Hard Going

Bill Slider #16

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Why was a local philanthropist murdered? Bill Slider investigates . . .A rare week off with his family is rudely interrupted when Slider is called in to investigatethe murder of an elderly man, bashed on the head with a bronze statuette, inwhat Doc Cameron describes as ‘our old friend the Frenzied Attack’. Lionel Bygod, retired solicitor, was an old-fashioned gentleman, apillar of society, who gave advice and help to all, from the highest to thelowest. But as Slider and his team investigate, they discover dark secrets at the heart of thismild and kindly man’s life. Shadows from the past – professionalenemies – long-incubated what was it that sparked such unquenchablefury? The trail is old and cold, and Slider’s on the clock . . .

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

239 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2014

About the author

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (aka Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett)

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles was born on 13 August 1948 in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, where was educated at Burlington School, a girls' charity school founded in 1699, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.

She had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, starting as a junior cashier at Woolworth's and working her way down to Pensions Officer at the BBC.

She wrote her first novel while at university and in 1972 won the Young Writers' Award with The Waiting Game. The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled Cynthia Harrod-Eagles to become a full-time writer in 1979. The series was originally intended to comprise twelve volumes, but it has proved so popular that it has now been extended to thirty-four.

In 1993 she won the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award with Emily, the third volume of her Kirov Saga, a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia.

Reviews

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-Stars >> to 4.0-Stars - I Liked It A Lot!
Audiobook - 09:17 Hours - Narrator: Terry Wale (RIP)
From my "Reading Activity":
"It is some years since I listened to the activities of DI Bill Slider. I have heard #1 to #15 and enjoyed every one, but for some reason I stopped listening to them. And this read was most enjoyable! Delightful, often witty, dialogue made for good listening, but didn't enter the "cozy" mystery realm."

Beautifully narrated by Terry Wale, well-known British actor, writer and narrator, who sadly died in December 2021, aged 83.

[Deborah Pickstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Bill Slider episode. The last two I read came after this one and were two of the best in the series - this one suffered a little in comparison as it is good but not outstanding (in the context of the series). Funny how one (wo)man's humour is another persons *groan*; I find the gentle humour and silly puns etc in this series amusing - some reviewers found it really awful. À chacun son goat.

[Lela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Slider is one of the most likable characters in the recurring police mysteries of today. Usually I tear through the latest effort by his creator. Having lived near, roamed often and still love London, I really enjoy the places he goes. He's smart, funny, empathetic and determined. Love his relationship with his "firm" of police; his wife; his father. All that remains in this book; so, why only 3 stars or 3.5, if allowed? It just wasn't up to the high standard set by the previous stories. Seemed just too....I don't like using this word because what book isn't?.....contrived. Still in the end, the bad folks were caught and the good will inherit! Better than 3 but not a 4. 3.5, say I.

[Tracyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this police procedural series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, featuring DI Bill Slider of the Metropolitan Police, Shepherd’s Bush, West London, for many years. I see this series as a traditional, cozyish police procedural series. There is a strong focus on the lives of the two major characters (Slider and his partner Atherton) in addition to the investigation of the crime; that makes it feel more realistic.

In this case, the police investigate the brutal killing of an elderly solicitor who seemingly had no enemies and can find very little information about the victim. He has many friends and acquaintances in his neighborhood, and he is known for helping out hard-luck cases, but his friends can provide no background on him. No next of kin. Slider and his team must work hard to find where he came from. I especially enjoy the stories where a person's identity is in question; I like the research involved.

Like many long running series, this one has its ups and downs, but I have found it a series worth sticking with. The characters are likable. I find that the policemen are very well-defined characters, the other persons involved in the crime less so. These books tell the story of the day by day investigation, looking for leads and connections, searching hours of CCTV tapes to trace the activities of the suspects.The series is known for its wit and humor, but this one seemed less humorous to me. Which was fine.

