but one of the things _I_ liked was that while he was aware that she was attractive, it didn't feel to me like he was that serious about hoping they would become involved, it was just a little background awareness that didn't impede their friendship, because I _want_ straightforward genuine platonic male-female friendships more often in books.



Yes, agreed. I really liked them when they were just hanging out and he wasn't thinking about it too hard. Also tangentially really liked how they both knew that she was the better cop, in the traditional sense.

[how much do I love Mama Thames and her daughters, by the way?]

Right? This much. The whole thing could have been too socially and racially on-the-nose, but it really really wasn't, and I just dug them all as characters.