That's the great thing about Reginald Hill's books. He never loses track of who his people are and what they do for a living. Instead of making it an oddity for a cop to be human and have emotions, while all those around him or her are either on the take or louts of the first degree, it is commonplace among his characters.
He is also far too adroit a writer to ever make all of his villains evil wankers carrying bags marked swag, or to let liberal niceties prevent him from writing truths. For example, in some parts of England today there are elements in the Muslim community who would have supported the decision to bomb the Underground and who could very well be planning some other such activity.
But just as Hill won't shy away from that truth, he doesn't shy away from the truth that there is just as sizable a number of English Christians for whom the sun has never set on the empire and who believe the only good wog is a dead one. It's a collection of these types who have formed themselves into a group called the Templars; named after one of the more fanatical groups of knights from the time of the Crusades. (Hill also shows himself capable of having fun at his own expense when Peter is researching the Templars in a book store and the proprietor makes comments about them being all the rage in books right now because of that damned Da Vinci Code)
The bomb that caught Andy was their handiwork, although it was the occupants of the video store who were the target and the police were just an unfortunate accident. You see, the Templars have decided to carry on the work of their namesakes and kill the infidels who have in their eyes escaped justice. They were found not guilty by the courts, but not by the Templars.
At first Peter has a policeman's usual abhorrence for vigilantes and their scorn for the systems of government. But what if Andy were to die? What might happen if he caught up to the Templars who did this and Andy had crossed over as he continually threatened to do? What is fueling his obsession to hunt them down at all costs, if not a need for vengeance?
Is he that much different from them? When he realizes how well protected they are, and they might just get away with it, he begins to wonder. What would he do if he found out they would escape prosecution, or get off with a slap on the wrist because knowing and proving are two different things?
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