Halo Parade

Harpur & Iles #3

by Bill James

“Crackling dialogue and seamy people race a no-holds-barred operation to its wickedly satisfying denouement.” ―John Coleman, [London] Sunday Times First time in U.S. paperback, the third in Bill James's "standout," "witty," "well above the ordinary" series (starred reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist). When Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur places young policeman Ray Street undercover in a vicious drug gang, the entire department knows the risks. If Street is found out, he will take his place in "the halo parade." Then the killing of a fellow officer will have to be avenged, by whatever means . . .

Genres: Crime, Mystery

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Bill James (born 1929) is a pseudonym of James Tucker, a Welsh novelist. He also writes under his own name and the pseudonyms David Craig and Judith Jones. He was a reporter with the Daily Mirror and various other newspapers after serving with the RAF He is married, with four children, and lives in South Wales.

The bulk of his output under the Bill James pseudonym is the Harpur and Iles series. Colin Harpur is a Detective Chief Inspector and Desmond Iles is the Assistant Chief Constable in an unnamed coastal city in southwestern England. Harpur and Iles are complemented by an evolving cast of other recurring characters on both sides of the law. The books are characterized by a grim humour and a bleak view of the relationship between the public, the police force and the criminal element. The first few are designated "A Detective Colin Harpur Novel" but as the series progressed they began to be published with the designation "A Harpur & Iles Mystery".

His best known work, written under the "David Craig" pseudonym and originally titled Whose Little Girl are You, is The Squeeze, which was turned into a film starring Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and David Hemmings. The fourth Harpur & Iles novel, Protection, was televised by the BBC in 1996 as Harpur & Iles, starring Aneirin Hughes as Harpur and Hywel Bennett as Iles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_James_(novelist)

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The long-running Harpur & Iles series by Bill James (a Welsh pseudonym, not the baseball analyst!) stylistically combines elements of gritty police procedural and comedy of manners. Cynical plotting and calculation, by both "bad" and "good" guys, is very strongly portrayed. Desmond Iles is one of the memorable "monsters" of modern fiction. Like many series, the early entries are somewhat better: Iles comes into his twisted element in the early/middle books. This is the first H & I novel I read, the third in the series, and one of the very best. Only qualifier is that the language/dialogue is very British, which could be difficult for some.

[Nathanielk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best along with Roses, Roses of the ultra noir British police series. There is a point where something is too gritty to be realistic and James left that spot in his rear view mirror a long time ago.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, sometimes shocking and with dark humour.

[Zappster · Rating 4 out of 5]

More crime fiction than mystery. Less whodunnit and more how-they-get-him, but that doesn't have quite the same ring to it. In this author's capable hands it works though. There's a tension to proceedings that grips you (will Street get got? how will they get you-know-who?) and the author uses timeskips effectively to trim the page count. The end result is a taut, well-paced crime noir book. This is something I am coming to appreciate more and more especially as an antidote to the sometimes bloated epic fantasies I read. We don't need all the details, the timeskip with enough information and motivation for characters can help fill in the blanks. In this case it leads to a great chapter with Harpur being cross-examined in court regarding his obtaining of evidence, with almost all of it being dialogue so it zips along. Speaking of the dialogue, which is a real highlight, it feels authentic, helps differentiate the characters and adds some much needed levity to the book. None more so than Iles who makes you wonder how he gets away with saying the things he does especially to people further up the chain of command. On the other hand it's worth mentioning that the dialogue references people and places from the UK in the 70s and 80s, features heavy use of slang and so might make it more difficult for non-UK readers to follow. I had to google some of the things mentioned.

Highly recommended for fans of crime fiction.

[Michelle]

This book was horrid.

It was a complete glorification of every single vice I despise in life. It was poorly written. VERY poorly written.

And, the plot was kind of weak. Maybe I just don't do crime novels, but I know this could have been done much better.

[David Booher · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding

[Jim Barrett]

Very good.