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Bill Slider #20
Shadow Play
The body of a smartly-dressed businessman turns up in the yard of Eli Sampson’s car workshop. It there’s no ID in the pockets and Eli swears he’s never seen the man before.
A girlfriend comes forward and provides a name but she doesn’t know much more. She says the victim told her he was someone’s ‘right hand man’. But old fractures and scars, discovered at the autopsy suggest a more colourful past. For ‘right hand man’, DCI Bill Slider thinks 'enforcer'.
So who was Mr King? Who was he the muscle for? What did he have to do with the Davy Lane project and the blackmailing of an MP? And, most crucially, what did he know that made someone decide it was time to terminate the terminator?
A girlfriend comes forward and provides a name but she doesn’t know much more. She says the victim told her he was someone’s ‘right hand man’. But old fractures and scars, discovered at the autopsy suggest a more colourful past. For ‘right hand man’, DCI Bill Slider thinks 'enforcer'.
So who was Mr King? Who was he the muscle for? What did he have to do with the Davy Lane project and the blackmailing of an MP? And, most crucially, what did he know that made someone decide it was time to terminate the terminator?
224 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2018
46 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
169 books495 followersCynthia 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
January 17, 2022
This one, #20, was not as interesting as the others. A man is found dead in a triangle of industrial waste land being leased to a Mr Sampson who tinkers about with old cars. The man was well dressed and clearly well off although his pockets had been stripped of any identifying objects. There were no visible injuries and it was later confirmed that death was due to blunt force trauma to the back of the neck that broke several vertebrae. Mr Sampson was soon cleared of any wrongdoing but DCI Bill Slider’s team had the devil’s own time identifying the victim.
It soon turned out to be all about money as is so often the case, all tied up with a potential development opportunity that was struggling to become actualised. Reputations and livelihoods were at stake. But still the motive for the murder eluded police. There were many shady characters but which one did the actual deed?
It was a solid police procedural but lacked the drama and oomph of previous books. I’m taking a short break from Bill Slider to read an arc that I just found had to cram in but I’ll be back with Slider after that.
It soon turned out to be all about money as is so often the case, all tied up with a potential development opportunity that was struggling to become actualised. Reputations and livelihoods were at stake. But still the motive for the murder eluded police. There were many shady characters but which one did the actual deed?
It was a solid police procedural but lacked the drama and oomph of previous books. I’m taking a short break from Bill Slider to read an arc that I just found had to cram in but I’ll be back with Slider after that.
February 22, 2020
DID Bill Slider, Sgt. Atherton and the Shepherd's Bush team tackle the case of an unidentified body found in a muddy car repair shop. The Bill Slider series is fine example of the British police procedural. Stepping into one of these books is a bit like coming home. The characters feel like old friends, and the settings are comfortable. Herrod-Eagles's sense of humor shines through, lightening even the darkest moments of crime fighting. Shadow Play is the twentieth book in the series, but it is every bit as enticing as the first! Highly recommended. Thanks to Black Thorn and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in return for this honest review.
March 5, 2020
3.5 STARS
When a murder victim is found in the area of a car shop, Bill Slider and is team is called in to investigate. The man is well dressed, but has no identification on him. Eli Simpson, the man who found the body does not know who he was.
When a girlfriend of sorts shows up with a name, she also informs them of his colorful past. Medical examination has shown plenty of scars from previous injuries. And when the investigation also comes up with another name ... they begin to wonder just who was this guy?
Who would want him dead? Old enemies ? New enemies? Or was this a personal attack? Did he know something he shouldn't have heard? See something? Was he perhaps being blackmailed?
With lots of theories and plenty of suspects, team Slider will have to sift through lies and secrets and cover-ups.
Although 20th in this series, it is easily read as a stand alone. Not having read any of the previous books, I can't compare the author's writing then and now. I didn't find it especially suspenseful or gripping. I would recommend starting at the beginning to see how the main characters have grown over time.
Many thanks to the author / Black Thorn Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
When a murder victim is found in the area of a car shop, Bill Slider and is team is called in to investigate. The man is well dressed, but has no identification on him. Eli Simpson, the man who found the body does not know who he was.
When a girlfriend of sorts shows up with a name, she also informs them of his colorful past. Medical examination has shown plenty of scars from previous injuries. And when the investigation also comes up with another name ... they begin to wonder just who was this guy?
Who would want him dead? Old enemies ? New enemies? Or was this a personal attack? Did he know something he shouldn't have heard? See something? Was he perhaps being blackmailed?
With lots of theories and plenty of suspects, team Slider will have to sift through lies and secrets and cover-ups.
Although 20th in this series, it is easily read as a stand alone. Not having read any of the previous books, I can't compare the author's writing then and now. I didn't find it especially suspenseful or gripping. I would recommend starting at the beginning to see how the main characters have grown over time.
Many thanks to the author / Black Thorn Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
March 2, 2018
First Sentence: Where roads and railways cross old established ground, there are bound to be odd triangles left over, too small or too ill-favoured for development.
A well-dressed corpse with no identification turns up in the yard of an auto repair shop. The owner can’t identify him, nor does the flash-drive the police find in the victim’s pocket although it suggests he was blackmailing an MP associated with an important government project. The autopsy exposes a man whose injuries are at odds with his appearance. Was he working for someone else? It’s up to Inspector Bill Slider and his team to find the answers.
There is nothing better than a clean opening; no prologue, just straight into the story and, in this case, the crime. An observations point for those who are Anglophiles is how nice it is to have a British mystery which hasn’t been Americanized either in spelling or in vocabulary—“Lots of tyre tracks,”—although do have a sweater, rather than a jumper. Ah, well.
The author’s wry humor is always in evidence, as well as her use of dialect to establish a character's geographic, education, and economic background—“Ooh, look who it is. I ‘ope we’re no in dutch,’ Mrs. Sid said jocularly. …’We ha’n’t got any tofu, darlin’.’—but never so that it is cumbersome to read. Her descriptions of people are a treat—”in the entrance foyer was a very large bald bouncer. His shoulders and chest were big enough to warrant their own postcode, and made the rest of this body appear unnaturally tapered. He looked like what you’d get if you shaved a buffalo.” CH-E is very good at bringing all her characters to life.
One of the great appeals of Harrod-Eagles books is the characters and that she has created a true ensemble cast. We come to know each member of Slider’s team, and appreciate how each has their individual role within the team, but that they work as a unit. Yet the cast also extends to their personal relationships; their families. The characters are truly well-developed, each with their own personalities, such as Porson, Slider’s boss, with the way in which he mangles clichés—“You ought to be seeing the light for the trees by now.’ But in the end, it is still Slider who leads the team and demonstrates the reason why he is in charge, such as his deduction of how to find what the killer sought.
The balance between working the case and the teams’ personal lives, particularly Slider’s is nicely done. Even though it plays a smaller role in this book than previous ones, it always adds a realism to brightness to the story.
CH-E’s thoughtfulness is another of the many attractions to her writing—“Slider drifted a little, thinking about mankind’s propensity to turn any investigation to harmful purpose. … Oh, Mankind! Would you ever get your act together?”. She thinks about the small things: not only in the crime and it’s detection, but about society in general—“the catch-up meeting was held over lunch in the CID room. …All human life is here, Slider thought. You could write a treatise about how the lunchtime sarnie is a window on the soul.” A line toward the end really does say it all—“The absurdity of human ambition and human endeavor never failed to strike Slider.”
“Shadow Play” is a very well-written, solid police procedural with excellent characters, and humor, but also things about which to think.
SHADOW PLAY (Police Proc-Bill Slider-England-Contemp) – VG
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia – 20th in series
Severn House – Feb 2018
A well-dressed corpse with no identification turns up in the yard of an auto repair shop. The owner can’t identify him, nor does the flash-drive the police find in the victim’s pocket although it suggests he was blackmailing an MP associated with an important government project. The autopsy exposes a man whose injuries are at odds with his appearance. Was he working for someone else? It’s up to Inspector Bill Slider and his team to find the answers.
There is nothing better than a clean opening; no prologue, just straight into the story and, in this case, the crime. An observations point for those who are Anglophiles is how nice it is to have a British mystery which hasn’t been Americanized either in spelling or in vocabulary—“Lots of tyre tracks,”—although do have a sweater, rather than a jumper. Ah, well.
The author’s wry humor is always in evidence, as well as her use of dialect to establish a character's geographic, education, and economic background—“Ooh, look who it is. I ‘ope we’re no in dutch,’ Mrs. Sid said jocularly. …’We ha’n’t got any tofu, darlin’.’—but never so that it is cumbersome to read. Her descriptions of people are a treat—”in the entrance foyer was a very large bald bouncer. His shoulders and chest were big enough to warrant their own postcode, and made the rest of this body appear unnaturally tapered. He looked like what you’d get if you shaved a buffalo.” CH-E is very good at bringing all her characters to life.
One of the great appeals of Harrod-Eagles books is the characters and that she has created a true ensemble cast. We come to know each member of Slider’s team, and appreciate how each has their individual role within the team, but that they work as a unit. Yet the cast also extends to their personal relationships; their families. The characters are truly well-developed, each with their own personalities, such as Porson, Slider’s boss, with the way in which he mangles clichés—“You ought to be seeing the light for the trees by now.’ But in the end, it is still Slider who leads the team and demonstrates the reason why he is in charge, such as his deduction of how to find what the killer sought.
The balance between working the case and the teams’ personal lives, particularly Slider’s is nicely done. Even though it plays a smaller role in this book than previous ones, it always adds a realism to brightness to the story.
CH-E’s thoughtfulness is another of the many attractions to her writing—“Slider drifted a little, thinking about mankind’s propensity to turn any investigation to harmful purpose. … Oh, Mankind! Would you ever get your act together?”. She thinks about the small things: not only in the crime and it’s detection, but about society in general—“the catch-up meeting was held over lunch in the CID room. …All human life is here, Slider thought. You could write a treatise about how the lunchtime sarnie is a window on the soul.” A line toward the end really does say it all—“The absurdity of human ambition and human endeavor never failed to strike Slider.”
“Shadow Play” is a very well-written, solid police procedural with excellent characters, and humor, but also things about which to think.
SHADOW PLAY (Police Proc-Bill Slider-England-Contemp) – VG
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia – 20th in series
Severn House – Feb 2018
January 18, 2020
Don't you just love to begin reading a book and feel that you've slipped right into it in a comfortable, natural way? That's what it's like for me with a Detective Chief Inspector Bill Slider book from Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. This time a dead body has been found outside a motor repair business that is so isolated you have to be from that part of town to even know it exists. So who is the dead man and is there any significance for his body being dumped in Jacket's Yard? No way to identify the man so Slider's team has to begin this one with old fashioned methods of investigating.
All the crew is back in this story. I always look forward to finding out how Detective Superintendent Porson will mangle common sayings, but it's done in such a low key way that I enjoy the humor without feeling the boss is being poked fun at. Slider's family is always percolating along in the background but never to the extent that they take over the story and shove the mystery into the background. I also enjoy watching out for the vocabulary words I have to look up. Thanks, Ms. Harrod-Eagles for adding to my word cache. Although I'm having a hard time working crepuscular or uxorious into casual conversation.
For me, once again, a superb reading experience. I need to check over the past titles in this series because I have a feeling I've missed one or two along the way. Thank you to NetGalley and Black Thorn for an e-galley of this novel.
All the crew is back in this story. I always look forward to finding out how Detective Superintendent Porson will mangle common sayings, but it's done in such a low key way that I enjoy the humor without feeling the boss is being poked fun at. Slider's family is always percolating along in the background but never to the extent that they take over the story and shove the mystery into the background. I also enjoy watching out for the vocabulary words I have to look up. Thanks, Ms. Harrod-Eagles for adding to my word cache. Although I'm having a hard time working crepuscular or uxorious into casual conversation.
For me, once again, a superb reading experience. I need to check over the past titles in this series because I have a feeling I've missed one or two along the way. Thank you to NetGalley and Black Thorn for an e-galley of this novel.
December 14, 2017
3, 5 stars
Had I known that Shadow Play was the book#20 in the series, I would have never requested it - I prefer to read my series from the very beginning and in the right order. Besides, I’ve recently made some negative experience with the sequels that were parts of a series and shouldn’t be read as a stand-alone.
Surprise-surprise! Shadow Play COULD be read as a stand-alone. I think though, I could have enjoyed it much more, had I had more time to create a stronger emotional connection to the characters. To board the series at the book #20 is very optimistic. And of course it is difficult to be on the same level with those readers who got to know the characters from the birth. Nevertheless, I would say, the structure of the plot gives you a good opportunity to enter the story at any book.
What I enjoyed here mostly is the team work. They are not just good colleagues that worked successful together, they all good friends. There is no a MAIN CHARACTER in the usual sense of it or how one could expect from the series with the name of a team leader in the title. Bill Slider doesn’t dominate this installment, and I'm not sure he DID it before.
I had a lot of fun with the guys there. The investigation was interesting and not predictable, only it turned out to be a little bit too real estate/construction loaded for my taste.
Not a WOW mystery, but well-written, solid and entertaining through and through. I mostly enjoyed the dialogues, cheery banter and British humor.
PS. BTW, observation cameras in London is not a bad invention.
***Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
Had I known that Shadow Play was the book#20 in the series, I would have never requested it - I prefer to read my series from the very beginning and in the right order. Besides, I’ve recently made some negative experience with the sequels that were parts of a series and shouldn’t be read as a stand-alone.
Surprise-surprise! Shadow Play COULD be read as a stand-alone. I think though, I could have enjoyed it much more, had I had more time to create a stronger emotional connection to the characters. To board the series at the book #20 is very optimistic. And of course it is difficult to be on the same level with those readers who got to know the characters from the birth. Nevertheless, I would say, the structure of the plot gives you a good opportunity to enter the story at any book.
What I enjoyed here mostly is the team work. They are not just good colleagues that worked successful together, they all good friends. There is no a MAIN CHARACTER in the usual sense of it or how one could expect from the series with the name of a team leader in the title. Bill Slider doesn’t dominate this installment, and I'm not sure he DID it before.
I had a lot of fun with the guys there. The investigation was interesting and not predictable, only it turned out to be a little bit too real estate/construction loaded for my taste.
Not a WOW mystery, but well-written, solid and entertaining through and through. I mostly enjoyed the dialogues, cheery banter and British humor.
PS. BTW, observation cameras in London is not a bad invention.
***Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
October 18, 2020
There’s something about the DCI Slider books that I love. He’s decent, he’s a caring boss, a loving family man, he’s always in trouble with his superiors.. that’s nothing new in Police procedurals, Architecture is his hobby and this book takes us there yet again with some diligent research from the author. It did get a bit dry and boring for me in parts however the clever Police work is key here.
I’ve read and loved this series from the get go!
Pretty much a guaranteed four star read every time.
I’ve read and loved this series from the get go!
Pretty much a guaranteed four star read every time.
September 3, 2018
I have read this entire series in order, and now I have to wait six months before the next one gets published. This is a worthy entry in the series--keeping strictly to the procedure of the investigation with very little extraneous material or wasted time. All the usual characters are back and as enjoyable as always. The word-play is not quite as prominent as it has been in the past, but it is still welcome (to readers like me, at least). Sergeant Nicholls, a Scotsman and a tenor, who can also sing soprano in a beautiful falsetto (and who, because of a dearth of female police officers, is often cast in female roles) is trying to sell Slider tickets to the latest police am-dram show: an operetta based on the works of Beatrix Potter.
"So what part are you doing in it?"
Nicholls paused. "I shall be playing a certain Mrs. Puddleduck."
"Jemima?"
"No, I'm doing the voice as well."
Slider couldn't help feeling he'd been maneuvered into that one.
And in keeping with that, some of the chapter titles are "Foresight Saga," "Never Say Leather Again,"The Name of the Roads," and "Nemesis, Exodus." Oh, and it's a very good mystery too.
"So what part are you doing in it?"
Nicholls paused. "I shall be playing a certain Mrs. Puddleduck."
"Jemima?"
"No, I'm doing the voice as well."
Slider couldn't help feeling he'd been maneuvered into that one.
And in keeping with that, some of the chapter titles are "Foresight Saga," "Never Say Leather Again,"The Name of the Roads," and "Nemesis, Exodus." Oh, and it's a very good mystery too.
September 19, 2018
Bill Slider and his crew have their work cut out for them when a body is discovered in a little used lane in Shepherd's Bush, Slider's district . Was he King or was he Kimmelman? Where is he from and why has no-one come looking for him? Why was he left on a little-used road in a district in Shepherd's Bush that has fallen into disrepair? Where is Davy Lane and why has its name changed? What was the motive, and what was his story? By the time Slider, Atherton, Hart, and the glamorous Swilley, as well as others in Slider's crew uncover all the secrets and have some viable suspects, dirty and illegal activities within the city council and within some government agencies are uncovered, and the whole mess has turned into a smelly pile of excrement. The book will keep you guessing as to the motive and modus operandi, even if you do figure out who is the culprit. It moves along at a nice pace, with Harrod-Eagles' sly wit and understated humour, puns for all the chapter titles, and of course the wonderful DS Porson (Slider's boss) and his hysterical misappropisms. Here's a particularly juicy one - "There's enough wailing and gnashing of feet upstairs 'cause we're over budget." Porson says to Slider when he tells him about the unidentified body and the work it will take to nail this one down. In spite of all the questions, Slider and his firm do get their man or people in the end. I love Bill Slider. He's an everyman's cop, and so darn likeable, even mean dogs and suspicious women love him. So glad I discovered Bill in an airport bookstore when i was boarding a plane and I was looking for something to read. It's been many years now, and I still love the guy.
April 7, 2020
Shadow play by Cynthia Harrod.
The body of a smartly-dressed businessman turns up in the yard of Eli Sampson’s car workshop. It there’s no ID in the pockets and Eli swears he’s never seen the man before.
A girlfriend comes forward and provides a name but she doesn’t know much more. She says the victim told her he was someone’s ‘right hand man’. But old fractures and scars, discovered at the autopsy suggest a more colourful past. For ‘right hand man’, DCI Bill Slider thinks 'enforcer'.
A very good read. Good story. Some good characters. 4*.
The body of a smartly-dressed businessman turns up in the yard of Eli Sampson’s car workshop. It there’s no ID in the pockets and Eli swears he’s never seen the man before.
A girlfriend comes forward and provides a name but she doesn’t know much more. She says the victim told her he was someone’s ‘right hand man’. But old fractures and scars, discovered at the autopsy suggest a more colourful past. For ‘right hand man’, DCI Bill Slider thinks 'enforcer'.
A very good read. Good story. Some good characters. 4*.
June 25, 2018
I love the way Slider's crew gets to the meat of the story. And I love the quips they make or think along the way. And I especially love the quips Slider thinks after a session with Porson, the Malaprop of cliches.
March 2, 2020
The always excellent Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has done it again. This installment of the Bill Slider police procedural series is as wonderful as the preceding ones. Bill Slider is the head of a team of detectives at the Shepherd’s Bush police station in London. In this book, a body is found in a rarely frequented yard near a garage. The police are called in, and the investigation begins.
“Shadow Play” is the twentieth (I think) in the Bill Slider series, but can easily be read as a standalone. For those of us who are familiar with them, the whole gang of detectives is here, and welcome. This is a well-oiled team, and this book flows along, taking the reader on an enjoyable journey. This is not a cozy mystery, of course, but it is not particularly gory either. Harrod-Eagles plays fair with the reader, and one sees the evidence as it is uncovered. I don’t like spoilers, so I will say no more about the plot.
If you like mysteries or police procedurals you can never go wrong with one of Harrod-Eagles books about Bill Slider and the men and women of Shepherd’s Bush. The author shows the human, private side of the characters, as well as always a cracking mystery. Her books don’t drag and you really want to find out whodunnit. Do yourself a favor and pick up, “Shadow Play,” you will be glad you did.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.
“Shadow Play” is the twentieth (I think) in the Bill Slider series, but can easily be read as a standalone. For those of us who are familiar with them, the whole gang of detectives is here, and welcome. This is a well-oiled team, and this book flows along, taking the reader on an enjoyable journey. This is not a cozy mystery, of course, but it is not particularly gory either. Harrod-Eagles plays fair with the reader, and one sees the evidence as it is uncovered. I don’t like spoilers, so I will say no more about the plot.
If you like mysteries or police procedurals you can never go wrong with one of Harrod-Eagles books about Bill Slider and the men and women of Shepherd’s Bush. The author shows the human, private side of the characters, as well as always a cracking mystery. Her books don’t drag and you really want to find out whodunnit. Do yourself a favor and pick up, “Shadow Play,” you will be glad you did.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.
January 15, 2020
Bill Slider is a great character and I have enjoyed reading the books in this series. Good read and the author is good at describing the scene - I felt like I knew the part of London the book was set it. A fine installment in the series
February 5, 2018
This isn’t a cosy mystery – the cover makes that very plain. But neither is it some grimy, downbeat murder misery, where the main protagonist is fuelled by anger as he wades through a depressing cityscape awash with social deprivation. There isn’t anything wrong with the above – I just want to make it plain exactly what this book is about, because I’m not sure the cover fully conveys that.
Bill Slider is happily married to a musician, so he occasionally has to work from home when she is off playing in an orchestra somewhere. I like the fact that he isn’t some drink-soaked depressive with no home life – and that he also has a reasonable relationship with his superior, who he mostly likes and respects. There are likeable, chirpy characters in his team, who we learn about while they trudge through the various leads.
As for the murder – it’s a while before the team manage to get their teeth into this one and as I haven’t read the previous 19 books, I would suggest this is a useful entry point. I had time to get my bearings and work out what was happening to whom before the plot really took off. Though this isn’t a foot-to-the-floor action thriller, it’s far more the steady accumulation of clues through hard graft and constant checking.
I found the actual unravelling of the mystery unexpectedly engrossing as we begin to learn snippets about this rather shadowy character. By the time I’d reached the final quarter of the book, it was something of a struggle to put it down, while I read far longer than I’d intended to get to the end and discover whodunit. Harrod-Eagles writes characters very well as the final denouement produced a satisfying end to a solidly good murder mystery.
The next time I need a fix of a quality murder mystery, I shall definitely be going back to this series and sampling more of Bill Slider’s adventures – it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
9/10
Bill Slider is happily married to a musician, so he occasionally has to work from home when she is off playing in an orchestra somewhere. I like the fact that he isn’t some drink-soaked depressive with no home life – and that he also has a reasonable relationship with his superior, who he mostly likes and respects. There are likeable, chirpy characters in his team, who we learn about while they trudge through the various leads.
As for the murder – it’s a while before the team manage to get their teeth into this one and as I haven’t read the previous 19 books, I would suggest this is a useful entry point. I had time to get my bearings and work out what was happening to whom before the plot really took off. Though this isn’t a foot-to-the-floor action thriller, it’s far more the steady accumulation of clues through hard graft and constant checking.
I found the actual unravelling of the mystery unexpectedly engrossing as we begin to learn snippets about this rather shadowy character. By the time I’d reached the final quarter of the book, it was something of a struggle to put it down, while I read far longer than I’d intended to get to the end and discover whodunit. Harrod-Eagles writes characters very well as the final denouement produced a satisfying end to a solidly good murder mystery.
The next time I need a fix of a quality murder mystery, I shall definitely be going back to this series and sampling more of Bill Slider’s adventures – it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
9/10
May 6, 2020
Although I have yet to read any of the other books in the Bill Slider series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, I was happy to dive into this 20th book,
Shadow Play
and I think it worked well as an individual thriller as the story was reasonably self-contained. This was a mightily impressive, cleverly plotted, engrossing read that threw out odd twists leaving me mildly apprehensive throughout.
When an unidentifiable victim is found in a car workshop beneath a London highway, DCI Bill Slider is at a bit of a loss. Eventually someone identifies the body as being 'Mr King' but can't tell the police anything more about him, except that he had a colourful past.
I loved that Bill Slider is happily married, and that he has a home life, as well as a reasonable relationship with his boss for whom he has respect. There are some genial characters on his team, and the reader learns a bit about them as they slog through the various leads and pointers. The actual unravelling of the mystery was well done and engrossing as I was fed morsels about the rather shady victim. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles possesses some fine characterisation skills and the final denouement was a satisfying end to an extremely solid, stylish murder mystery.
Ingeniously plotted and ably executed, Shadow Play was quite a treat. Very highly recommended, I am certain that aficionados of the genre will love it!
I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from Black Thorn via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
When an unidentifiable victim is found in a car workshop beneath a London highway, DCI Bill Slider is at a bit of a loss. Eventually someone identifies the body as being 'Mr King' but can't tell the police anything more about him, except that he had a colourful past.
I loved that Bill Slider is happily married, and that he has a home life, as well as a reasonable relationship with his boss for whom he has respect. There are some genial characters on his team, and the reader learns a bit about them as they slog through the various leads and pointers. The actual unravelling of the mystery was well done and engrossing as I was fed morsels about the rather shady victim. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles possesses some fine characterisation skills and the final denouement was a satisfying end to an extremely solid, stylish murder mystery.
Ingeniously plotted and ably executed, Shadow Play was quite a treat. Very highly recommended, I am certain that aficionados of the genre will love it!
I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from Black Thorn via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
October 14, 2017
I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of Shadow Play, the twentieth novel to feature Bill Slider of The Met.
Bill and the team are called out to a suspicious death. The body of a man in his 50s has been found near a rundown backstreet garage but with nothing in his pockets to identify him the team have difficulty knowing where to start and Superintendent Porson wants them to keep it low key i.e. low budget. That changes when they identify the corpse and discover that he was positioning himself to blackmail a senior politician.
I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow Play. It is a straightforward police procedural where the slow uncovering of facts leads to the solution. It could be regarded as old fashioned but I prefer the term traditional in the sense that the narrative is told wholly from the investigators' point of view and it is up to the reader to try and get there first. I guessed bits of it but nowhere near the whole so it is an engrossing puzzle. I really like this approach and enjoy trying to work out the story of the murder. I also like the marrying of the traditional investigation with the latest technology where CCTV, ANPR and phone data play a large part.
As fits a more traditional novel characterisation plays second fiddle to plotting. The reader never really gets to know Bill Slider whom I suspect of being a bit bolshie under his calm exterior. The rest of the team are fairly interchangeable and I still had difficulty separating one from the other by the end of the novel. It's mostly unimportant as they work as a cohesive team although their bickering can be amusing.
Shadow Play is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
Bill and the team are called out to a suspicious death. The body of a man in his 50s has been found near a rundown backstreet garage but with nothing in his pockets to identify him the team have difficulty knowing where to start and Superintendent Porson wants them to keep it low key i.e. low budget. That changes when they identify the corpse and discover that he was positioning himself to blackmail a senior politician.
I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow Play. It is a straightforward police procedural where the slow uncovering of facts leads to the solution. It could be regarded as old fashioned but I prefer the term traditional in the sense that the narrative is told wholly from the investigators' point of view and it is up to the reader to try and get there first. I guessed bits of it but nowhere near the whole so it is an engrossing puzzle. I really like this approach and enjoy trying to work out the story of the murder. I also like the marrying of the traditional investigation with the latest technology where CCTV, ANPR and phone data play a large part.
As fits a more traditional novel characterisation plays second fiddle to plotting. The reader never really gets to know Bill Slider whom I suspect of being a bit bolshie under his calm exterior. The rest of the team are fairly interchangeable and I still had difficulty separating one from the other by the end of the novel. It's mostly unimportant as they work as a cohesive team although their bickering can be amusing.
Shadow Play is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
November 7, 2017
Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the eARC. And thank you Cynthia Harrod-Eagles for the many hours of reading pleasure your books have given me over the years...I have read the whole Bill Slider series, which is one if the best around.
DCI Slider and DS Atherton are called to an out of the way, seedy area, where the body of a well-dressed man was found by the owner of a rundown car mechanics shop. The owner does not know the victim and seems to be telling the truth. It takes quite some time before they uncover his identity and on searching his flat, which has already been gone over, they find a very compromising video of a high ranking politician. This was obviously overlooked by the person(s) who searched his flat before.
Interviewing the politician they come to realize they're in the thick of political shenanigans, comprising listed buildings, the planning of new developments, the buying and selling of them and of course money...millions of pounds to be made.
This series always provides excellent police procedurals, but it's the characters I've come to love. And the humour! The writing is exquisite, but the humour is priceless, especially when it comes to the team's boss, Porson. His malapropisms are epic and have me howling at times (e.g. the gnashing of feet...made me spit out my cookie, I laughed so hard), and even the chapter headings are so clever; I'm always so impressed with every book in this series. Of course the stories themselves are excellent; I'm amazed how this series manages to stay so fresh. Wonderful reads, I can't recommend these books highly enough!
DCI Slider and DS Atherton are called to an out of the way, seedy area, where the body of a well-dressed man was found by the owner of a rundown car mechanics shop. The owner does not know the victim and seems to be telling the truth. It takes quite some time before they uncover his identity and on searching his flat, which has already been gone over, they find a very compromising video of a high ranking politician. This was obviously overlooked by the person(s) who searched his flat before.
Interviewing the politician they come to realize they're in the thick of political shenanigans, comprising listed buildings, the planning of new developments, the buying and selling of them and of course money...millions of pounds to be made.
