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Harry Devlin #5
Eve of Destruction
Stephen Whyatt, an uneasy man who has been taping his wife's telephone conversations with her lover, comes to Harry Devlin's law office wanting information about getting a divorce. But when Harry takes him on, he gets more than he bargained for. Becky's boyfriend's voice on the tapes is oddly familiar, and as he listens Harry begins to fear that more is at stake than adultery. Is it part of the story that Stephen's sinister brother is scheming to sell the family business - which seems to mean more to Stephen than his marriage does? When adultery slides frighteningly toward a case of murder, a trespasser makes a shocking discovery: three dead bodies in a converted church. Events gather speed, and the police conclude it's a case of suicide and double murder. But Harry thinks they have it wrong - and he must unmask the real killer before time runs out.
- GenresMystery
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
8 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Martin Edwards
359 books837 followersMartin Edwards has been described by Richard Osman as ‘a true master of British crime writing.’ He has published twenty-three novels, which include the eight Lake District Mysteries, one of which was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Prize for best crime novel of the year and four books featuring Rachel Savernake, including the Dagger-nominated Gallows Court and Blackstone Fell, while Gallows Court and Sepulchre Street were shortlisted for the eDunnit award for best crime novel of the year. He is also the author of two multi-award-winning histories of crime fiction, The Life of Crime and The Golden Age of Murder. He has received three Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association and two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America and has also been nominated three times for Gold Daggers. In addition to the CWA Diamond Dagger (the highest honour in UK crime writing) he has received four other lifetime achievement awards: for his fiction, short fiction, non-fiction, and scholarship. He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics, a former Chair of the CWA, and since 2015 has been President of the Detection Club.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 1, 2012
This little British mystery is a fun read. Harry Devlin is a solicitor who seems to always be in the way of murder and mayhem. A client comes to him for advice on divorce from his cheating wife and brings evidence in the form of tape recordings of her telephone conversations with her lover. Then it begins to get dicey when subsequent recordings reveal that she wants her husband murdered. Murder happens but not exactly as planned. The solution comes out of the blue but is still satisfactory. I will read more of this author's work.
September 4, 2024
Eve of Destruction by Martin Edwards is the fifth book in the Harry Devlin mystery series set in late 20th century Liverpool. Harry's new legal client Stephen Whyatt wants information about divorce, but doesn't want to begin divorce proceedings, He doesn't want to be forced to sell his business for a divorce settlement. He brings proof his wife is unfaithful: cassette tapes of her phone calls. Harry becomes addicted to listening to the tapes. When the calls plot murder, he must take action.
The book is divided into "Before" and "After" (the murders). Lots and lots of build-up until the halfway point. This mystery is nowhere near as interesting as the author's Rachel Savernake mysteries, but his dry wit is always entertaining, a pleasure to savor.
He was unshackled by superstition: fifteen years old and feeling lucky. Ladders were for walking under, mirrors were made to be broken.
The low sun of late evening was glinting on the ripples. Even at this hour the temperature was in the high sixties. Heat affected people, made them do strange things. [This cracks me up. High sixties = heat?]
Come what may, he would worry away at the riddle until it was solved. He always did.
His invariable habit, adopted in youth and never abandoned, was to read newspapers from back to front. Sports pages first, of course, to see what was happening in the real world before he tackled the main news items.
The question was teasing him and beginning to assume far more importance than it deserved. The mysteries he encountered in life too often, he realised, caught his imagination and took up much more of his time and energy than they should.
Harry had stuffed the hand-outs into the briefcase he reserved for the junk mail he never expected to glance at again. Jim often said he suspected that a set of Dead Sea Scrolls lay crumpled at the bottom of the battered black bag.
It was not quite midday yet already the sun was burning fiercely enough to deter most mad dogs, let alone Englishmen.
After his third pint, the virtues of clean living always began to seem over-rated. He doubted whether he would ever develop a taste for bean curd, blackstrap molasses or alfalfa.
The Casanova of the cassette tapes proved in the flesh to be a well-scrubbed nonentity with a chin so weak that it seemed to be crying out for scaffolding support.
"This isn't turning into another Harry Devlin investigation, is it? Amazing! You're as keen on mysteries as most people are on sex." "I find mysteries easier to come by."
After Liz's death he had wanted to stop all clocks, but the past was not a healthy place in which to live.
I must have seemed like a perfect stooge, a lawyer who likes to overdose on mystery. Ideal for a maze developer with mischief on his mind, a man accustomed to laying false trails.
Of course it would have been the sensible thing to do, but he had never quite mastered the art of doing the sensible thing.
The transistor radio had been replaced by a portable television tuned to a soap opera much improved by having the volume turned off.
The sight of burgers in batter glistening in the glass-sided warmer on the counter was enough in itself to clog the arteries.
"You may as well come in." "You sound as if you're welcoming the ratcatcher. No, don't answer that."
The book is divided into "Before" and "After" (the murders). Lots and lots of build-up until the halfway point. This mystery is nowhere near as interesting as the author's Rachel Savernake mysteries, but his dry wit is always entertaining, a pleasure to savor.
He was unshackled by superstition: fifteen years old and feeling lucky. Ladders were for walking under, mirrors were made to be broken.
The low sun of late evening was glinting on the ripples. Even at this hour the temperature was in the high sixties. Heat affected people, made them do strange things. [This cracks me up. High sixties = heat?]
Come what may, he would worry away at the riddle until it was solved. He always did.
His invariable habit, adopted in youth and never abandoned, was to read newspapers from back to front. Sports pages first, of course, to see what was happening in the real world before he tackled the main news items.
The question was teasing him and beginning to assume far more importance than it deserved. The mysteries he encountered in life too often, he realised, caught his imagination and took up much more of his time and energy than they should.
Harry had stuffed the hand-outs into the briefcase he reserved for the junk mail he never expected to glance at again. Jim often said he suspected that a set of Dead Sea Scrolls lay crumpled at the bottom of the battered black bag.
It was not quite midday yet already the sun was burning fiercely enough to deter most mad dogs, let alone Englishmen.
After his third pint, the virtues of clean living always began to seem over-rated. He doubted whether he would ever develop a taste for bean curd, blackstrap molasses or alfalfa.
The Casanova of the cassette tapes proved in the flesh to be a well-scrubbed nonentity with a chin so weak that it seemed to be crying out for scaffolding support.
"This isn't turning into another Harry Devlin investigation, is it? Amazing! You're as keen on mysteries as most people are on sex." "I find mysteries easier to come by."
After Liz's death he had wanted to stop all clocks, but the past was not a healthy place in which to live.
I must have seemed like a perfect stooge, a lawyer who likes to overdose on mystery. Ideal for a maze developer with mischief on his mind, a man accustomed to laying false trails.
Of course it would have been the sensible thing to do, but he had never quite mastered the art of doing the sensible thing.
The transistor radio had been replaced by a portable television tuned to a soap opera much improved by having the volume turned off.
The sight of burgers in batter glistening in the glass-sided warmer on the counter was enough in itself to clog the arteries.
"You may as well come in." "You sound as if you're welcoming the ratcatcher. No, don't answer that."
December 26, 2025
I found this book / story line very hard to read as the story never moved far from what happened at the beginning, I’m sorry to say this as every book I’ve read from Martin Edwards including The Lake District series and this Harry Devlin one up to now book 5,I had enjoyed each book but then as in life there comes a time when there a better one to read, you may found it a good read as don’t get me wrong I gave it 3*** stars but I love that the story moves around Liverpool at a pace with each chapter not to long to keep in with the storyline.
I will endeavour to carry on reading the Harry Devlin series with ‘The Devil in Disguise’ the next in this series and the first chapter written at the end of this book ‘Eve Of Destruction’.
As you see I read this book over Christmas 2025 where I read a book over 3 sittings/days,I read this book over 5 days as I needed to reread the end of each chapter again to get my mind on the story.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy it 📚📕📗📘📙
I will endeavour to carry on reading the Harry Devlin series with ‘The Devil in Disguise’ the next in this series and the first chapter written at the end of this book ‘Eve Of Destruction’.
As you see I read this book over Christmas 2025 where I read a book over 3 sittings/days,I read this book over 5 days as I needed to reread the end of each chapter again to get my mind on the story.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy it 📚📕📗📘📙
August 9, 2019
Harry likes offbeat criminal cases. His steadier partner...Jim Crusoe...says that "for Harry Devlin, even a bus ticket promised a plot twist." This time the bus nearly runs Harry over. Harry is no stranger to violent and unusual cases but even he's surprised when a client seeking a divorce play a tapes he recorded of his wife on the phone with her lover. He is shocked to see that he recognizes the man's voice...so he starts his own investigation without telling his client what he knows. Soon everything starts to come out following a series of brutal murders. You guessed it. They all point to Harry's client. "Eve of Destruction" is an energetic, no-frills mystery with characters that are well build and the book is composed of an enjoyable, and complex plot
June 3, 2020
Dipping back into the past with Edwards' marvelous Harry Devlin novels. (if you haven't noticed, all the Devlin books have song titles as book titles). Harry is back up to his amateur detective tricks while offering advice to a client on matrimonial matters. Good plot, interesting a devious characters and a quick twist at the end tha usually characterize Edwards' novels.
September 18, 2024
I just found this author and I’m sort of thrilled; not sure if I’ve found a replacement for Agatha Christie! I like British mysteries so I may read a lot by this author. I was surprised by the final outcome.
April 28, 2010
I disliked all the main characters, the plot, and the style was rather plodding. So, the Harry Devlin series is off the to read list.
The problems for me included the structure of the novel as well as the lead character being so dull. We find out about horrible murders right off the bat, then nothing else really happens for the rest of the book. If it hadn't been a fairly short book, I'd never have finished.
The problems for me included the structure of the novel as well as the lead character being so dull. We find out about horrible murders right off the bat, then nothing else really happens for the rest of the book. If it hadn't been a fairly short book, I'd never have finished.
June 26, 2011
This is a mystery set in Liverpool featuring lawyer Harry Devlin as the mystery solver. There is not a flash and dash in Harry, but he enjoys solving puzzles. I enjoyed this low key mystery involving a series of events, people and personal problems. A new client approaches Harry regarding how to deal with his cheating wife while also having business problems with his brother. There is also murder which Harry eventually solves.
December 4, 2014
It was an interesting story with a very unexpected twist at the end. The setting in Liverpool, England was intriguing to me along with the frequent references to the Mersey and the Merseyside. The themes of lust, betrayals and adultery permeate the entire book and ultimately culminate in multiple homicides. This is book #5 of the Harry Devlin series but it is only the first one that I have read. It is likely that I will read more books in this series but not immediately.
May 26, 2015
A fine outing in the Harry Devlin series. Edwards, a student of golden age crime mysteries, throws in some nice grace notes, such as the jealous husband being a maze designer (Edwards is an admirer of MURDER IN THE MAZE by JJ Connington), and a police inspector named Beeding (author of DEATH WALKS IN EASTREPPS and other novels, of which Edwards is a fan).
May 29, 2016
Martin Edwards is my favorite British crime writer, and I enjoy the Harry Devlin/Liverpool series. I believe this book is the finest in this series. The murderer was revealed in the final few pages and was the one character whom I had not even considered.
August 23, 2013
Although this book had a somewhat surprising and abrupt ending, I think the author's writing has improved as the series progresses.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews