Инсценирано убийство

Bill Slider #1

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Елена Чизмарова (Translator)

Кратко и ясно (в. “Стандарт”)
Трупът на млада, гола жена беше открит в празен апартамент в комплекса “Уайт сити”, Западен Лондон. Полицията разследва случая.

Екзекуция (из доклада на отдел “Убийства”)
…Прилича на екзекуция. Може би за сплашване на останалите. На петата й е изрязана буквата “П” – предател. Но като събереш пентатол, скалпел и здрава, силна ръка, получаваш професионалист…

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature, Procedural, Music, Detective

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

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

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bill Slider series is one that I have been wanting to try as it has been around for awhile and seems popular. Orchestrated Death is the first in the series. It is a police procedural based in England. I liked the police procedural part of the book and if it had been mainly that would have given it four stars. I liked Bill Slider's partner Atherton the most of all the characters.

However, the book is probably about half about Bill's personal life. He is an older policeman who is tired and in an unhappy marriage. He has two young children. He interviews a witness, has an Italian dinner with her and he is off and running. It is out of character for him as his workmates attest to. The reader hears so much of his feelings, how bad his wife is and it takes over a large portion of the book. His two young children were also put down when he thought of them He is over ridden with guilt though but throws it all to the side for someone he just met. It was too much dithering back and forth for me. I did peek ahead at the next several books and it does appear that the dithering continues.

Back to the mystery, it was good. The writing was good and I enjoyed the police procedural part.

[Shirley Hartman-Rozee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slider’s character seemed very wishy-washy and spineless but eventually I got to like him very much because of his stubborn refusal to let Anne Marie’s death be thrust aside. I think his meeting with Joanna germinated the seed that made him grow into the man Slider is going to be. I honestly was torn by the decision that he is to make (Joanna or his wife) but I hope it will be the correct one—I feel strongly that Irene does not love him nor ever did and Joanna does love him. Well, we’ll see what transpires in upcoming books.

I’ve actually read up to book #5 and feel compelled to add a note regarding Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ writing style. She writes exceptionally believable characters, some of whom have the wickedest sense of humour. I have found myself repeating lines of dialogue, wanting to reply to a character I like or bursting out in laughter at a well-delivered line. I have never had such fun reading a detective novel. Mind you, I don’t always agree with the characters nor do I always like the way a book ends, but I do enjoy reading and savouring the literary delicacies Ms Harrod-Eagles pens (except autocorrect insists on inserting Harrodsburg every time I write her name forcing me to backspace to get rid of it).

[Deb Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Bill Slider is a 40-ish-year-old man with a wife and two children. He is well-liked at work, dedicated to his job and a man who seeks to look at issues from many sides. Slider is partnered with the somewhat younger Jim Atherton, who in addition to being his work partner is also his friend.

A young woman is found dead in a desolate part of town; her clothes are missing as is anything that might identify who she is. Slider takes this murder to heart in a much more personal way than is his usual manner. Slider becomes increasingly introspective about his personal life as the investigation moves forward.

A well-written and engaging story.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been enjoying the Bill Slider series so much that I ordered the first one via interlibrary loan, to see how it started. As it turns out, I'm glad I didn't start with this one--the characters really hadn't gelled yet, and I found Bill's affair with a witness in his case both unlikely and tedious. But I do prefer mysteries where the characters are focused on the mystery and not spending a lot of their time dealing with their personal problems, so others may differ. The series really comes into its own in later books, with a recurring group of well-drawn characters and a lot of humor.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe only four stars, but give it five because for a debut novel it's astonishingly good. Came highly recommended to me--a very prolific British writer whom I had never heard of. The name Slider put me off a little: it seems a particularly bad name for a detective, and especially for this one, who is, if anything, TOO conscientious. But otherwise it's hard to find anything about this book that didn't appeal to me immediately and directly. The writing is clever, literate, and careful; there is plenty of banter and humor, some of which I'm sure went right by me, since it required pretty intimate knowledge of British pop culture and slang (not to mention pronunciation, if you're going to get all the puns). But I got enough of it to laugh out loud a couple of times. Still, at it's core it's a very serious book. The mystery is appropriately hard to solve, but in the end justice is done, sort of. The book is also a brilliant evocation of what it feels like to fall desperately in love-at-first-sight in what one would have expected was settled middle age. All of the characters, with the possible exception of Slider's irritating wife, are unique voices, none of them close to cliches. I will definitely be reading more of these, and there are a lot.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

hmmm - I read this because I saw a review of a later book in the series and thought I should start with the first book. I was enjoying it at first- I liked Slider and Atherton- especially with their reactions to the victim. There was a level of sadness and caring that touched me. But the story quickly went sour when it came to Slider's personal life- which in many ways overtook the mystery. Of course since this was written from Slider's point of view - the criticism of his wife wasn't that unexpected -but there seemed to be little blame from Slider on his own part in the failing marriage. The Slider starts an affair. I have no problem with bad marriages and divorces - messy or not- but I have no sympathy or interest in characters who lie and cheat on their spouses and are written in a way that justifies or excuses their behavior. I am not interested in their guilt. Slider is a liar, cheat, and coward. If he's in an unhappy marriage and meets someone who he can see a future with - then be a grown-up and tell your wife you are leaving her. I stayed with the book to see how it ended - I was hoping that his wife slapped him with a divorce and took him for everything he had...and that his new 'love' dumped him. But no, it ends with him - still the coward - unable to make any decisions.

One final comment on the personal life of Slider - it took over the story that the mystery often dropped to a minor note - and it also took a mean turn - there were a few times when Slider's opinion and thoughts about his children were mean and cruel. I think he was written as a bit of a sad-sack but I found him to be one of those people who blame others for his misery.

I don't know if I will read another-

[Dianne Landry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have liked this book but I just didn't and I can't really say why.

[Jay Fusco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Bill Slider series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. My wife gave me a list of British mystery series she really enjoyed. Yhe plot was well done, plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing. I will read more of these.

[Jazz]

Can’t rate this because I didn’t finish it. I may return at some point to the series, but almost halfway in, I simply have no desire to go back to it. I couldn’t connect with the main character, who bemoaned his own marital situation—more than I could—to justify the decisions in his personal life. I didn’t want to spend any more time inside his head.

[ElaineY · Rating 1 out of 5]

REVIEW OF REREAD FEBRUARY 12, 2022: 1 star
This relisten has left me liking Slider even less than the first time I listened to it in 2018 (review below). I've now listened to quite a few installments and my discomfort with Slider's adultery never quite waned. This second listen made me feel even less charitable towards Slider and I now feel the author ought to have had her protagonist's marriage end before letting him meet Joanna. After all, both Slider and Irene weren't happy with each other and hadn't had sex in at least a year. Whatever Ms Harrod-Eagles' intentions were to kick off her series with her protagonist thinking and acting with the appendage between his legs they only served to make me dislike Slider. Granted, I decided, in the end, to give him and Joanna chance at happiness (as well as Irene) but I can't help but say I can't see what the hell Slider sees in Joanna!

I didn't care for the murder investigation any better this time either. I kept asking why Slider was confiding and discussing an ongoing murder investigation with Joanna, a witness, albeit not a critical one.

So, second time around, I think this a very weak debut to the series.
-------------------------------------------

REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK; DECEMBER 19, 2018
Narrator: Terry Wale

A weak 3 stars. Slider's marital woes dominated the story but I didn't mind this as I accepted it as the author's intention to develop her protagonist. I did, however, find it done a little heavy-handedly insofar as making Slider's adultery appear understandable. I normally would give any series a pass if the protagonist cheats on his wife and in this series, Slider's affair seems to be a serious long-term one. As I've only finished the debut installment and only took a peek at the reviews and blurbs of the later ones, I know Slider's lover is still around after three or four books and he's planning to marry her. I don't know, yet, if Irene leaves him or he leaves her. Knowing the little I do of Slider up to now, I suspect it's the former. Whichever, the marriage had become toxic for Slider and his family long before he met Joanna. It is this reason that I've decided to cut Slider some slack and hang around a little longer instead of dumping the series.