This series always provides excellent police procedurals, but it's the characters I've come to love. And the humour! The writing is exquisite, but the humour is priceless, especially when it comes to the team's boss, Porson. His malapropisms are epic and have me howling at times (e.g. the gnashing of feet...made me spit out my cookie, I laughed so hard), and even the chapter headings are so clever; I'm always so impressed with every book in this series. Of course the stories themselves are excellent; I'm amazed how this series manages to stay so fresh. Wonderful reads, I can't recommend these books highly enough!
March 21, 2018
Still going strong, the Bill Slider series is one of my favorites, and this one is as good as many of the earlier entries. What I love about it is the peek into a particular section of London, Shepherd's Bush, that is outside tourist territory and is bursting with characters from postwar, pre-boom London. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that much of the plot concerns schemes to redevelop and gentrify a rundown area called Davy Lane aka Coal Sidings Road, which still has five Georgian terrace houses that are fading fast but listed as historic properties.
By page 7, the author is already delivering the bits of London life that I love . Slider takes his Detective Sergeant Atherton, an unrepentant foodie, into "an old-fashioned transport caff" called Sid's for breakfast near the crime scene. Slider orders the full-English fry-up with sausages and bacon.
'Same for you, is it?' She examined Atherton, noted his faint shudder, and added, 'We ha'n't got any tofu, darlin'."
Slider smiled, 'She's got you down all right.'
She took pity on him. 'How 'bout a nice bowl of muesli? she offered. 'Home made. I make it up myself. All organic.' Atherton accepted gratefully.
After breakfast they proceed upstairs to interview Sid himself, a septuagenarian who has a bad cough, which he assures Slider is not caused by the cigarette on which he's puffing but from what he calls "the brown kiters-damp weather brings it on." BTW, Atherton later proclaims the muesli to be "surprisingly good."
The murder is suitably mysterious, but it's tidbits like these that set the Slider series apart from so many others.
By page 7, the author is already delivering the bits of London life that I love . Slider takes his Detective Sergeant Atherton, an unrepentant foodie, into "an old-fashioned transport caff" called Sid's for breakfast near the crime scene. Slider orders the full-English fry-up with sausages and bacon.
'Same for you, is it?' She examined Atherton, noted his faint shudder, and added, 'We ha'n't got any tofu, darlin'."
Slider smiled, 'She's got you down all right.'
She took pity on him. 'How 'bout a nice bowl of muesli? she offered. 'Home made. I make it up myself. All organic.' Atherton accepted gratefully.
After breakfast they proceed upstairs to interview Sid himself, a septuagenarian who has a bad cough, which he assures Slider is not caused by the cigarette on which he's puffing but from what he calls "the brown kiters-damp weather brings it on." BTW, Atherton later proclaims the muesli to be "surprisingly good."
The murder is suitably mysterious, but it's tidbits like these that set the Slider series apart from so many others.
June 8, 2020
Over the past five months, I've read the entire Bill Slider series, of which SHADOW PLAY is the twentieth. This may be the most satisfying mystery reading experience I've had in years. Slider and his cohorts are fully realized characters, with distinct and likable personalities, and the crimes they solve include a good mixture of police procedure, forensic science, and psychology. I came across Cynthia Harrod-Eagles through her excellent Morland Dynasty series, which is a long-running historical series that is also brilliant in a completely different way. I've never been disappointed in a single one of her books.
In SHADOW PLAY, Bill Slider investigates the murder of a body that was dumped in an auto yard. In the process of searching for the victim's identity and for a possible motive for the crime, Slider discovers a flash drive with incriminating evidence against a politician. A potential blackmail scheme, perhaps? But that is only the beginning. Soon the investigation leads to a family of ambitious property developers and a crime that is more than Slider and his team had bargained for.
I love the word play in the Slider books. Harrod-Eagles revels in the English language, and her sense of humor never fails to shine. It's refreshing to read a series of police procedurals where the detectives all work together instead of bucking authority. I can't say enough good things about this series. I can't understand why it hasn't gotten more attention.
In SHADOW PLAY, Bill Slider investigates the murder of a body that was dumped in an auto yard. In the process of searching for the victim's identity and for a possible motive for the crime, Slider discovers a flash drive with incriminating evidence against a politician. A potential blackmail scheme, perhaps? But that is only the beginning. Soon the investigation leads to a family of ambitious property developers and a crime that is more than Slider and his team had bargained for.
I love the word play in the Slider books. Harrod-Eagles revels in the English language, and her sense of humor never fails to shine. It's refreshing to read a series of police procedurals where the detectives all work together instead of bucking authority. I can't say enough good things about this series. I can't understand why it hasn't gotten more attention.
March 10, 2022
Realistic!
This is a story in the series about Bill Slider, and it isn't too bad at all. A body is found in the driveway of an auto repair shop located in a place that is behind other buildings and not visible from the street. It is a man who has a broken neck and no identification. Slider is assigned the case, and immediately has a double problem: not only "whodunnit," but "whoisit"?
Using tried and true police methods, Slider soon figures out who the victim is, but struggles to learn who killed him and why. All of Slider's team (called a "firm") of detectives play a part in the investigation, and all are accorded a share in the story, albeit sometimes a very small share. The list of suspects is soon narrowed down, and Slider can get one of the suspects to blame the others for the crime, ignoring the advice of his solicitor (lawyer).
These Bill Slider novels can be very realistic, reading more like a memoir than a work of fiction. We learn more about Slider's family, including his professional violinist wife, Joanna, and his father, who often babysits Slider's son, George. The author does a good job of making her characters seem real, and not cartoonish.
This novel was better, in my view, than the previous novel by the same author that I had read. It is a fast, easy read that moves along nicely. I award four of the five available stars and recommend it to lovers of police procedurals.
This is a story in the series about Bill Slider, and it isn't too bad at all. A body is found in the driveway of an auto repair shop located in a place that is behind other buildings and not visible from the street. It is a man who has a broken neck and no identification. Slider is assigned the case, and immediately has a double problem: not only "whodunnit," but "whoisit"?
