Despite this, Davies is by no means a poor detective, and although he can take longer than his colleagues, and is dogged by bad luck, he does usually "get his man" in the end.
The first story had him drifting into the years-old unsolved case of the disappearance of Celia Norris, a local girl with a dark side.
With his friend, the perpetually unemployed and well-read Mod Lewis (he spends all his time at the library to save on heating) he tracks down the culprit, collecting plenty of cuts, bumps and bruises along the way at the hands of the local thugs.
Josie is in her early teens, ready to rebel against her over-protective mother and test her budding sexuality with Davies.
The case breaks when Davies finds a confession, sent by registered mail to establish its origins, and unopened since it was sent, that implicates a prominent local figure.