I found the murder investigation rather tedious - the usual questioning one person-of-interest after another and getting nowhere. Little threads that seemingly lead nowhere. I was bored in several places and paused the audio to go listen to something else. There is a lot of navel-gazing by Slider and I was groaning with impatience for the investigation to get moving.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ORCHESTRATED DEATH – G+
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles – 1st in series
Detective Inspector Bill Slider is called to investigate the death of a young, naked woman found in an empty flat. In so doing, while his marriage is falling apart, he finds himself attracted to a woman who knew the victim. This was a re-read.

I have read all the Bill Slider books and very much enjoy this author’s writing, whose strength is the characters rather than the mystery, but which is done with wit.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would (always a bit wary of romance writers turned mystery writers). A tantalising murder mystery, an affair and a surprising amount of humour (especially after just finishing Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn) - what's not to like?

Having said that it was a fairly standard (although solid) police procedural with just enough spark to keep the reader's interest. A series for light entertainment but I will certainly read some more.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is from the early '90s, the lingo, use of call boxes.... I found it refreshing after all the techno-cop mysteries I've read lately.
You can get plot summaries elsewhere, it was fairly basic, but the execution, the characterization, the fact that it all didn't end tidily was all refreshing.
Will read more of the series.

[Netti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich mag die Wortspiele in den Kapitelüberschriften! Überhaupt gefällt mir der Schreibstil mit leicht sarkastischem Humor. Aber die Handlung... DI Bill Slider hat mehrmals täglich außerehelichen Geschlechtsverkehr und den Kopf voll damit. Wenn er zwischendurch Zeit hat, löst er einen eher langatmigen Kriminalfall. Naaajaaaaa.

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just could not get into this character. Right off the bat he seems miserable, and then he becomes an adulter - literally with in the first 15% of the book. The story seems more about his affair and dislike of his wife than a murder mystery.
I won't be reading anymore of this series.

[Kat Walter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to like this book, but didn’t. Characters didn’t ring true, plot was weak. Repetitious erection descriptions not central to storyline. That said, the series was recommended by my British Mystery group and it would appear from reviews that this one is the weakest. So, I will probably read #2.

[Geraldine Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read. Plenty of humour. Excellent characterisation. Thoroughly recommend.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

clever Brit mystery and generally well-written, except for a few clunkers such as "his eyes had that flat look of ageing homosexuals."

[Bionic Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting crime mystery novel with an unusual classical music setting. However the sub-plot was a little too invasive.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

have really enjoyed later entries in this series. didn't know about the surprisingly tawdry affair at the beginning. could have done without.

[Radosław Magiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jakiś czas temu sięgnąłem, w celu złapania oddechu od wszechobecnej w mediach polityki i wiary, po powieść Symfonia śmierci (tytuł oryginału Orchestrated Death), której autorką jest Cynthia Harrod Eagles. Trochę się obawiałem, że znów będzie to jakiś sensacyjny bestseller, w złym znaczeniu tego słowa, które kojarzy mi się ze sztampową, kiczowatą i bezsensowną taśmową produkcją skierowaną do nieuważnego, niewymagającego, ale za to masowego czytelnika, który tak się ma do prawdziwego miłośnika wiedzy, myślenia i książek, jak wielbiciel mp3 do melomana. Nie żebym nie widział zalet formatu mp3, albo z nich nie korzystał, ale muzę wolę w klasycznym audio jeśli mnie tylko na to stać. Podobnie z książkami. Czytuję różne rzeczy niskich lotów, sensację w której nie odróżnia się rewolweru od pistoletu, fantasy, gdzie nie odróżnia się szabli od rapiera, ale tylko dlatego, że za każdym razem mam nadzieję na coś dobrego, a dopiero w trakcie lektury objawia się mierność wiedzy autora.
Symfonia śmierci to typowy kryminał, którego bohaterem jest Bill Slider, stary glina z dochodzeniówki. Akcja może nie jest niesamowicie porywająca, może nie ma takiego napięcia jak u Alexa Kavy, może klimat nie jest tak mroczny jak u Tami Hoag, a ciąg myślowy prowadzący do rozwiązania może nie wymaga takich fajerwerkowych ciekawostek jak u Dana Browna, ale powieść ta ma jedną wielką zaletę, którą dziś naprawdę ciężko spotkać – jest prawdziwa. Nie – nie jest pewnie oparta na faktach. Jest prawdziwa w tym sensie, że wszystko mogło się wydarzyć i dokładnie tak by wyglądało, gdyby się zdarzyło. Prawdziwi bohaterowie, którzy przeszliby nawet konfrontację z cybernetyczną oceną charakteru profesora Mazura, którzy są tak realni, że aż coś człowieka w środku ściska. Prawdziwe realia, gdzie policja łapie tylko głupich, brzydkich albo biednych, bo tych bogatych, ustawionych i mądrych złapać nie może. Nie dlatego nawet, że jest nieudolna, niedouczona, przepracowana i skorumpowana. Po prostu od takich spraw są inni. Główny bohater jest jak stary kumpel z policji, którego myśli znamy od podszewki. Pięknie odmalowana osobowość, jej problemy i jej siła będąca zarazem słabością. Rewelacyjne odmalowane studium rozpadu związku małżeńskiego człowieka kierującego się w życiu własnymi przekonaniami, wartościami i uczciwością z kobietą przeciętną, jakich w świecie jest większość, marzących o majątku i wysokiej pozycji społecznej. Idealnie pokazana katastrofa, jaką kończy się zawsze związek indywidualności, choćby tylko wewnętrznie odmiennej a na zewnątrz utajonej za szarością i brakiem ambicji, z miernotą aspirującą do zewnętrznych oznak indywidualności. Czyta się to świetnie, język ładny i dynamiczny, czujemy się, jakbyśmy byli w skórze głównego bohatera i w jego głowie. Pomimo braku typowych wodotrysków jak pościgi, strzelaniny, okaleczone w dziwaczny sposób zwłoki czy tajemnicze technologie przyszłości, akcja jest szybka, wciągająca i idealnie się łączy w jedną całość z wewnętrznym życiem detektywa Slidera.
No no no. Ale się rozpędziłem w tych pochwałach. Niestety, jak zwykle, trafiłem i na łyżkę dziegciu. Największa wpadka, nie wiem czy autora, czy tłumaczki (Joanna Grabarek), to następujący cytat:
Slider przypomniał sobie, jak uczono go, że fala dźwiękowa nigdy nie zanika, lecz wędruje w nieskończoność w eterze.
No comments... Mimo jednak tej wpadki jest to książka, którą absolutnie polecam każdemu, kto lubi dobre kryminały, indywidualistów za bohaterów, prawdziwe charaktery, prawdziwe zbrodnie i prawdziwe, czyli realistyczne zakończenia. Tutaj nie ma infantylnego happy endu, choć zakończenie jest szczęśliwe (dla niektórych). To wszystko mogło albo może się zdarzyć, tutaj albo tam, albo nigdzie, albo gdziekolwiek. Czas ani kraj nie ma znaczenia. Zdecydowanie polecam tę lekturę, nie tylko miłośnikom kryminałów ale i kobietom, które nie mogą zrozumieć jak porządny, do bólu uczciwy i całkiem nie rozrywkowy facet może zdradzić. Jak taki ktoś może rzucić i nigdy więcej nie wrócić. Dlaczego mówi, że mu żal, ale to robi. Bye bye...

recenzja pierwotnie opublikowana na blogu klub-aa.blogspot.com dokąd zapraszam na wymianę wrażeń z lektury i nie tylko

[David Freas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the 8th book in this series, Blood Sinister, and liked it enough that I wanted to read more in the series. And since I’m a serious believer in reading series books in order, I went with the first one.

Sadly, had I read this book first, I never would have read another one.

If there ever was a book that proved the need for a ‘Truth in Cover Blurbs Law,’ this is the. The back cover blurb for this edition said nothing about the storyline, just extolled what a wonderful story it was and how many puns were in the story and how great they were.

I found one, okay, two puns. If there were any more, they were so well hidden that Sherlock Holmes couldn’t find them.

The ending, too was a bit weak. While there was a solution to the crime Slider’s investigating, there was no real resolution. Ms. Harrod-Eagles took an easy way out.

For a book originally published in 1991, there were way too many production errors in this edition. ‘Sibod’ instead of ‘Simon’ is one of many somebody should have caught before printing even started.

2 stars only because I can’t rate it 1½ (Disappointing).

I’ll give this author one more chance to get me like her work.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I made it about 20%. For me, the writing style was just too flowery. It almost felt obnoxiously highfalutin, as though they were trying to write great literature. But it's a police procedural murder mystery and, for me, just didn't work. I was toughing through until the description of the main investigator getting arroused while speaking to another character over dinner. I mean: he shouldn't have invited her to dinner since she's a suspect (or witness?) and he's married. The description of his arousal was a bridge to far for me.

That said: the original publication date is 1991 and what's considered culturally acceptable behavior has changed somewhat since then. I accept that, but that doesn't mean I want to read about it. And it made me not care much for the main character. So DNF.

[Ro SiBergson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Slider is a likeable, solid, hard-working detective with a decaying home life. He spends all his time at work and life is made even more complicated when he meets a witness to whom he is fiercely attracted.

I was surprised by some comments that the morality of the affair had put them off the book. If you put aside the fact that it is potentially risky to the case for the policeman to be having an affair with his witness (also a familiar theme to those of us addicted to crime drama on TV) it is really a very sweet love story. I suspect one that will develop as the series progress.

The case has many threads and I enjoyed the fact that it was not obvious who the murder was and kept me guessing to the end.

I would definitely be happy to read more of this writer’s work.

[CCCubbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story cracks along, more perhaps policeman’s angst than police procedure, but quite readable. I thought that the Met police were rather more ‘hard boiled’ than the portrayed ones, at least the ones I knew were.
A good deal of the book is taken up with his extra-marital affair and I did feel that he treated his wife and children badly. There were several murders, in fact a plethora of various villainy, a bit over the top but this is the first book and maybe it will calm down.
As I said earlier, very readable with some nice quotes. I. Will be able to judge more after reading the second in the series.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting police-procedural mystery, but I can't say I loved it. Bill Slider, a detective who has been passed over for promotion, does not have a very happy Homelife. He and his wife are not good together. Bill is glad to be out on a murder mystery. The mystery itself is quite good and has some interesting parts to it. There were some issues I had trouble believing. I guessed the murderer about half-way through.

A friend generally really likes this series and I will try another one or two.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introducing Bill Slider, Inspector in England. A naked young lady is found in a swept clean apartment with no a T cut into her heel and no other clues except a callus under her chin and very short nails. It was determined that she was a violinist for the orchestra. The murder haunts Bill and he carries her picture in his wallet. This causes problems in his marriage. He also falls in love with the murder victims orchestra partner. Many theories are explored as to why she was murdered, and the body count keeps increasing. Good who dunnit.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I'd read some of the later books before reading this first in the series because I didn't like him as much in this one, particularly when he missed his childrens' special events simply to have breakfast with Joanna and Atherton, covering points a telephone call could have.

Most of the quirky team in the later books was missing, particularly the delightful Porson. I thought the blending of Slider's personal crisis along with the mystery story was well done.

[Pgchuis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read instalments 3-21, I have now gone right back to the beginning for this one. As ever Slider has no relationship to speak of with his children and seems to feel this is an inevitable part of his difficulty relating to his wife Irene, a view I do not share.

This is not my favourite of this series, as there are too many loose ends and the big picture solution to the mystery is lazy, but it sets up the Joanna/Irene dynamic well.

[Franklin Hilliard · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Tim's a winner

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' first foray into detective fiction is wonderfully competent, it could just as easily have been her tenth book. The star turn in the piece, however, isn't her mild mannered detective, but his lovely, understanding girlfriend. I'm very tempted to call this a love story because that's the heart of this book. Very sweet, despite the bodies.