Using tried and true police methods, Slider soon figures out who the victim is, but struggles to learn who killed him and why. All of Slider's team (called a "firm") of detectives play a part in the investigation, and all are accorded a share in the story, albeit sometimes a very small share. The list of suspects is soon narrowed down, and Slider can get one of the suspects to blame the others for the crime, ignoring the advice of his solicitor (lawyer).
These Bill Slider novels can be very realistic, reading more like a memoir than a work of fiction. We learn more about Slider's family, including his professional violinist wife, Joanna, and his father, who often babysits Slider's son, George. The author does a good job of making her characters seem real, and not cartoonish.
This novel was better, in my view, than the previous novel by the same author that I had read. It is a fast, easy read that moves along nicely. I award four of the five available stars and recommend it to lovers of police procedurals.
February 1, 2018
We’ve been reading Harrod-Eagles’ Inspector Bill Slider police procedurals set in London suburb Shepherd’s Bush for nearly 30 years, having completed each as published irregularly given the author’s more voluminous historical novels. Slider is a nice family man who brings those qualities to his dealings with his now familiar staff – all of whom doggedly work their cases as the clues are slowly but surely pried out of various witnesses and forensics.
The team goes into action when a well-dressed male corpse is found posed in the yard of an obscure auto repair shop. It takes a while to even identify him, but eventually they know who he was but have little idea of a motive. However, a flash drive video provides clues about blackmail, and eventually it’s one of the females on staff, Detective Hart, whose careful and clever interviewing of a hesitant older woman leads to enough of a breakthrough that search warrants can finally be justified, which rather quickly leads to wrapping up most of the affair. Schemes of land development and government higher-ups add to the fun, as Slider and company eventually unravel all.
We like the level of these stories – not too violent, not too intense, but just suspenseful enough to be consistently entertaining – indeed a well done series. {3.5}
The team goes into action when a well-dressed male corpse is found posed in the yard of an obscure auto repair shop. It takes a while to even identify him, but eventually they know who he was but have little idea of a motive. However, a flash drive video provides clues about blackmail, and eventually it’s one of the females on staff, Detective Hart, whose careful and clever interviewing of a hesitant older woman leads to enough of a breakthrough that search warrants can finally be justified, which rather quickly leads to wrapping up most of the affair. Schemes of land development and government higher-ups add to the fun, as Slider and company eventually unravel all.
We like the level of these stories – not too violent, not too intense, but just suspenseful enough to be consistently entertaining – indeed a well done series. {3.5}
February 5, 2020
This is another excellent Bill Slider book. Slider and Atherton are called to Jacket's Yard, a hidden place near the railroad with narrow access and no CCTV, traffic, or pedestrians. There is a body lying in the mud near a car repair place. The dead man is well dressed, but his pockets have been emptied. It took awhile to find out the corpse's name. Fortunately, the SOC found a recent lottery ticket hidden in his pocket. The store where he bought it was able to give them a name, Leon King. The helpful thing was his apartment was right across from where he bought the ticket, but it had been thoroughly searched.
Slider went back to the apartment and finally found a thumb drive which showed three men in the nude sniffing coke. The police managed to follow a black BMW through many CCTV cameras several showing Kimmelman driving, and surmised he might have been involved in blackmail and could be someone's enforcer. Then Slider is almost run down by a black BMW which was purposely aiming for him; the car looked suspiciously like the car Kimmelman had been driving during the filming operation. It took great police work to figure out why Kimmelman was killed and who did it!
Slider went back to the apartment and finally found a thumb drive which showed three men in the nude sniffing coke. The police managed to follow a black BMW through many CCTV cameras several showing Kimmelman driving, and surmised he might have been involved in blackmail and could be someone's enforcer. Then Slider is almost run down by a black BMW which was purposely aiming for him; the car looked suspiciously like the car Kimmelman had been driving during the filming operation. It took great police work to figure out why Kimmelman was killed and who did it!
February 7, 2020
A mysterious body is found near an auto shop in a derelict corner of Shepherd’s Bush. With no ID and the auto shop owner claiming he’s never seen the man, Bill Slider has quite the mystery to solve. What was a smartly dressed man doing out here and who is he? With the rest of his team of detectives, Slider will piece together the puzzle.
Again I’m hopping smack into the middle of a series. When I began this book, I didn’t realize it was number 20 (20!) of the Bill Slider mysteries. Perhaps that is why I was a bit confused by the number of characters to follow. Even still, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. British mysteries have been sprinkled throughout my to-read list lately. I find them a nice break from other genres I read.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is clearly a prolific author with the number of series I found of hers on Goodreads. She writes a nice procedural. Plenty of questions to be answered, it wasn’t clear who was responsible until nearly the end. I loved the way she wove some human interest into the story as well. A very well rounded mystery, I will look forward to others in this series.
3.75 stars
This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 20 February 2020
Again I’m hopping smack into the middle of a series. When I began this book, I didn’t realize it was number 20 (20!) of the Bill Slider mysteries. Perhaps that is why I was a bit confused by the number of characters to follow. Even still, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. British mysteries have been sprinkled throughout my to-read list lately. I find them a nice break from other genres I read.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is clearly a prolific author with the number of series I found of hers on Goodreads. She writes a nice procedural. Plenty of questions to be answered, it wasn’t clear who was responsible until nearly the end. I loved the way she wove some human interest into the story as well. A very well rounded mystery, I will look forward to others in this series.
3.75 stars
This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 20 February 2020
September 4, 2019
Another excellent English police procedural by Harrod-Eagles. She does such a wonderful job capturing the cohesiveness of Slider's team and how they use each other's best talents to solve the crime. In this book, they work together to find justice for a murder victim. Not because he was someone important but because they feel everyone deserves justice, even those who were a "decent stick, and not the brightest, who had broken the law and done suspect things, but on the whole had been kind to women and children." Slider's team find justice for this man and in the process unravel other major crimes and corruption. All done with kindness and humor, even if the latter (and chapter titles) are PUNishing. And you gotta love Porson's malapropism. For example:
"'Throws his weight around, mollusk of all he surveys...'
Slider trudged back to his office to carry on with compiling the case, wondering whether the mollusk of all he surveyed would think the world was his oyster."
Brilliant!
"'Throws his weight around, mollusk of all he surveys...'
Slider trudged back to his office to carry on with compiling the case, wondering whether the mollusk of all he surveyed would think the world was his oyster."
Brilliant!
March 5, 2020
Bill Slider and his team has a doozie of a case - older male corpse dumped outside a car repair shop with pockets cleaned out and no ID. And of course, no cameras on the site. The autopsy folks provided a lottery ticket which lead to address and a couple of names. The names lead to a ransacked flat. Then the fun began as they had to locate what was the object of the ransack, find out who the body really was, who he worked for and what lead to his death. And do this all in a reasonable amount of time without causing to much hassle for the working folks and especially the politicians. By carefully pulling on various threads that were showing, dogged footwork, and pure chance and some skill, the team managed to bag the criminals in time for everyone to celebrate another win for the home team. A nice, solid police procedural with the right amount of character building to keep the Bill Slider series going.
Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title!
Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title!
January 24, 2021
When DCI Bill Slider and his team of detectives are called to the site of a suspicious death in no-man’s land under a London highway, they discover a well-dressed victim without any identification. With no witnesses nor CCTV, the process of identification will take time and patience.
Shadow Play is a well-written, well-conceived police procedural. The cast of characters are varied and interesting, with glimpses into their personal lives, which adds another dimension to the story. The plot, which builds slowly, is well-written, descriptive, and with a sense of humor (be sure to notice the chapter titles). And, even though this is the first book I’ve read in this series, I didn’t find it difficult to jump right in. All in all, this is an enjoyable read that I highly recommend. Meanwhile, I plan to reverse course and read the previous books. All nineteen of them!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.
Shadow Play is a well-written, well-conceived police procedural. The cast of characters are varied and interesting, with glimpses into their personal lives, which adds another dimension to the story. The plot, which builds slowly, is well-written, descriptive, and with a sense of humor (be sure to notice the chapter titles). And, even though this is the first book I’ve read in this series, I didn’t find it difficult to jump right in. All in all, this is an enjoyable read that I highly recommend. Meanwhile, I plan to reverse course and read the previous books. All nineteen of them!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.
January 30, 2018
I am a big fan of this British procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Bill Slider. "Shadow Play", like others in the series, is realistic and well-written. New readers could jump in and follow everything happening with no problem. In this book, each member of the Slider's team contributes toward solving the case, and I liked seeing how things unfolded.
I liked the book, but it isn't one of my favorites in the series. There isn't as much of Bill's home life, which I enjoy. Also, much of the murder investigation in this book required digging into improper property deals and those details grow tedious after a while. Although it's not my favorite, I still enjoyed catching up with Slider and his team.
I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Severn House. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the book, but it isn't one of my favorites in the series. There isn't as much of Bill's home life, which I enjoy. Also, much of the murder investigation in this book required digging into improper property deals and those details grow tedious after a while. Although it's not my favorite, I still enjoyed catching up with Slider and his team.
I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Severn House. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
March 5, 2018
Detective Chief Inspector Bill Slider and his team investigate the murder of a smartly-dressed businessman found dead in the yard of Eli Sampson’s car workshop. The victim has no ID and it takes a while for the police to identify him as Leon Kimmelman aka Leo King. Clues eventually point to Kimmelman being a tough right-hand man but not his employer's identity. Who was he the muscle for? Why was his flat searched? An incriminating video indicates Kimmelman may have been planning to blackmail a former MP. The link to a stalled development project in Davy Lane is the key.
This is another solid, dependable entry in the long-running Bill Slider police procedural series.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Severn House with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.
This is another solid, dependable entry in the long-running Bill Slider police procedural series.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Severn House with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.
March 31, 2018
Princess Fuzzypants here:
If you are a fan of British police procedurals either in book or film form, you will enjoy this book. The characters are so well written that they leap off the page and the reader can see them clearly. There is great dialogue that sparkles with wit. There are lots of fun pop culture references and a good mystery.
A well dressed man is found murdered in the grounds of a run down auto repair shop. By the time the police discover his identity the cast of characters and the hidden secrets of those whose paths had crossed his has grown in size and importance. As each new layer is revealed,, things become more muddled until the final piece is revealed and all is clear.
Politics, money and social issues all combine to make an enjoyable read.
I give four purrs and two paws up.
If you are a fan of British police procedurals either in book or film form, you will enjoy this book. The characters are so well written that they leap off the page and the reader can see them clearly. There is great dialogue that sparkles with wit. There are lots of fun pop culture references and a good mystery.
A well dressed man is found murdered in the grounds of a run down auto repair shop. By the time the police discover his identity the cast of characters and the hidden secrets of those whose paths had crossed his has grown in size and importance. As each new layer is revealed,, things become more muddled until the final piece is revealed and all is clear.
Politics, money and social issues all combine to make an enjoyable read.
I give four purrs and two paws up.
September 20, 2018
This was not my favorite Slider, but it's still a good read. The mystery is rather complicated--to do with building schemes and patronage, plus some puzzling blackmail--so it was sometimes hard to follow who was fiddling and who was being fiddled. Plus, there was too much complicated traffic camera information. I realize this is a heavily used tool, but following someone's route exhaustively just slows the narrative to a crawl.
Still, H-E writes a good mystery. As always, I couldn't figure out who were the "bad guys" until well into the book, which is good. However, it wasn't resolved who actually murdered poor Leon. Well, not poor, but the guy had a bad time of it.
As ever, Slider, Atherton, Joanna, and the crew are interesting and clever. And I continue to be enchanted by the way Porson mangles the language. Much wit and fun, mixed in with the grim. Well done, if not the best.
Still, H-E writes a good mystery. As always, I couldn't figure out who were the "bad guys" until well into the book, which is good. However, it wasn't resolved who actually murdered poor Leon. Well, not poor, but the guy had a bad time of it.
As ever, Slider, Atherton, Joanna, and the crew are interesting and clever. And I continue to be enchanted by the way Porson mangles the language. Much wit and fun, mixed in with the grim. Well done, if not the best.
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