A Detective Under Fire

Harriet Martens #3

by H.R.F. Keating

Detective Chief Inspector Harriet Martens is nicknamed the "Hard Detective" because of her tough stance. In Detective Under Fire , she must turn attention from the criminal world to her own police department, as she is put in charge of an internal investigation.

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating was an English writer of crime fiction most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.

H. R. F. KEATING was well versed in the worlds of crime, fiction and nonfiction. He was the crime books reviewer for The Times for fifteen years, as well as serving as the chairman of the Crime Writers Association and the Society of Authors. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award twice, and in 1996 was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding service to crime fiction.

Series:
. Inspector Ghote
. Harriet Martens

Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, like others in this series,is a mostly cerebral mystery. Detective Supt. Martens is called to London from her post in the Midlands city of Birchester to head up an investigation caused by a tabloid story of police corruption in the Maximum Crime Squad. The officer in charge of the Squad is not cooperative, but she perseveres. Much of the narrative takes place inside her mind as she puzzles out the mystery. It was an easy read--4 days. I give it 4 out 5 stars

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I could it would be 2.5 stars... Didn't grab me as such but it's a good police story. What annoyed me more is a man trying to write about women's clothes and hair products etc. Hey if we don't like the scarf we don't wear it, we bin it, and if this woman is so caught up with her green coat and matching hat then there's no way she'd keep this Paisley scarf! And if you've got wet hair, you'd dry it with a hairdryer not put your heated brush on to warm up. Please... Get a female editor for these details.

And I got tired of listening to her thought processes... But maybe you're tired of me rambling on!

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was grand.
She dug in and we go along with her till the end.

[Carly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring...

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was far better than the first two stories in the series. It was like real police work and investigation; not too far-fetched. It swings from third to first person, where Harriet's inner dialogue furthers the answers to the puzzle of corruption within the Force.

I am becoming used to the writing style, though it is rather wordy at times. Harriet is also a more familiar character.

Overall, a good story; entertaining.

Worth a look.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like strong female protagonists. In this case Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens finds herself investigating corruption within the police department. Clever, enjoyable mystery. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Kirsty (BookBlogger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Detective Under Fire by H. R. F. Keating

Blurb

Detective Chief Inspector Harriet Martens is nicknamed the "Hard Detective" because of her tough stance. In Detective Under Fire, she must turn attention from the criminal world to her own police department, as she is put in charge of an internal investigation.

My Opinion

As with the other books in this series, this was an easy read. Martens digs into an investigation following a story in a newspaper about corruption within the Maximum Crime Squad. An interesting read that would work well as a standalone.

Rating 3/5

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Courtesy of The SF Site: "Author H.R.F. Keating (b.1926) died on March 27. Published most often outside the genre, his dystopian novel The Strong Man and his disaster novel A Long Walk to Wimbledon are both science fiction. "

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story. It wasn't the greatest of novels, but it fit all the standards for a police procedural and was interesting up to the end.
This is the first I've read in this series. I guess it's number 3, but I didn't need to read the others first.

[Dagny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repetitive but good audio. 2.5 stars

[Elly Wendy]

This one just isn't working for me. I've given it a good try, but can't get into it. Possibly in a month or two this novel and I will click.

[JB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off well, but just got so boring I skimmed the last third. Won't be reading another.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually read a book (probably a hardback) but over 17 years later I don't have the details to hand to create another edition in Goodreads.