I was given the opportunity to review this book by Severn House via NetGalley.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice! Much of this book was spent on chasing the red herrings (which is probably a fairly realistic portrayal of a police investigation), and it kept me guessing. I always enjoy the gradual unveiling of the victim's past through dedicated research.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Slider has to be one of the most likeable detectives in crime fiction and I’m only sorry I haven’t read any of the series which features him before now. Slider gets on well with his team though less well with his superiors. He enjoys his job and relies on his hunches. The banter between him and his colleagues is amusing without being obscene or full of swear words.

The crime is murder and the victim is a retired solicitor, Lionel Bygod who seems on the face of it a very unlikely victim. He goes out of his way to help people and everyone who knew him liked him. But someone killed him and it is Slider’s job to find the criminal and bring them to justice.

I enjoyed this novel and it has prompted me to go back to the beginning of the series and start with the first one. Having read this one completely out of order I can confirm that it can be read as a standalone novel though clearly there is a lot of backstory – especially about Slider’s private life – which would be filled in by previous books in the series.

If you like your crime without the addition of bad language, drunkenness and just sheer bad behaviour then try this series. It doesn’t avoid thorny issues but it avoids providing gratuitous violence to give an air of reality and it is all the better for this omission in my opinion.

I received a free copy of this book for review.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely created police procedural a la Ed McBain. Harrod-Eagles is one of my “go to” authors when I need an easy read to wind down after a busy day.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Sentence: Slider’s wheels were in dock.

Although D.I. Bill Slider isn’t particularly looking forward to a week off from work, he hadn’t planned on a murder saving him from time in shopping malls. A well-known local philanthropist is dead. The evidence indicates he knew his killer. Coming up with suspects isn’t a problem. Discovering a motive and evidence proves to be much harder.

From the very beginning, you are pulled in by the author’s voice and delightful, very dry, humor…”but Kate [Slider’s daughter] merely rolled her eyes. It was her response to everything. She must have eye-muscles like a boxer’s biceps, Slider thought.”

It’s refreshing to have a DI who is not an angst-ridden. He’s divorced with two older kids, but remarried with a wife, baby, another on the way and a live-in dad. This provides us just enough exposure to, and the normal problems of, his home life. We see Slider’s kinship to Atherton, his second, and to his team.

It is through Porson, Slider’s boss and something of a figure of fun that we see the author's true mastery of language. One has to be truly dexterous to create the amazing malaprops she does and her incredible imagery.

“Hard Going,” at the heart of it all, is a true police procedural, proving you don’t need a lot of violence or profanity to still have a mystery with an edge and an excellent plot twist. Slider and his team follow the clues and shift through the evidence. I, for one, will continue to follow this very good series.

HARD GOING (Pol Proc-DI Bill Slider-England-Contemp) – VG
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia – 16th in series
Severn House, 2014

[Jerry B · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have really enjoyed this Detective Inspector Bill Slider series, of which this latest is the 16th in the set. Almost like Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth, Slider, with a little help from his colleagues at London suburb Shepherd’s Bush PD, mostly uses his wits and common sense to zero in on criminals. In this one, a retired lawyer Lionel Bygod has been murdered – but a paucity of clues point to little other than his housekeeper (or her husband), a potentially jealous actor, and an aggrieved family involved in the victim’s last criminal trial. Indeed, most of the novel chases those suspects to a fruitless set of findings. With just a slim slice of book left, a few new clues surface, after which it seems the perpetrators cave in with only a little provocation.

While we typically find all these tales entertaining, including the personal life asides with Slider and symphony violinist wife Joanna, dad George, and right-hand man Atherton; his exasperation in honing in on the killer for nearly the whole book left we readers feeling almost as exasperated. The author's hasty wrap-up then seemed to cheat a little – to perhaps target a certain page count, rather than deliver a well-crafted conclusion to a drifting plot. While we would never skip one of these Brit mysteries, the aptly titled “Hard Going” was by no means our favorite.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

All is well in the Slider household. Bill and Joanna are expecting baby number two, Bill's father is comfortably ensconced in his apartment and everybody is happy about the on call baby sitter arrangement, even though George Slider has a new lady friend. Atherton is torn about whether to take the next step and move in with his lover or revert to his free and easy bachelor days. And oh yes, there's a murder - Lionel Bygod, a retired solicitor, well liked by all who knew him, found bludgeoned at his desk.

It's less simple than it seems - his retirement was precipitated by a controversial case in which he was involved, his ex has financial problems and his cleaner's family is a little dodgy. Much plodding through CCTV tapes and interviewing and re-interviewing is required to discover what happened.

The characters are still a treat - McLaren still a human Hoover, but cleaned up and dating, Porson never met a sentence he couldn't mangle. It's not quite as howlingly funny as some of the earlier books in the series, but still a good read, worth it for the chapter headings alone.

[Shirley Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Slider is always a treat! I always look forward to a new Bill Slider mystery. Bill is an "every man's" detective who is warm, funny, fallible and real. And I always enjoy the chapter headings that are always puns. For example, two of them from this book are - "Parent Rap" and "Kissing Presumed Fed". Do you see what I mean? Even funnier are Bill's boss, Superintendent Porson's malapropisms and Dr. Bailey's gallows' humour. These books are a lot of fun to read as well tricky mysteries to figure out. in this one a retired lawyer is found dead in his study and as Bill and his team try to unravel all the threads of the victim's life, a lot of old buried secrets are unearthed. This is a great series for those who like British police procedural mysteries written with well-drawn and well fleshed-out characters.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The usual treat watching Bill Slider and his crew of eccentrics on the police force find out who killed an elderly solicitor, who appears to have been the nicest guy in the world, liked by everyone, donor to many charities; in fact he was killed in the act of writing a check. A clue? I hadn't thought about this, but another Goodreads reviewer pointed out that this series is not overly violent, not especially heavy on vulgar language, not noir, but it still manages to deal with important issues in a serious and grown-up way. And there is always humor and groan-worthy punning.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always like Bill Slider and his family and co-workers. I especially like that his wife is a symphony violinist and music makes an occasional appearance. Talking to his wife who's headed off to a performance, he says "Good luck with your concert. Don't get too tired." Her response is perfect: "Tell it to Prokofiev. I have no say in the matter."
Not one of the best, but interesting all the same. Why was an apparently harmless, philanthropic retired man bashed on the head? Who had it in for him?

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very very English. A bit much for my tastes.

[Deb Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and her protagonist, Bill Slider, never fail to entertain with a well-told story. A satisfying British police procedural.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bygod, he’s dead! If you’re listening to this review with a screen reader and don’t have the benefit of a braille display, you’re going to assume that Nolan the hypocrite just engaged in a statement of surprise that includes profanity. I couldn’t resist beginning this review that way. Those who see it on Goodreads won’t have the benefit associated with someone’s ability to trick out a screen reader.

Lionel Bygod is a solicitor who was apparently writing a check to someone when they cold clocked him and left him dead. The problem Bill Slider has as he and his team investigate the case is that everyone who knew Bygod loved him and described him as a good and gentle man. Well, not everyone. There were allegations that, decades earlier, Bygod attempted to diddle a 14-year-old girl named Debbie. She’s all grown up as they investigate the murder, and she is physically heavy and spiritually weighed down with apathy. But her parents are not. Indeed, they are among the suspects, as is Bygod’s housekeeper and her husband.

I love this series for numerous reasons. The support characters who work with Slider are memorable and well crafted. The author isn’t afraid to have dazzling fun with her chapter titles. She calls one chapter “Driving Miss Crazy,” and she labels another one “Repaint and Thin No More.” Clever indeed.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is such an oasis. Harrod-Eagles somehow manages to get the balance just right between humor and murder. Her wordplay is truly wonderful--not distracting, but it breaks the tension of the novels and illuminates as well. I like looking back at the chapter titles after finishing a chapter to find how they comment on the proceedings. I also love Porson, whose mangling of the language is so finely balanced. He's not a buffoon by any means, but is a "good copper" who has this quirk.

As this book went along and suspects were eliminated, I thought I might have a guess, since no one seemed to be left as the culprit, but of course I was wrong. HE always provides all the clues you need to solve the crime, but she embeds them in such a way that the reader can work alongside Slider. Suddenly, the solution becomes obvious, when one more connection is made.

So very well done and hard to put down.

[Susan Lewallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Bill Slider book. I liked it as well as the first. I haven’t got all the characters in the police force straight yet, but it doesn’t matter much. Once again, there are amusing puns and the story is more than competently written. In this one, Bygod, an elderly solicitor has been murdered in his study. The suspects include his cleaning lady (and her husband); a disgruntled father whose daughter ‘s alleged rapist was exonerated by Bygod years before; and his exwife, June, and her new husband. Bygod has been a kind man known for helping the marginalized in society. It was the exwife and husband, who were outraged that Bygod had changed his will to make June and Bygod’s gay son the beneficiary.

These whodunnits are good entertainment although I suspect they will blur together, as do all detective mysteries to me, as I read more and more. Good for a binge or a once-in-a-while break.

[Shirley Hartman-Rozee · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOILERS



I liked the book. The story was fine, but there were facts that stood out in my mind as events that could have been legally determined right away, and if not right away, definitely after the interview with “Junie” the so-called ex-wife. The fact that Bygod and his wife June had never been divorced—isn’t this something that should have been established much sooner? And there should have been a legal record of her marriage to Buckland if this had been investigated. I would think that an extensive search into an ex-wife’s life would be a priority. And the fact that they had a son, would this not be registered and shown up on legal records. For these reasons, I rated only three stars.
But the top prize for the best chapter title has to be: “Don’t Cry for Me, Ardent Cleaner”. This made me laugh out loud (still chuckling).

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Slider novel. The detective team, headed by Slider, is filled with interesting, engaging characters. The same can be said for the glimpses into the team's private lives. Even the suspects and victims are well drawn.

So why 3 stars? The investigation spent a lot of time going in circles. While that is undoubtedly true in life, it can be boring to read. I skimmed through many of the chapters as they rehashed information we already had.

Finally, there are 236 pages in the hardcover and the reveal came on page 232. Talk about a rushed ending. Since the reviews seem to praise earlier books in the series, I may try another.

[Cynthia Grove · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bill Slider series books are always enjoyable. The main police characters are endearing (well for me at least) apart from the few who just aren't. Porson, although he has only a small role in each book, is great fun in his carefree use of language.
The murder here turns out to be more tragic than usual. The victim was a kindly, good man although his actions and failure to act did play a part in his demise. Not so much a mystery as a pleasant walk with the ongoing characters through their daily lives.

[Renée Mee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoy this likeable police inspector. Really enjoy this series and feel like author makes the characters feel like family and you are interested in their lives. Like the humour. The victim in this novel was very I teresting and you keep thinking he must have some sordid secrets lurking in his past. He seems to be true. Are they?

[M. O'Gannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slider and company have to investigate the murder of someone with apparently no enemies. At least that is the consensus of every witness they talk with. So who did it. The writing and investigative procedure are first rate and the read is enjoyable. However, a vital clue is bent for the reader and makes it difficult to guess who. This one thing, cheapened the book for me from a five to a four. But it was still a good read.

[John Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Slider #16. Nothing much to say as it is just a typical series entry. Heavy on police procedures but with a light-hearted and amusing touch. Maybe just a touch too long, lose some of the home life of the cops.
There's nothing stopping me from trying to find more of these.
Rating 3.4.

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5***

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant story. Interesting interweaving of clues and issues as the investigation unfolds.

[Pgchuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid instalment, although I am getting tired of Atherton and his inability to commit.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has grown on me during the pandemic...good plot with enough twists & turns to keep me thinking!

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. Another winner!!

[Susan W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done.