibi and the trail leads to the gym where Ted was last seen alive.George finds herself drawn to one of its members,leading Jack to believe she is in danger and mount a clumsy rescue attempt before working out what really happened to Ted.

Alison Clarke is murdered and Over-Done scrawled in ketchup on her wall. She was a leading contestant in 'Kitchen Maestro' a TV cookery contest with abrasive chef Robert Randell and George goes undercover to take her place. She soon finds that,aside from nerdy but affable young Marcus,the other entrants are frighteningly competitive - and then a second contestant is killed. George is revealed to be a truly excellent cook but it is Jack who uses a culinary ruse to trap the culprit. However he is exposed when he tries to claim George's superb cooking is his own to impress new girlfriend Beth.

As George and Jack investigate the murder of headmaster Brian Chaps,his neck skewered with a knitting needle,George's parents' divorce preys on her mind and Jack's attempts at levity do not help. Prime suspect is parent Davina Hall,who rowed with the victim and has a knitting needle in her bag but being left-handed exonerates her. Several other mothers,all avid knitters,admit to trying to bribe Chaps to enrol their children and Jack falls for one of them but George believes she is the killer. Will a second murder prove her right?

Thrilled that she has dozens of replies from her on-line dating site George joins Jack in investigating an armed robbery at the Poynter family's jewellers. A valuable diamond has been stolen but patriarch Ron Poynter is reluctant to involve the law,despite evidence suggesting an inside job. Tony however points the detectives towards a known gang of robbers whose den they raid,learning that a member of the Poynter family indeed contacted them to rob the shop. George and Jack must find out which one. Jack is also asked to be best man at his sarcastic,surgeon brother's wedding but old fraternal animosity surfaces,leading George to give up the Internet dating to console Jack and accompany him to the wedding.