Publishers Weekly
01/16/2023
A missing person’s case drives Harrod-Eagles’s intriguing 24th mystery featuring London Det. Chief Insp. Bill Slider (after 2022’s Dying Fall). When Felicity Holland, the wife of author Henry Holland, who writes popular novels “about a ship-captain in the Napoleonic Wars,” doesn’t return home to Holland Park after her weekly pottery class, Henry is sure something untoward has happened. Fortunately for him, Henry has friends in high places, including the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who ensures that Slider takes charge of the investigation to find Felicity. Progress is slow, Henry’s patience is nil, and Slider is under immense pressure to uncover a solid lead. As tiny clues turn into wildly divergent paths of inquiry, Slider and his merry band of officers discover that the esteemed Mrs. Holland had her share of secrets. From posh manses in West London to Burnham Beeches, a woodland outside the city, Slider doggedly pursues the truth, however ugly it may be. Witty prose (Carpenter, Slider’s immediate boss, has “all the warmth, charm and empathy of Vladimir Putin with a toothache”) helps carry the clever plot to a satisfying conclusion. Harrod-Eagles reliably entertains. (Feb.)
Booklist
A gripping plot, Harrod-Eagles' trademark wry humor, and an authentic look at today's police make this a fine read for procedural fans
Booklist Starred Review of Cruel as the Grave
Outstanding . . . Harrod-Eagles' latest DCI Bill Slider novel brings the series to a new level
Booklist on Dying Fall
Another satisfying mystery starring one of Britain's most engaging coppers
Library Journal
01/01/2023
Detective Chief Inspector Bill Slider knows he's in trouble when the borough commander mentions Slider has been involved in sensitive cases before. In other words, if the investigation goes wrong, it's okay to sacrifice Slider and his team. This time, the pressure comes from the top. Henry Holland, a writer of seafaring adventure novels, went to school with the police commissioner. Holland's wife Felicity disappeared after leaving her pottery class the day before, and he demands a search. Although the couple has been married for 24 years, Felicity had a slightly risqué youth, and she's alienated from her prominent father. As the investigation progresses, Slider wonders if Felicity chose to disappear, but the discovery of her purse, in a wooded area where murderer often dump bodies, leads the team to intensify their search. Slider questions family members gingerly, until the case leads him right back to Henry and the realization that the man hasn't told them the truth about the day his wife disappeared. VERDICT Harrod-Eagles follows Dying Fall with another delightful mystery for fans of unconventional police teams, witty dialogue, and excellent procedurals.—Lesa Holstine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-11-29
DCI Bill Slider lands a case as puzzling as it is unwelcome.
Henry Holland’s wife has gone missing. Felicity Holland went out on her usual errands—a pottery class, lunch with some friends—and never came home. Since her husband is a historical novelist of some repute and an old schoolmate of Borough Commander Mike Carpenter, who admires his work, he phones him directly, and even though Felicity presumably disappeared from Notting Hill, not Shepherd’s Bush, Carpenter orders Slider to take on the investigation personally. The missing woman hasn’t left much of a trail, but the discovery of her handbag in Burnham Beeches, exactly the sort of venue that would be ideal for disposing of a body, turns up the heat, though not the light. The few leads Slider picks up point him toward Josh Milo, an old lover Felicity hadn’t seen in years; an unidentified, much younger man she repeatedly had lunch with; and her own father, Sir John Aubrey-Harris, Queen’s Counsel, a retired barrister so eminent that Slider dares not accuse him or even question him. To top it off, Holland keeps calling his higher-ups to complain about Slider’s lack of progress. “If ever he had been handed a poisoned chalice, this was it,” reflects Slider ruefully. The climactic developments in the case, when they arrive in good time, aren’t exactly surprising, but they’re highly satisfying. As a bonus, Slider gets something that might almost pass for an apology from one of the powerful people he’s been thrown up against.
A model British procedural with nary a wasted word, scene, or gesture.
