What do you think?
Rate this book
Harpur & Iles #17
Uccidimi
Un sanguinoso conflitto a fuoco scoppia a turbare la pace criminale che regna nell’immaginaria città inglese in cui Bill James ambienta i suoi schemi polizieschi, ramificati come giochi di strategia o mosse di una partita a scacchi tra l’ordine e il delitto. All’Eton, un elegante locale che la mala usa come piazza di spaccio per gente bene, dei sicari freddano a pistolettate due clienti. Uno stupido errore, perché i proiettili avevano come vero bersaglio una giovane agente sotto copertura, pedina in realtà di un doppio gioco.
Da questo imbroglio comincia una vertiginosa danza, in cui girano Naomi, l’infiltrata che ha sete di vendetta; i caporioni della polizia, divisi da segreti obiettivi sotto un dirigente imbelle; le due cosche cittadine in precario equilibrio tra accordo e tradimento; la criminalità «forestiera» dei colonizzatori londinesi potenti e sporchi di sangue in un modo impensabile per i provinciali. E ciascuno fa i suoi passi rispondendo o prevenendo o assecondando le mosse degli altri secondo calcolo e convenienza. E a volte per sentimento e senso di giustizia.
La serie dei romanzi di questo gallese ex giornalista di nera che immagina drammi criminali come metafora del capitalismo thatcheriano anni Ottanta, ha come protagonisti poliziotti e boss mafiosi, con le loro comparse, che nel corso degli anni, intrigo dietro intrigo, amministrano un ordinato disordine come accorti manager del delitto. Intanto le loro vite private si svolgono quotidiane, affettuose, o romantiche, o pietose, o stressate, mentre qualcuno ogni tanto muore. E a fine lettura si ha la sensazione di aver partecipato a una simulazione pratica di teoria delle decisioni criminali.
Da questo imbroglio comincia una vertiginosa danza, in cui girano Naomi, l’infiltrata che ha sete di vendetta; i caporioni della polizia, divisi da segreti obiettivi sotto un dirigente imbelle; le due cosche cittadine in precario equilibrio tra accordo e tradimento; la criminalità «forestiera» dei colonizzatori londinesi potenti e sporchi di sangue in un modo impensabile per i provinciali. E ciascuno fa i suoi passi rispondendo o prevenendo o assecondando le mosse degli altri secondo calcolo e convenienza. E a volte per sentimento e senso di giustizia.
La serie dei romanzi di questo gallese ex giornalista di nera che immagina drammi criminali come metafora del capitalismo thatcheriano anni Ottanta, ha come protagonisti poliziotti e boss mafiosi, con le loro comparse, che nel corso degli anni, intrigo dietro intrigo, amministrano un ordinato disordine come accorti manager del delitto. Intanto le loro vite private si svolgono quotidiane, affettuose, o romantiche, o pietose, o stressate, mentre qualcuno ogni tanto muore. E a fine lettura si ha la sensazione di aver partecipato a una simulazione pratica di teoria delle decisioni criminali.
- GenresMystery
336 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2000
24 people want to read
About the author
Bill James
61 books26 followersBill James (born 1929) is a pseudonym of James Tucker, a Welsh novelist. He also writes under his own name and the pseudonyms David Craig and Judith Jones. He was a reporter with the Daily Mirror and various other newspapers after serving with the RAF He is married, with four children, and lives in South Wales.
The bulk of his output under the Bill James pseudonym is the Harpur and Iles series. Colin Harpur is a Detective Chief Inspector and Desmond Iles is the Assistant Chief Constable in an unnamed coastal city in southwestern England. Harpur and Iles are complemented by an evolving cast of other recurring characters on both sides of the law. The books are characterized by a grim humour and a bleak view of the relationship between the public, the police force and the criminal element. The first few are designated "A Detective Colin Harpur Novel" but as the series progressed they began to be published with the designation "A Harpur & Iles Mystery".
His best known work, written under the "David Craig" pseudonym and originally titled Whose Little Girl are You, is The Squeeze, which was turned into a film starring Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and David Hemmings. The fourth Harpur & Iles novel, Protection, was televised by the BBC in 1996 as Harpur & Iles, starring Aneirin Hughes as Harpur and Hywel Bennett as Iles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_James_(novelist)
The bulk of his output under the Bill James pseudonym is the Harpur and Iles series. Colin Harpur is a Detective Chief Inspector and Desmond Iles is the Assistant Chief Constable in an unnamed coastal city in southwestern England. Harpur and Iles are complemented by an evolving cast of other recurring characters on both sides of the law. The books are characterized by a grim humour and a bleak view of the relationship between the public, the police force and the criminal element. The first few are designated "A Detective Colin Harpur Novel" but as the series progressed they began to be published with the designation "A Harpur & Iles Mystery".
His best known work, written under the "David Craig" pseudonym and originally titled Whose Little Girl are You, is The Squeeze, which was turned into a film starring Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and David Hemmings. The fourth Harpur & Iles novel, Protection, was televised by the BBC in 1996 as Harpur & Iles, starring Aneirin Hughes as Harpur and Hywel Bennett as Iles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_James_(novelist)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 16, 2021
Il meno soddisfacente della serie. E' come se gli mancasse un baricentro, e il personaggio di Naomi è troppo debole per catalizzare l'attenzione.
January 23, 2011
Having read about five of the Harpur & Iles books in a row now, Kill Me is trending back into grittier, more serious territory. Reading these books isn't so much like reading a novel as it is a long chapter in some larger, epic work.
Kill Me focuses on the disappearance of a lower level drugs dealer in Manse Shale and Panicking Ralphie's tenuous drugs empire; and all the subsequent suspicions, double crossings and machinations that are thrown into motion because of it.
As typical of James' Harpur & Iles series, things never get completely explained and loose ends are left lying about. James rewards dedicated readers by carrying some of those loose ends through in other novels.
Well worth a read, but probably not the book for a first time reader to drop into the story line on.
Kill Me focuses on the disappearance of a lower level drugs dealer in Manse Shale and Panicking Ralphie's tenuous drugs empire; and all the subsequent suspicions, double crossings and machinations that are thrown into motion because of it.
As typical of James' Harpur & Iles series, things never get completely explained and loose ends are left lying about. James rewards dedicated readers by carrying some of those loose ends through in other novels.
Well worth a read, but probably not the book for a first time reader to drop into the story line on.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews