★ 11/30/2020
In Harrod-Eagles’s clever, frequently funny 22nd police procedural featuring Det. Chief Insp. Bill Slider (after 2019’s Headlong ), Slider and his friend and partner, Det. Sgt. Jim Atherton, arrive at the London apartment of Erik Lingoss, a personal trainer, to find the man dead, his head bashed in, and Erik’s recently jilted girlfriend, 19-year-old Kelly-Ann Hayes, covered in blood. Though pressured to pin the murder on Kelly-Anne, Slider isn’t convinced of her guilt. A search of the victim’s apartment leads to a series of tantalizing suspects, including Erik’s wealthy private clients and a long list of discarded lovers. Sparkling dialogue complements a plot that provides satisfyingly shifting motives and persons of interest. However, it’s Harrod-Eagles’s ability to create authentic relationships between Slider and his colleagues and family that lifts this series into a league of its own. Slider’s marriage to Joanna, a concert musician, is certainly one of the most well-balanced in detective fiction. This entry will garner new readers and delight loyal fans. (Feb.)
Harrod-Eagles’ latest DCI Bill Slider novel brings the series to a new level, with one of Slider’s most challenging and unusual cases to date … An outstanding mix of hard-boiled action and interpersonal give-and-take, perfect for those who like something a bit different from the standard police procedural
A cracking police procedural ... Another sterling entry in a truly outstanding series
null Booklist Starred Review of Old Bones
While the investigation itself makes for an attention-grabbing read, it's Harrod-Eagles' deftly drawn characters and the sheer likability of Slider and his colleagues that provide the central appeal. As always, Harrod-Eagles salts the narrative with witty repartee, including a wealth of clever puns, all of which help make reading this particular book and the entire series such a treat
null Booklist on Headlong
09/01/2020
In Armstrong's A Stranger in Town , Det. Casey Duncan learns that off-the-grid Rockton may be cashiered (50,000-copy first printing). Award-winning YA fiction author Cosimano's first adult novel, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It , features a struggling suspense writer mistaken as a serial killer (100,000-copy first printing). In Finch's An Extravagant Death , Victorian-era sleuth Sir Charles Lennox takes his first trip to America (100,000-copy first printing). In Harper's The Survivors , Kieran Elliot returns to his coastal hometown and relives a childhood tragedy (125,000-copy first printing). Harrod-Eagles's Cruel as the Grave has Bill Slider doubting that a fitness trainer was killed by his girlfriend. Ide's Smoke marks the return of Isaiah Quintabe, the Sherlock Holmes of South Central Los Angeles. Mosley's Blood Grove puts popular protagonist Easy Rawlins front and center again (40,000-copy first printing). In Robb's Faithless in Death , Lt. Eve Dallas wonders if an angry lover really did kill sculptor Ariel Byrd (750,000-copy first printing). Todd's A Fatal Lie , Inspector Ian Rutledge seeks the identity of a stranger who tumbled from a Welsh aqueduct. Westerson's Spiteful Bones has Crispin Guest, London's famed Tracker, untangle the mystery around a bound skeleton found in a manor wall.
2020-10-27 DCI Bill Slider investigates the death of a personal trainer who rubbed everyone the right way.
Kelly-Ann Hayes, the teenage manicurist who discovered the body of Erik Lingoss beaten to death in his mirrored bedroom with one of his own barbells, is inconsolable that her boyfriend is dead. Her grief is undiminished even though he’d just broken it off with her the night before and she’d used a duplicate key she’d secretly made to let herself into his flat and make the gruesome discovery. Others are more dry-eyed about Erik’s death, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t involved with him too. Jack Gallo, a trainer who owned his own gym, publicly ended his friendship with Erik when his old buddy took Jack’s sister, Lucy, to bed. Trainer Ivanka Anosov acknowledges that she had it off with Erik during his breaks in between other girlfriends. Popular mystery writer Gilda Steenkamp was evidently only one of any number of wealthy older women who loved the way Erik gave massages. Even Jerrika Chamberlain, the beauty therapist who looks down her nose at Kelly-Ann even as she rents a bedroom to her, acknowledges that Erik was “gorgeous-looking.” How can Slider and his mates possibly single out the lover or jealous partner who took out the Adonis who seems to have spread his seed all over Shepherds Bush and environs? And, to emphasize the most suspenseful question here, will Slider wrap up the case in time to make it to the hospital for the birth of his second child?
A model no-frills British procedural, written with the author’s cool confidence and lashes of humor.
“Sparkling dialogue complements a plot that provides satisfyingly shifting motives and persons of interest. However, it’s Harrod-Eagles’s ability to create authentic relationships between Slider and his colleagues and family that lifts this series into a league of its own … This entry will garner new readers and delight loyal fans” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review “A model no-frills British procedural, written with the author’s cool confidence and lashes of humor” – Kirkus Reviews
Harrod-Eagles’ latest DCI Bill Slider novel brings the series to a new level, with one of Slider’s most challenging and unusual cases to date … An outstanding mix of hard-boiled action and interpersonal give-and-take, perfect for those who like something a bit different from the standard police procedural
A cracking police procedural ... Another sterling entry in a truly outstanding series
Booklist Starred Review of Old Bones
While the investigation itself makes for an attention-grabbing read, it's Harrod-Eagles' deftly drawn characters and the sheer likability of Slider and his colleagues that provide the central appeal. As always, Harrod-Eagles salts the narrative with witty repartee, including a wealth of clever puns, all of which help make reading this particular book and the entire series such a treat
If you’re in the mood for a witty, engaging British police procedural, listen to this 22nd addition to the DCI Bill Slider series for a real treat. Narrator Mark Meadows masterfully differentiates the large cast of police investigators and suspects. Listeners will accompany Slider and his team through London as they dig into the life of murder victim Erik Lingoss, a personal trainer who provided extra benefits to his wealthy clientele. Listeners will also gain insight into Slider’s family life and learn more about what drives him. Meadows expertly conveys the personalities of the key characters through pacing, accents, and dramatic expressiveness. The many puns, witticisms, and literary allusions heighten the listener’s enjoyment of this audiobook. E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine