Darkness, Darkness

Charlie Resnick #12

by John Harvey

The final DI Charlie Resnick novel from the Cartier Diamond Dagger winner and Sunday Times bestselling author of Cold in Hand.

Thirty years ago, the Miners' Strike threatened to tear the country apart, turning neighbour against neighbour, husband against wife, father against son - enmities which smoulder still.

Resnick, recently made up to inspector, and ambivalent at best about some of the police tactics, had run an information gathering unit at the heart of the dispute.

Now, in virtual retirement, and still grieving over the violent death of his former partner, the discovery of the body of a young woman who disappeared during the Strike brings Resnick back to the front line to assist in the investigation into the woman's murder - forcing him to confront his past in what will assuredly be his last case.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, British Literature, Mystery Thriller, Procedural, Audiobook

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

aka Jon Barton, William S. Brady (with Angus Wells), L.J. Coburn (with Laurence James), J.B. Dancer (with Angus Wells), John B. Harvey, William M. James (with Terry Harknett and Laurence James), Terry Lennox, John J. McLaglen (with Laurence James), James Mann, Thom Ryder, J.D. Sandon (with Angus Wells), Jon Hart

John Harvey (born 21 December 1938 in London) is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham. Harvey has also published over 90 books under various names, and has worked on scripts for TV and radio. He also ran Slow Dancer Press from 1977 to 1999 publishing poetry. The first Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, was published in 1989, and was named by The Times as one of the 100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century. Harvey brought the series to an end in 1998 with Last Rites, though Resnick has since made peripheral appearances in Harvey's new Frank Elder series. The protagonist Elder is a retired detective who now lives, as Harvey briefly did, in Cornwall. The first novel in this series, Flesh and Blood, won Harvey the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2004, an accolade many crime fiction critics thought long overdue. In 2007 he was awarded the Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Contribution to the genre. On 14th July 2009 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his literary eminence and his associations with both the University and Nottingham (particularly in the Charlie Resnick novels). He is also a big Notts County fan.

Reviews

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

And so after 12 novels, 16 short stories, two television adaptations and four radio plays, Darkness, Darkness marks the final appearance of John Harvey’s stalwart and long serving detective, Charlie Resnick.

Published on the 30th anniversary of the Miner’s Strike, the story centres on this incredibly divisive and emotional period of British political and social history. Neighbour was turned against neighbour, husband against wife and father against son at a time when working class families experienced economic deprivation. With a backdrop of police brutality, corporate greed and unfeeling politicians, young mother Jenny Hardwick goes missing. Set against her husband, who defied the strike, Hardwick became a vocal campaigner on behalf of the miners and their families, causing plenty of friction prior to her disappearance.

With the discovery of her body many years later, the virtually retired Resnick is drawn into the investigation. It’s a trip back in time for him, as he too was involved in this turbulent period. Recalled from his current role in cold case investigation he works alongside DI Catherine Njoroge, an ambitious and dedicated black police officer who has made her way quickly through the ranks. She grapples daily with the judgements made upon her in the profession due to her gender and race. As the contrasting characteristics of youth and experience join forces, the scene is set for a compelling and emotive investigation, revisiting the past and setting old ghosts to rest.

Thanks to Harvey’s superb control of plot and character you’ll be transported between the time when Hardwick disappeared 30 years ago and the present. The book opens with Resnick ruminating after having lost his partner, and acutely feeling the march of time. Although not fully retired, he seems to be missing the cut and thrust of his previous full time police career, so relishes the opportunity to become involved with a case that was never laid to rest, and which carries a certain weight of professional and emotional involvement for him.

Harvey portrays the developing working relationship between Resnick and Njoroge well, and they learn to understand their differences. While Resnick grapples with his mortality, Njoroge is utterly career-focused and navigates the unfortunate and violent side effects of a failed relationship. Both characters are beautifully realised, and the interplay between them is imbued with Harvey’s natural feel and skill in the realm of characterisation. As they revisit the suspects identified in the initial disappearance case, along with those involved with the original investigation, secrets kept both then and no, hinder their hunt for a killer. Why did Jenny Hardwick disappear and who was responsible for her death only recently uncovered?

Having had personal experience of Nottinghamshire during the Miner’s Strike, Harvey brings the weight of this to bear in his description of Bledwell Vale, the fractured community in which Jenny Hardwick lived. I remember this period from my childhood, and the violent scenes and the economic hardship that blighted the mining communities. Every reference to the backdrop of the dispute and the suffering it caused is drawn with absolute clarity, bringing an emotional weight and involvement for the reader throughout.

Obviously to avoid spoilers, I will make no reference to how Resnick bows out, but think I am definitely not alone in mourning the loss of this character in crime fiction arena. With Darkness, Darkness, Harvey has conjured up a fitting and emotive final outing for this long lasting and influential character. As a stolid fan of John Harvey I thank him for it – the final scene is perfect. We’ll miss you Charlie Resnick.

This review was published at Crime Fiction Lover.com

[Nat K · Rating 4 out of 5]

”So much had changed; so much remained the same.”

This book had stared at me accusingly for many years. I’d pretend not to notice, but was well aware that I was ignoring it. I simply was not ready to say goodbye to Charlie Resnick.

It’s been an absolute pleasure reading this Nottingham based series. John Harvey’s writing style is such that it takes you in, and captures your attention. No sooner have you started reading, than you find yourself at the last page of the book. Realistic, well thought out police procedurals, with well fleshed out characters, in real life settings. What more could a reader ask for?

Jazz loving, coffee drinking, gourmet sandwich creating Charlie is now semi-retired, working a few days a week as a police consultant. He’s asked to help with the cold case of a skeleton that has been unearthed on a building site. It appears to have been buried in 1984 at the height of the miner’s strike.

The story moves seamlessly between the turmoil and upheaval of the mid-1980s, and the present time. The miner’s strike tore communities and families apart, which Charlie witnessed first hand, having been in the (police) force at the time. The disquiet of those times is handled well, by telling both sides of the story, for those both for and against the strike.

In Charlie, I feel a sense of inevitability. Being a policeman, he would have seen it all. Human nature cannot be changed. There will always be the push and pull of needs and wants.

For anyone looking for a decent read of well written police procedurals, you cannot go past this series. In fact, in one of these lifetimes. I’d very much like to re-read them from start to finish.

I’m so sorry to say goodbye to such a humane, empathetic, likeable character. But it’s time for Charlie to hand over the baton, and put his feet up. I’d like to think that Charlie is out there somewhere, listening to a rare recording of a jazz classic, enjoying a coffee and watching the world go by.

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a little late to the table with reading any of John Harvey's novels. This being the first and it also being the last in the Resnick series, regardless I truly enjoyed this book and don't think for me missing out on previous novels in the series took away from my ability to connect and read this.

What's it about?

Thirty years ago, the Miners’ Strike threatened to tear the country apart, turning neighbour against neighbour, husband against wife, father against son – enmities which smoulder still.

Resnick, recently made up to inspector, and ambivalent at best about some of the police tactics, had run an information gathering unit at the heart of the dispute.

Now, in virtual retirement, and still grieving over the violent death of his former partner, the discovery of the body of a young woman who disappeared during the Strike brings Resnick back to the front line to assist in the investigation into the woman’s murder – forcing him to confront his past in what will assuredly be his last case.

My Review:

I found this book fascinating in it's subject matter, I was a very young girl when the Miner's Strike brought Britain to a place of civil unrest, the book does a brilliant job of building up a picture of England during those difficult times, both from the perspective of the Strikers and the "Scabs", those Miners who chose to keep working and faced horrendous opposition from those on strike. They were the outcasts. These were not pretty times for England at all.

Resnick was part of a team present in the heat of the Miners Strike and was privy to knowing many of the characters years ago that he then comes into contact again when he joins a newly formed team sent to investigate the unearthing of the skeletal remains of a young women in the garden of one of the houses in the region.

The book shifts timelines and POV between back then and now, it uses the voices of a few different characters, again back then and now so we get an rounded picture of what is going on.

The plot was fascinating, the political unrest, the behind the doors drama, the poverty, the violence, the secrets, the lies and liars. As Resnick returns to interview many of those he knew back in the day they start to piece together the who/what and why of the murder of this young woman.

Not for ONE minute, until the end did I guess who the killer was.

I loved Resnick as a character, he's ageing now but he certainly has all his faculties about him, he's got a long-term memory like an elephant, a very likeable and real character, salt of the earth. Awesome. In fact all the characters in this book were done well, easy to connect with, easy to picture who there were and what they thought, very well done on character portrayal I thought.

It's a highly readable book from start to finish, fascinating history intertwined with modern day police work and John Harvey does a fine job of wrapping up Resnick's last case nicely, satisfying I felt.

Highly recommended reading, a top of the the line crime novel, readable by both long term fans and new of John Harvey. This one gets 4.5 stars from me.

I received a copy of this novel thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last of the series. 6 years have passed since Lynn Kellogg's murder and Charlie has retired only to be taken back as a civilian investigator. Then a skeleton is uncovered during the demolition of some disused miner's houses. The body is identified as that of a woman who disappeared during the 1984 miner's strike. At the time the thought was that she had run off from a loveless marriage. Charlie is co-opted as a helper onto the team tasked to investigate as he had been involved in the very emotive and at times bitter strike, which was a full on clash between Margaret Thatcher's government and Arthur Scargill the miner's leader.

Throughout story follows the investigation, with Charlie calling in favours from old time colleagues, most of which are retired. Jenny's story as the victim which finds her becoming involved in an active role with the unions which involved speaking at rallies and couriering money being distributed to the strikers, after the union bank accounts had been frozen, (this did actually occur), and her relationship with her husband and a young miner down to Nottinghamshire from Yorkshire.

A side story is the new Detective leading the investigation and her abusive boyfriend. Charlie is just a sad shadow of the man in the previous stories and he rather drifts through the book mostly looking on as a "bagman". Something of a come down. The story itself was good enough and the blend of fact and fiction over the strike was good but the ending came abruptly and lacked continuity of plot, felt as if John Harvey had had enough at this point.

I could only give this one 2 stars.

[Ray Palen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1984, The National Union of Mineworkers led by Arthur Scargill, brought about one of the most infamous and costly strikes in the history of the United Kingdom. This strike effected the entire coal industry and the ramifications were felt country-wide.

The ending of the strike was seen as a major victory for then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and struck a powerful blow against the British Union movement. It is this event, thirty years in the past, that is at the heart of John Harvey's latest novel --- DARKNESS, DARKNESS.

Based in the town of Nottinghamshire --- a major player in the infamous strike --- John Harvey has chosen to use this actual historical event as impetus for the final novel in his Charlie Resnick series. During the time of the strike there were some obvious situations that escalated into violence, specifically when scab workers crossed the picket line to continue work in the mines.

When the wife of a prominent figure in the strike went missing thirty years earlier the town just assumed she had left of her own accord. With labor issues once again rearing their ugly head in the present day, Resnick's hope of finishing his time on the force quietly are squashed when his superiors send him to Nottinghamshire to quiet things down. It is during his reconnaissance of the unit at the heart of the labor dispute that the remains of a human are uncovered.

Modern CSI analysis is done and the bone is traced to the woman who disappeared thirty years earlier during the big strike. This symbolism is not lost on Resnick or those close the current situation. When a young woman goes missing during Resnick's investigation into the cold case he quickly realizes that history may be repeating itself in ugly ways.

What I have liked about Resnick is the professional distance he keeps from his difficult job. Like Peter Robinson's DCI Banks, DI Resnick is a real person with a fondness for music (particularly jazz), the arts and fine food. He has spent much of the series questioning the actions of his own department, sometimes to his own detriment.

With DARKNESS, DARKNESS clearly being subtitled 'Resnick's Last Case', I won't reveal anything further about him. Let's just leave it said that the one opponent Resnick is unable to defeat is called fate.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader

[crimethrillerhound.co.uk · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have been many books written about the miners’ strike but rarely from a Nottinghamshire perspective. Thirty years on and John Harvey, through his Nottingham-based Polish Detective Charlie Resnick, revisits the 1984 strike that threatened a civil war and tore towns and families apart. Partly inspired by David Peace’s novel GB84 Harvey picked the strike as the perfect backdrop to his final crime novel Darkness, Darkness.

It’s 2014 and Resnick is virtually retired. Back during the strike he was running an intelligence gathering unit in north Notts. His team of undercover officers were sent out to mix and mingle, working as spies, their information reported back to the police authorities in London.

When a body is discovered in an old mining town (the fictional Bledwell Vale), under the ruins of a housing block recently knocked down, Resnick is asked to help. Back in ’84 a young woman went missing. Resnick had worked the area and known many of the locals, and has memories that might open a case that’s gone cold. The missing woman is Jenny Hardwick, part of the strike movement and wife of a man that continued to work. The conflict is never forced nor contrived and the reader gets to experience the events of the time through flashbacks as Jenny’s world exists in parallel to Resnick’s 2014 case. Getting to know and like Jenny adds another dimension to the book and lets the reader care about victim the way Resnick always has.

Thatcher, Scargill, the police, the scabs and the strikers are all under fire here and yet there’s a humanity that offers understanding to both sides of the picket line. The lasting damage to whole communities and individual families in never underplayed and the repercussions of that time are still evident within a changing police force. What hasn’t changed in thirty years is the existence of domestic violence and this is confronted, whilst Resnick must also look back at his younger career and a case high on suspects and low on leads. This is a clever way of bringing the series to a conclusion.

Immensely readable, important, and well-paced, it’s a fine who-dun-it and much more besides.

As for Resnick’s farewell, Harvey considered his options, including bumping off his hero, and evidence of that contemplation is found in a fitting finale.

[Jeannie Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently finished John Harvey's final Resnick, "Darkness, Darkness", am not over it by a long shot and in fact, I may remain in mourning for an indeterminate length of time. The series ended perfectly, winding down as Resnick did the same in his fictional work, jazz, coffee-fueled and sandwich-packed life. In addition, after reading the first three pages as the book brought Resnick full circle, I had to stop myself from constantly thinking about one of my favorite films of all time, “Brassed Off” starring the late, great Pete Postelthwaite, about the Grimley Colliery brass band and the Grimley pit closure. Oh, Mr Harvey, how do we thank you enough without appearing obsequious?

There's no irony that this is my first post in Goodreads and that it would be about a mystery, a police procedural. Aside from 1950s children's literature (C.S. Lewis, E.B. White, J.R.R. Tolkein, A. Lindgren), the first books that sparked my reading brain to a new level were Dame Agatha Christie's Poirot series when I was in third grade. I had my 68th birthday recently, so there we have my decades-long devotion to mysteries.

Monica Donnelly has introduced me to countless authors over the close to 45 years we've been friends, but John Harvey's "Resnick" takes the cake. When she randomly sent me #3 in the series I devoured it like a Resnick sandwich. Author-love struck, I found the rest and lined them up chronologically on my bedside shelf, always allowing other books to take cuts in order to postpone reading "Darkness, Darkness" as long as I could resist.

So now, it ends, and while I’m pretty good at accepting reality, all I really want to whine is, "noooooo". The intelligent plot lines, this part of England as a bonafide character (I was able to look up a map and most of the featured city sections and buildings i.e. Lace Market!), Resnick and his colleagues as they navigate their work and personal lives, and Harvey's mastery of language; how will I do without them? Rest assured, I am reading other books now, excellent books, but I can no longer put a sandwich together without the “Charlie Resnick conundrum” (it’s a thing now) kicking in, wondering if Resnick would like half. Thank you, John Harvey.

[J.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a pleasure to stumble onto a new mystery series. Unfortunately I came upon Charlie Resnick, copper and jazz fan, as he works his last case.

After 12 novels, numerous short stories, TV adaptations and radio plays, John Harvey has decided to leave Charlie finishing off a flat white and contemplating the purchase of a new Thelonious Monk album he’s seen advertised.

Already retired as a detective inspector at the start of this novel, Resnick has recently hired on as a civilian investigator, doing the grunt work for the active force. When the body of a woman who disappeared 30 years earlier during the national coal strike is discovered, Charley is assigned to work with a team under recently promoted DI Catherine Njoroge. Charley had worked during the strike in the village where the body has been found.

Kenyan-born Catherine has her work cut out for her. Not only does she have to deal with a case in which principals are elderly, deceased or missing, she also has to cope with an over-bearing, politically-motivated supervisor, a surly sergeant, and two rookie officers in addition to an abusive former boyfriend. Charley is a major force in getting her the respect she deserves.

Much of the novel deals with the team’s difficulty to finding people to interview and assessing possible motives for the murder, including an ambitious journalist’s efforts to inject a convicted serial killer into the mix. Flashbacks from the viewpoint of the victim and others depict the hardships of the time and the often violent clashes between strikers, working miners and police.

As a working newsman at the time of the strike and a child of Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region, I had empathy for the plight of the miners which heightened my interest in the story. Harvey’s adroit characterization, skillful plotting and dialogue made for a satisfying read.

This may have been Resnick’s last case, but I expect to be hunting down his earlier ones.

[Gloria Feit · Rating 5 out of 5]

All good things eventually come to an end. And, unfortunately, that time has come for the excellent Charlie Resnick series as well. In this last novel in which the superb detective and jazz enthusiast appears he is, of course, retired as an active cop, and is sitting behind a desk reviewing cold cases. Then a skeleton is found, and the SIO enlists Charlie to assist in the investigation because he was present on the scene 30 years before, during the historical coal miners’ strike and could provide the team with background knowledge, and then some.

Charlie’s guess, which is soon confirmed, is that the remains are those of a woman who went missing at the time. The inquiry proceeds along several lines, none of which seem to pan out. But Charlie and the SIO continue on. doggedly following each dead-end lead. After 30 years, this is not unexpected, and the higher-ups would not be disappointed if the investigation would end without a result, just fade away. But that’s not Charlie’s way or that of the SIO.

The author lived and worked in the area during the strike, observing the lives of the workers and their families, lending a strong authenticity to the background of the story, which alternates between that time and the present. “Darkness“s a fitting conclusion to one of the best crime series ever to appear, and is highly recommended.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final Charlie Resnick. I had the book for a while before I could bring myself to read it, knowing that it would be the last time I would be in the company of one of my all-time favourite fictional characters. John Harvey does not disappoint. I will say no more.

[Trina Hollis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this the last book about Charlie Resnick, who is seconded to an investigation into the murder of a young woman during the miners' strike of thirty years ago. An excellent plot and characterisation, a fitting end to a great series. Thank you Mr Harvey.

[Havers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im März 1984 nimmt ein Ereignis seinen Lauf, das die britische Nation nachhaltig und für immer verändern wird. In den Kohlerevieren Nord- und Mittelenglands werden Zechen geschlossen und Arbeitsplätze im großen Stil vernichtet. Die Rentabilität ist hier nur zweitrangig, in erster Linie geht es Premierministerin Thatcher um die Entmachtung und Zerschlagung der Gewerkschaften. Und sie nimmt dafür bewusst die Verelendung der Bergarbeiter in Kauf, damit die ihre politischen Ziele durchsetzen kann (eindrücklich geschildert in dem Roman „GB 84“ von David Peace, auf den John Harvey auch in seinem Nachwort hinweist).

Soweit der Hintergrund für John Harveys Kriminalroman „Unter Tage“ (Originaltitel „Darkness, Darkness“). Handlungsort ist das fiktionale Bledwell Vale, eine Kleinstadt im Kohlerevier, gelegen im nördlichen Nottinghamshire, der Region, in der sich die Kumpel im Streik befinden. 1984 der Einsatzort von DI Charlie Resnick, der dort im Undercover-Einsatz für eine Unterabteilung von Scotland Yard Informationen über die streikenden Bergarbeiter sammeln und die Geschehnisse im Auge behalten soll. Dabei lernt er auch die Hardwicks kennen, eine Familie, die symbolisch für die unterschiedlichen Meinungen zu diesem Streik steht. Auf der einen Seite Barry, der weiter seiner Arbeit nachgehen will und muss, weil sein Lohn das Überleben sichert und sich deshalb weigert zu streiken. Dessen Frau Jenny ist allerdings anderer Meinung und wandelt sich von der treusorgenden Mutter zur kämpfenden Aktivistin, aktiv im Streikkomitee, die eines Tages spurlos verschwindet.

Dreißig Jahre später werden durch einen Skelettfund die Ereignisse der damaligen Zeit wieder aufgewühlt. Da er damals vor Ort war, wird Resnick, wenngleich bereits im Ruhestand, reaktiviert und der leitenden Ermittlerin Catherine Njoroge zur Seite gestellt. Und für ihn gilt es nun, nicht nur einen Todesfall aufzuklären, sondern er muss sich auch seiner Vergangenheit stellen.

Charlie Resnicks letzter Fall wird von John Harvey in zwei Zeitebenen erzählt, was den besonderen Reiz dieses Kriminalromans ausmacht, veranschaulicht er doch sehr detailliert die Entwicklung, die sein Protagonist im Laufe der Zeit durchlaufen hat. Diese Konfrontation mit seiner eigenen Vergangenheit als Ermittler ist für ihn nicht immer schmerzfrei, denn auch er muss sich seinen eigenen Versäumnissen stellen. Aber der Autor verharrt nicht in der Rückschau, sondern bringt die Geschichte seiner Hauptfigur gut ausbalanciert zwischen dem Gestern und dem Heute zu einem Ende – Fall gelöst, auch wenn damit nicht alles gut ist.

Ein schmerzhaftes Kapitel der englischen Zeitgeschichte, verwoben mit einem spannenden Kriminalfall, meisterhaft von einem großartigen Autor in Szene gesetzt. Lesen!

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darkness, Darkness by John Harvey

This is my latest review for publisher Pegasus Books, whom I thank for the honor.

John Harvey is a British author, playwright, poet, and sometimes publisher from London, famous for his Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham. Darkness, Darkness is the latest and last book in the series. You can find out more about Mr. Harvey at www.mellotone.co.uk

The final book in John Harvey’s series starring Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick, this book is a fine wrap-up to an obviously popular police procedure mystery series. DI Resnick is now retired, but his rest is disturbed by the shocking discovery of a woman’s skeleton beneath a house extension in Nottinghamshire.

Upon forensic examination, the skeleton is found to be thirty years old. It is identified as belonging to Jenny Hardwick, who had vanished under suspicious circumstances.

Detective Inspector Catherine Njoroge was a native of Kenya. Her promotion to the rank of Inspector had left a bad taste in some of her fellow CID officers. Nevertheless, she is given the cold case to solve. And she wants Resnick on the case, as he works part time as an investigative counselor; and because he was involved in the case thirty years ago when Jenny disappeared.

Back then there were many miners striking. They were supported somewhat by family and friends, and any miner who crossed the picket line to go to work was mocked, threatened, and sometimes killed.

Jenny was married to Miner Barry Hardwick, who is continuing to work, despite the fact that Jenny herself is helping the strikers and calling her own husband a “scab” for going to work every day. Therefore, home life for the Hardwick’s was not exactly ideal.

Yet Resnick knows that Barry Hardwick had been questioned and cleared. In fact, until the discovery of her skeleton thirty years after her death, most people believed Jenny had just grown tired of the constant struggle and perhaps ran off with someone.

Now Resnick and Njoroge must examine old reports, question anyone who was there at the time, and pour over the meager evidence to catch a killer who could be long gone by now.

Mr. Harvey’s story reads easily. The pace is a little slow, but there is incredible detail in every page. The book, to quote Heath Ledger’s Joker, is a lot like gravity. All the reader needs is a push to start the story and off you go, unwilling to relinquish the book until the final word is read.

This was my first exposure to Charlie Resnick, but it was worth it to read an exciting tale of corruption, betrayal, and murder under the miasma of smoking fires of striking miners—now to be settled after thirty years!

I give the book five out of five stars!

Quoth the Raven…

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book!

The storyline took me back to my early teenage years and I recall watching the news about the miners strike with my parents but, not coming from a mining community and being quite young, I never fully appreciated what was really happening. I have since seen a couple of things that have touched on the subject but I felt this book brought me new perspectives to this difficult time in British history particularly from the point of view of the striking miners, the "scabs" and the families caught on both sides. Although this is a work of fiction, I found it very believable with a feel of authenticity and I particularly enjoyed the way the author switched from the present to the past throughout which, for me, worked very well.

The book was full of interesting and colourful characters many of whom have their own demons to deal with not least Resnick himself who I felt came across as a sad and melancholic man who appears disillusioned with not only his work but also his life. Many of the characters had “issues” outside of the main focus of the book and I felt these were seamlessly woven throughout which added further dimensions to this engrossing story. This is all written at great pace which kept me engaged throughout and, to cap it all, it kept me guessing who the killer was right until the end.

Where have I been? I must have had my head in the sand for many years not to have come across John Harvey and Charlie Resnick before! This is Resnick's last case and my first foray into the world of this very interesting character ... it won't be my last and I will go back to the start of the series in order to find out how it all began.

I am grateful to the publisher, Randomhouse UK Cornerstone and www.netgalley.com for sending me a copy in return for an honest review and for introducing me to another new author to add to my ever-growing list of great writers.

http://haziegaze.blogspot.co.uk/

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so sad to see that this is the last Resnick, and simultaneously grateful that Harvey has done such a masterful job of ending an exceptional series with grace and elegance.

Resnick is retired and living alone with his music and his one surviving cat, his days filled with routine, memories and the occasional funeral. He is still engaged, serving as a civilian interviewer for the Nottingham police, but it is a far cry from his active policing days. He has come to terms with the changes in his life, but still feels the loss of what he once had. When the body of a woman is found under a building that is being demolished he becomes once again involved in an active investigation.

It takes him back thirty years in time, to the bitter days of the coal strike that divided families and communities with lasting and brutal consequences. The victim was a young woman, an activist, the wife of a miner and the mother of young children. Resnick is paired with DI Catherine Njoroge, a bright, ambitious young officer whose superior may be setting them both up for a public failure.

The story moves seamlessly back and forth in time, between the angry young strikers and their current personae, retired, grandparents, mostly settled and respectable. The policing of the strike was brutal and frequently corrupt. There were violent people on both sides. The contrast between the past and present characters, victims and suspects alike, is exceptionally well done. Time passes, people age and change but the essence remains.

The contemporary departmental politics and the relationship with Njoroge give added dimension to Resnick's life. There is some gratification as they come to learn the truth of the past but more regrets at the sad waste that is so often the result of a successful investigation.

Harvey's ability to make even his unlikeable characters worthy of sympathy is unmatched, and his creation of Resnick and his world is a gift to his readers. For which I am most thankful.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im sad that its over...

Resnick..one of the truly greats..completely absorbed in his world.. Very memorable characters..I felt what they did..The pain, the triumphs, the everyday minutae..

[Buchdoktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inhalt Als in Nottinghamshire bei Bauarbeiten Jenny Hardwicks Leiche gefunden wird, müssen die zuständigen Ermittler sich 30 Jahre zurück in die Zeit des britischen Bergarbeiterstreiks versetzen. Mit dem Leichenfund ist geklärt, dass die Frau sich 1984 nicht abgesetzt hat, sondern dass der Täter von damals noch in Freiheit lebt. Es wird höchste Zeit, noch einmal Zeugen zu befragen, ehe sie wegsterben. Die Frau war damals von einem Tag auf den anderen verschwunden. Die Erklärungen reichten von „Ihr Mann war ja schon immer gewalttätig“ bis zu „Sie war schon immer aufmüpfig und wird einfach abgehauen sein“. Durch die Familie Hardwick ging der Riss, der damals die ganze Region spaltete. Jennys Mann arbeitet auch während des Streiks weiter, aus Sicht der Bergarbeiter-Gewerkschaft ein Streikbrecher. Jenny engagiert sich für den Streik und die Unterstützung der Familien der Streikenden. Ihr Mann, der seine Familie ernährt, beharrt darauf, dass Haushalt und Kinder Jennys Haushalt und Jennys Kinder sind und er ihr soziales Engagement nicht unterstützen wird.

Der frisch pensionierte Charlie Resnick wird zu den Ermittlungen hinzugezogen, weil Bledwell Vale sein erstes Revier als junger Polizist war und er damals über exzellente Kontakte und Informanten verfügte. Das Team um die schwarze Ermittlerin Catherine Njoroge wird auch mit dem Hintergedanken gebildet, dass Charlie Resnick als erfahrener Kollege die temperamentvolle Catherine bremsen soll. Der Fall soll zwar aufgeklärt werden, aber bitte keinen Staub aufwirbeln.

Auf zwei Zeitebenen lassen sich abwechselnd die Ereignisse zur Zeit des Streiks und die Ermittlungen der Gegenwart verfolgen. Resnick und Njoroge durchdenken Szenarien von der Beziehungstat bis zum Serienmord. Bei ihren Zeugenbefragungen wird deutlich, dass es während des Streiks nicht nur zwei mauernde Fronten gab, sondern dass zusätzlich auswärtige Aktivisten, Aufwiegler u. a. Interessengruppen ihr persönliches Süppchen kochten. John Harvey skizziert den historischen Hintergrund nur knapp, der größte Teil seines Romans fand beim Lesen in meinem Kopf statt. Ich schätze es sehr, wenn die Fakten nicht plakativ vor mir aufgebaut werden, sondern ich meine eigenen Schlüsse ziehen kann. Hier waren es die Auswirkungen der Strukturkrise einer ganzen Region auf das Privatleben Einzelner. Catherine Njoroge kann sich endlos darüber aufregen, wie gleichmütig – beinahe schadenfroh – Jennys Umfeld damals ihr Verschwinden hinnahm. Die Nachbarn meinten, sie wäre aus der ihr zugeteilten Rolle ausgebrochen, und jeder hatte damals andere Sorgen, als darüber nachzudenken, ob eine Frau ihre Kinder einfach im Stich lässt.

