police procedure of a quality that would raise eyebrows even in the ranks of Causton CID and poor writing to match it
mysterious sad tense

A contrivance is a contrivance, even if your protagonist's motto is "coincidence is only an explanation waiting to happen" or some such...
dark funny reflective
adventurous dark mysterious reflective

Death at the Sanatorium

Ragnar Jónasson

DID NOT FINISH: 13%

clumsy and not compelling
mysterious

Competently plotted but still very contrived