Pay Days

Harpur & Iles #18

by Bill James

A tale of fear, greed, and murder by "one of the kings of the dark hill" (Val McDermid). Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his brilliant, amoral superior ACC Desmond Iles face a dilemma that's both political and personal when they suspect a police officer of taking bribes from underworld criminals Panicking Ralph Ember and Top Banana Mansel Shale. Is Nivette doing some unauthorized undercover work―as Harpur himself often does―or is he really bent? It's a question of intense interest not only to Harpur and Iles but also to Ember and Shale, and searching for the answer entails several break-ins to Nivette's house to look for, take, or plant the evidence.

Meanwhile, the body of a pusher, Victor Goussard ("Slow Victor"), is found trussed up on a deserted boat in the city harbor―and then it disappears. His lover frantically, unwisely, starts to ask questions down at the docks; a snoopy television reporter sees a breaking story; and Ember, terrified of exposure, plots the murder of a man who knows too much. Harpur is fast on the trail to make the connections and prevent another crime, but it's a race against time―and treachery.

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

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

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was worried I was beginning to tire of Bill James and his cast of characters, but soon I was yet again drawn in to the dark and shady world of Panicking Ralph, Mansel Shale, Harpur and, ofcourse, Desmond Iles, still one of fictions most brilliant creations. The plot? Who cares? I don't read these for the plots, I read them for the wit, the left-of-field observations, dialogue and uniqueness of vision. Which Pay Days delivered on in a grand style.

[Tom]

An excellent Harpur & Iles novel, with the malevolent Desmond Iles front and center, plotting the demise of hapless Chief Mark Lane (this ongoing campaign is a highlight of the series) among other nefarious activities.

[Alex]

Pay Days: A Harpur & Iles Mystery by Bill James (2001)

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great entry in this English police series.