Death's Bright Angel

Death's Bright Angel by Janet Neel is the first book in a series featuring Inspector John McLeish and Francesca Wilson. It won the John Creasy Memorial Award in 1988. It is on the list of 100 favorite mysteries of the century according to The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. The further into the book I got the less interested I was.

from the back of the book:

Death's Bright Angel introduces two of the most compelling characters on the contemporary mystery scene: Detective Inspector John McLeish, a 6'4", ex-rugby playing Scot, and Francesca Wilson, sister of a rising pop star, civil servant, and divorcee, with a knack for getting into trouble.

It seemed like a typical London mugging when the purchasing manager for Britex Fabrics, an ailing Yorkshire textile mill, was found with his head smashed in on a seedy street, his wallet and wristwatch gone. But the savagery of the crime troubled McLeish. Why hadn't the thief stopped after the first, knock-out blow?

Investigating Britex's other officers, McLeish ran into beautiful Francesca Wilson, part of a government team considering a bail-out loan. Distracted by Francesca, who managed to be both terrifically bright and appealingly scatterbrained, McLeish failed to realize that she was walking straight into mortal danger...

There are charming characters aplenty, and irresistible Francesca has to beat the men off with a stick, only she doesn't do that as she's too busy tripping over things and needing to be helped. I'll pass on the rest in this series.