Die Verknüpfung zeitgeschichtlicher Ereignisse der 80er mit einem ungelösten Altfall gewinnt zusätzlich durch Harveys differenzierte Personenzeichnung (z. B. der Ermittler McBride). Durch die Persönlichkeit des erfahrenen Ermittlers Charlie Resnick vermittelt die Wiederaufnahme des Falls eine sehr ruhige Atmosphäre. Harvey zeigt sich hier als erfolgreicher Serienautor, den ich völlig zu Unrecht bisher übersehen habe.

[Alan Korolenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bittersweet closure to the Charlie Rennick series. Story effectively uses the 1980s miner strikes as background to a 30 year old cold case. An older, more resigned Rennick assists the primary on this case while pondering the changes the years have brought and missing those who are gone, especially Lynn. The primary, Catherine, has her own problems with an abusive ex-boyfriend. And Rennick's jazz is the background music to the past and present tales.
Harvey leaves Charlie "...sitting... on a bench overlooking Nottingham's Old Market Square" drinking a coffee and pondering going to the music store for a "Thelonious Monk live album. A lovely way to take our leave of him

[Mark Edlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery series - as I get older I find I am looking for book series that have finished. This is Harvey's last Resnick book. Charlie is called out of semi-retirement to work on a 30 year old murder of a young woman. He still really misses Lynn, three of his four cats are dead, several of his friends on the Force are retired or quite ill. He does not know what the next stage brings for him but he knows murders are not it. The coal strikes in England serve as a backdrop to the story.
No pharmacy references.
Canadian references - potential suspect has moved to Saskatchewan; strikers immigrate to Canada

[Electra · Rating 3 out of 5]

C’est en tournant la dernière page que j’ai découvert qu’il s’agit du dernier volet des aventures de Charlie Resnick (12 romans et 16 nouvelles), flic frôlant la soixantaine. Du coup, je serais presque tentée de tout reprendre depuis le début et le rencontrer beaucoup plus jeune. En attendant, j’ai passé un bon moment malgré le sujet. La crise des mineurs en 1984, l’intransigeance de Thatcher. Un bon polar. Parfait pour une reprise en douceur de la lecture.

[Annie Weatherly-Barton]

Great book but perhaps a bit racy in parts for me. Sad it is his last book. Hoped for a sweeter ending but the ending was probably appropriate. Great characters and good on historical Orgreave era. Painful in some parts. I do like John Harvey a great deal but I will miss Resnick. One of the great characters in Detective genre.

[Sharon Sample · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only recently discovered John Harvey and now have read the last two of the DI Resnick series. Charlie Resnick is full of existential angst about his past life as a police detective and his current life in retirement. The historical aspect improved my knowledge. There is a marvelous sense of place which allows the reader to feel part of the action.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

An authors farewell to his character, wistfully continuing on without the readers attention. The story involving murder and historical involving the ending of the mining industry as in part a mirror of the decline. Tristesse rather than anger the mood, but the story plots well and sure footedly reaches it's conclusion.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Harvey is an excellent writer. He has definitely done his homework re the miners' strike. It has a well-developed story which switches back and forth in time, but never loses you. It has been a good series. This book can be read as a standalone. The synopsis provided by GoodReads gives you enough information without spoiling the story.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie is always a pleasure to be with and belongs to the genre of jazz and cat loving detectives. I'm sorry this will be his last appearance. Maybe i'll go back and reread earlier ones. I would have given it a 5, but I'm just not comfortable with books alternating the past and the present.

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Although I am about the same age as the main character in this book, and aside from recognizing the name Arthur Scargill, I don't recall the British miners' strike. I read it on Hoopla which I dislike intensely.

[Merrilie Rowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent DI Charlie Resnick, his swansong it seems. It was also a really interesting read sbout the Miners' Strikes under Margaret Thatcher, a brutal time in UK politics. Like all John Harvey's writing the construction of the plot was very good, tight and convincing. Almost a 5*

[Stuart Dugard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not his best...

[Mike Vines · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last Charlie Resnick mystery. Well done, John Harvey, well done.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the whole Charlie Resnick series. So sorry to see it end!