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Charlie Resnick #11
Cold in Hand
It's Valentine's Day, and a dispute between rival gangs leaves a teenage girl dead. Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick, nearing retirement, is hauled back to the front line to help deal with the fallout. But when the dead girl's father seeks to lay the blame on Resnick's partner, DI Lynn Kellogg, Resnick finds the line between the personal and the professional dangerously blurred. Meanwhile, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency starts to show a keen interest in one of Kellogg's murder cases--a case the agency is convinced is linked to international gun running and people trafficking. Soon Kellogg is drawn into a web of deceit and betrayal that puts both her and Resnick in mortal danger. In "Cold In Hand," John Harvey brings back "one of the most fully realized characters in modern crime fiction" (Sue Grafton) in another heart-stopping procedural.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
40 people are currently reading
384 people want to read
About the author
John Harvey
279 books204 followersaka Jon Barton, William S. Brady (with Angus Wells), L.J. Coburn (with Laurence James), J.B. Dancer (with Angus Wells), John B. Harvey, William M. James (with Terry Harknett and Laurence James), Terry Lennox, John J. McLaglen (with Laurence James), James Mann, Thom Ryder, J.D. Sandon (with Angus Wells), Jon Hart
John Harvey (born 21 December 1938 in London) is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham. Harvey has also published over 90 books under various names, and has worked on scripts for TV and radio. He also ran Slow Dancer Press from 1977 to 1999 publishing poetry. The first Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, was published in 1989, and was named by The Times as one of the 100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century. Harvey brought the series to an end in 1998 with Last Rites, though Resnick has since made peripheral appearances in Harvey's new Frank Elder series. The protagonist Elder is a retired detective who now lives, as Harvey briefly did, in Cornwall. The first novel in this series, Flesh and Blood, won Harvey the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2004, an accolade many crime fiction critics thought long overdue. In 2007 he was awarded the Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Contribution to the genre. On 14th July 2009 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his literary eminence and his associations with both the University and Nottingham (particularly in the Charlie Resnick novels). He is also a big Notts County fan.
John Harvey (born 21 December 1938 in London) is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham. Harvey has also published over 90 books under various names, and has worked on scripts for TV and radio. He also ran Slow Dancer Press from 1977 to 1999 publishing poetry. The first Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, was published in 1989, and was named by The Times as one of the 100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century. Harvey brought the series to an end in 1998 with Last Rites, though Resnick has since made peripheral appearances in Harvey's new Frank Elder series. The protagonist Elder is a retired detective who now lives, as Harvey briefly did, in Cornwall. The first novel in this series, Flesh and Blood, won Harvey the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2004, an accolade many crime fiction critics thought long overdue. In 2007 he was awarded the Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Contribution to the genre. On 14th July 2009 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his literary eminence and his associations with both the University and Nottingham (particularly in the Charlie Resnick novels). He is also a big Notts County fan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
November 28, 2021
I always like to read a book in this Charlie Resnick series every once in a while as they are always interesting and make good in-between books between larger tomes.
DI Resnick and his live-in partner DI Lynne Kellogg are working on a case of a gun smuggling cabal from Eastern Europe that has put weapons in the hands of hoodlums and causing the crime rate to soar. They are under extreme pressure to hunt down the villains and it soon appears that possibly some of the upper echelons of the police may be involved.......or are they?
What makes this story different from the usual Resnick/Kellogg series is an unexpected and huge shock that comes about 2/3 of the way into the book. It caught me totally by surprise and I am sure that other readers of this series will feel the same. I am not going to put up a spoiler so you will have to read the book to see for yourself.
If you are a fan of this series, I highly recommend it.
DI Resnick and his live-in partner DI Lynne Kellogg are working on a case of a gun smuggling cabal from Eastern Europe that has put weapons in the hands of hoodlums and causing the crime rate to soar. They are under extreme pressure to hunt down the villains and it soon appears that possibly some of the upper echelons of the police may be involved.......or are they?
What makes this story different from the usual Resnick/Kellogg series is an unexpected and huge shock that comes about 2/3 of the way into the book. It caught me totally by surprise and I am sure that other readers of this series will feel the same. I am not going to put up a spoiler so you will have to read the book to see for yourself.
If you are a fan of this series, I highly recommend it.
June 1, 2019
For me, this is the last book in the Charlie Resnick series, because I had read his final book way back at the start of my John Harvey journey, and then worked my way back up from No. 1.
I have every bit as much of a bittersweet feeling as any Game of Thrones or other series fanatic coming to the end of a world in which they had immersed themselves. And because this penultimate book has a huge plot development that I can't give away, I'm going to be light on the details and try instead to give some of my thoughts and feelings about the series as a whole.
Here are the basics. At this point in his career, Charlie is very effectively running a robbery squad, and looking at retirement not too far down the road. But first, an old friend asks him to step in as second in command to investigate a killing in which two teen girls were fighting in a gang confrontation, and then a young man stepped out of the crowd and shot one girl in the face.
In the midst of this crime was Charlie's lover and partner, Lynn Kellogg, who had responded to the emergency and was shot herself, although her protective vest saved her life.
The second plot -- there's always more than one in a Resnick novel -- involves an Eastern European woman in the local sex trade who is stabbed to death by the man who runs her massage parlor. Lynn is involved in this investigation, too, and soon has to deal with a special agent from another government ministry who is trying to warn her off the homicide case for reasons that only become clear as the novel develops.
The rest you will have to discover on your own, but I can tell you that it involves a development with huge emotional impact for Charlie, and introduces a London woman chief inspector with drive and intelligence, a trend Harvey developed throughout his series.
After reading all 12 books in this series, I feel as though I could step into Nottingham and immediately feel familiar there, so strongly has he depicted its post-industrial gloom, spiced with a growing hint of new economy tech businesses (these novels are set in the 80s and 90s).
Charlie, like many other series detectives, has his quirks. He is a large man, always trending toward being overweight. His family immigrated from Poland and the Polish Club in Nottingham is still a regular haunt of his over the years. He also has fallen in love with classic jazz, and his turntable (then, CD player) spins constantly through these novels, from Billie Holiday to Lester Young to Charles Mingus to Chet Baker.
Charlie's love life is spotty, to say the least, even though he is a decent man who would love a good relationship. His wife leaves him before the first novel is finished, and he later realizes she has struggled with mental illness. He has various temporary flames over the years -- a social worker here, a teacher there -- but he doesn't seem to find true happiness until his former junior detective, Lynn Kellogg, finally consummates the love they have toyed with for years and moves in with him.
As the years progress, Charlie's cases become more violent, as guns and drugs enter the scene in northern England, and his small crew of detectives changes gradually. A particularly crude young detective leaves the force after one story in which he is brutally attacked; he loses Lynn to a serious crimes special squad; a couple of other detectives transfer for family reasons to other parts of the UK, and his new squad members often reflect the growing diversity of the British population, including an Afro-British female detective that Charlie pays particular attention to.
Even though Charlie must adjust to the growing use of technology and data to investigate crimes, he remains wedded to his feelings of intuition about various cases, and his knack for developing some interesting contacts on the other side of the criminal divide.
As a supervisor, he is fair, occasionally tough, occasionally stupidly territorial. And as a detective, one special feature is his willingness to visit the victims and victim family members of the crimes he investigates. He offers them sympathy, honesty, and even sticks with them when, as in the case of one criminalized family named Snape, the matriarch really has nothing good to say about him.
Like Sweden's Kurt Wallander, Charlie Resnick is, not entirely by choice, a loner and an iconoclastically brilliant sleuth. I can't recommend this series enough, and it is almost impossible to pick a favorite, although this 11th entry is near the top of the list.
I have every bit as much of a bittersweet feeling as any Game of Thrones or other series fanatic coming to the end of a world in which they had immersed themselves. And because this penultimate book has a huge plot development that I can't give away, I'm going to be light on the details and try instead to give some of my thoughts and feelings about the series as a whole.
Here are the basics. At this point in his career, Charlie is very effectively running a robbery squad, and looking at retirement not too far down the road. But first, an old friend asks him to step in as second in command to investigate a killing in which two teen girls were fighting in a gang confrontation, and then a young man stepped out of the crowd and shot one girl in the face.
In the midst of this crime was Charlie's lover and partner, Lynn Kellogg, who had responded to the emergency and was shot herself, although her protective vest saved her life.
The second plot -- there's always more than one in a Resnick novel -- involves an Eastern European woman in the local sex trade who is stabbed to death by the man who runs her massage parlor. Lynn is involved in this investigation, too, and soon has to deal with a special agent from another government ministry who is trying to warn her off the homicide case for reasons that only become clear as the novel develops.
The rest you will have to discover on your own, but I can tell you that it involves a development with huge emotional impact for Charlie, and introduces a London woman chief inspector with drive and intelligence, a trend Harvey developed throughout his series.
After reading all 12 books in this series, I feel as though I could step into Nottingham and immediately feel familiar there, so strongly has he depicted its post-industrial gloom, spiced with a growing hint of new economy tech businesses (these novels are set in the 80s and 90s).
Charlie, like many other series detectives, has his quirks. He is a large man, always trending toward being overweight. His family immigrated from Poland and the Polish Club in Nottingham is still a regular haunt of his over the years. He also has fallen in love with classic jazz, and his turntable (then, CD player) spins constantly through these novels, from Billie Holiday to Lester Young to Charles Mingus to Chet Baker.
Charlie's love life is spotty, to say the least, even though he is a decent man who would love a good relationship. His wife leaves him before the first novel is finished, and he later realizes she has struggled with mental illness. He has various temporary flames over the years -- a social worker here, a teacher there -- but he doesn't seem to find true happiness until his former junior detective, Lynn Kellogg, finally consummates the love they have toyed with for years and moves in with him.
As the years progress, Charlie's cases become more violent, as guns and drugs enter the scene in northern England, and his small crew of detectives changes gradually. A particularly crude young detective leaves the force after one story in which he is brutally attacked; he loses Lynn to a serious crimes special squad; a couple of other detectives transfer for family reasons to other parts of the UK, and his new squad members often reflect the growing diversity of the British population, including an Afro-British female detective that Charlie pays particular attention to.
Even though Charlie must adjust to the growing use of technology and data to investigate crimes, he remains wedded to his feelings of intuition about various cases, and his knack for developing some interesting contacts on the other side of the criminal divide.
As a supervisor, he is fair, occasionally tough, occasionally stupidly territorial. And as a detective, one special feature is his willingness to visit the victims and victim family members of the crimes he investigates. He offers them sympathy, honesty, and even sticks with them when, as in the case of one criminalized family named Snape, the matriarch really has nothing good to say about him.
Like Sweden's Kurt Wallander, Charlie Resnick is, not entirely by choice, a loner and an iconoclastically brilliant sleuth. I can't recommend this series enough, and it is almost impossible to pick a favorite, although this 11th entry is near the top of the list.
August 16, 2018
Cold in Hand by John Harvey a DI Charlie Resnick novel.
The action starts right from the first page and does not stop until the end, just what I like. Charlie’s story has moved on some years since the last book and he is now well established in a relationship with the younger Lynn Kellogg, now a Detective Inspector in the Homicide unit, while Charlie is languishing as the officer in charge of investigating street robberies in the Nottingham area. Fresh from a hostage situation Lynn is embroiled in a gang dispute in which she is shot but saved by her stab proof vest although a young girl lies dead. The father of the girl makes allegations that Lynn used the girl, Kelly Brent, as a shield and threatens vengeance. Charlie is recruited to look into the matter, which leads to the discovery of the weapon used being smuggled in from Lithuania. Meanwhile Lynn recovers and is trying to protect witnesses in a massage parlour murder when a link with illegal immigrants from Europe an the smuggling of guns is found. Lynn believes that an officer from the London based Serious and Organised Crime Agency may be involved. The case comes to a head when the witnesses go missing and disaster strikes Charlie. Like good crime novels the perpetrators are uncovered and brought to justice but some escape.
Lots of issues then, Charlie’s relationship with Lynn, the changing mix within the detective teams, illegal immigration and organised crime with a European base provide a great deal of interest. Lots of guns and ammunition and knifes becoming more prevalent within the increasing violence on the streets of Nottingham.
Good fast action and characters that are believable, even the hierarchy are becoming less obstructive as the series progresses. A four star book.
The action starts right from the first page and does not stop until the end, just what I like. Charlie’s story has moved on some years since the last book and he is now well established in a relationship with the younger Lynn Kellogg, now a Detective Inspector in the Homicide unit, while Charlie is languishing as the officer in charge of investigating street robberies in the Nottingham area. Fresh from a hostage situation Lynn is embroiled in a gang dispute in which she is shot but saved by her stab proof vest although a young girl lies dead. The father of the girl makes allegations that Lynn used the girl, Kelly Brent, as a shield and threatens vengeance. Charlie is recruited to look into the matter, which leads to the discovery of the weapon used being smuggled in from Lithuania. Meanwhile Lynn recovers and is trying to protect witnesses in a massage parlour murder when a link with illegal immigrants from Europe an the smuggling of guns is found. Lynn believes that an officer from the London based Serious and Organised Crime Agency may be involved. The case comes to a head when the witnesses go missing and disaster strikes Charlie. Like good crime novels the perpetrators are uncovered and brought to justice but some escape.
Lots of issues then, Charlie’s relationship with Lynn, the changing mix within the detective teams, illegal immigration and organised crime with a European base provide a great deal of interest. Lots of guns and ammunition and knifes becoming more prevalent within the increasing violence on the streets of Nottingham.
Good fast action and characters that are believable, even the hierarchy are becoming less obstructive as the series progresses. A four star book.
July 14, 2015
This is the 11th Charlie Resnick adventure. Resnick is a police detective in Nottingham, England, who loves his jazz, sandwiches and cats. He is rumpled, somewhat of a loner, and not necessarily the brightest bulb with a badge, but he's persistent and usually gets his man. I am a big fan of this series which although dealing with the seamier side of the human condition, i.e. murder, is not violent and the books are more intellectual endeavors than action packed thrillers. So ten plus years ago when the author "retired" Charlie I was dismayed and when he was brought back with this book I was thrilled - unfortunately Cold In Hand is a disappointment.
The plot is potentially a strong one. Charlie's professional - and now personal - cohort, Lynn Kellogg, gets shot while attempting to break up a gang confrontation, during which a teenage girl is murdered. As he nurses Lynn back to health Charlie is tasked to find the culprit. During this investigation Charlie stumbles onto another murder - this of an Eastern European prostitute. In the background is an organized crime investigation that both Charlie and the recovering Lynn find themselves embroiled in as they dig deeper into their own quasi-separate investigations.
This is exactly the type of tangled inter-related web that made the previous Resnick books so engaging. Unfortunately all of the subtleties and nuances that worked in the past books are absent in this one. Cold in Hand is heavy handed, clumsy at times, very predictable and thus very disappointing.
The Charlie Resnick series is excellent - so read the earlier additions - and avoid this one.
The plot is potentially a strong one. Charlie's professional - and now personal - cohort, Lynn Kellogg, gets shot while attempting to break up a gang confrontation, during which a teenage girl is murdered. As he nurses Lynn back to health Charlie is tasked to find the culprit. During this investigation Charlie stumbles onto another murder - this of an Eastern European prostitute. In the background is an organized crime investigation that both Charlie and the recovering Lynn find themselves embroiled in as they dig deeper into their own quasi-separate investigations.
This is exactly the type of tangled inter-related web that made the previous Resnick books so engaging. Unfortunately all of the subtleties and nuances that worked in the past books are absent in this one. Cold in Hand is heavy handed, clumsy at times, very predictable and thus very disappointing.
The Charlie Resnick series is excellent - so read the earlier additions - and avoid this one.
March 11, 2010
A fitting, but also tragic end (probably) to a great crime series. In this chapter, Detective Inspector Resnick now has his thirty years in, so retirement looms. And things are looking good, since he’s settled in with a love interest, Detective Lynn Kellogg. Their nights together, talking shop, sharing a bottle of wine over dinner, while Charlie’s jazz cds play in the background, suggest a coziness that Resnick has long deserved. If you’ve followed the series, you’ll find all the things you love: jazz music, crime, and Harvey’s Balzac-like eye for cultural details in a rapidly changing British landscape. The crimes on this go-round involve gun-running, human trafficking, and a very shady cop. It’s probably the most “international” of the Resnick books that I’ve read (however, I’ve not read them all), since it touches on Britain, Jamaica, Romania, and Lithuania. But Harvey for the most part keeps his focus on Britain’s mean streets. To say more would be to give a good story away. I did say that this may be the End, though I doubt Resnick is truly gone. A fascinating new character, Karen Shields, also a detective, with Jamaican ancestry, makes her appearance. If she’s to be the subject of any new Harvey crime novels, I’ve no doubt Resnick will reappear.
July 10, 2012
So what makes a good police procedural: authentic police techniques, good characterization, multiple plot lines, but not so many that they seem irrelevant, a believable resolution.
This, the 11th (?) Charlie Resnick meets all the criteria. You can read a summary of the plot in the publisher’s description. It’s accurate without giving away too much.
This was my first Resnick novel; it will not be my last. There was a shocker about halfway through the book that took me completely by surprise. That surprise permitted Harvey to introduce a new character, Karen Shields, a black DCI who, I think, would make a marvelous new protagonist for a series. In this book she became my favorite. Resnick, almost retired, really takes second place to his live-in DI Lynn Kellogg and Karen. Events revolve around Kellogg and her investigation into a prostitution ring and a murder. Resnick becomes almost peripheral. I was astonished that in the other reviews I read, no one mentions Karen, because I thought she rapidly took center stage.
This is not a cozy. The world Harvey paints is dark and violent and the police are part of that violence both as instigators and victims.
This, the 11th (?) Charlie Resnick meets all the criteria. You can read a summary of the plot in the publisher’s description. It’s accurate without giving away too much.
This was my first Resnick novel; it will not be my last. There was a shocker about halfway through the book that took me completely by surprise. That surprise permitted Harvey to introduce a new character, Karen Shields, a black DCI who, I think, would make a marvelous new protagonist for a series. In this book she became my favorite. Resnick, almost retired, really takes second place to his live-in DI Lynn Kellogg and Karen. Events revolve around Kellogg and her investigation into a prostitution ring and a murder. Resnick becomes almost peripheral. I was astonished that in the other reviews I read, no one mentions Karen, because I thought she rapidly took center stage.
This is not a cozy. The world Harvey paints is dark and violent and the police are part of that violence both as instigators and victims.
October 4, 2015
Such a humane and personal description of police guilt, disenchantment and grief. Written in an enviably easy-flowing and effortless-seeming prose style. We think we know where the investigation is going, but do we really? The mystery element is the least of our worries in this book which may well be Charlie Resnick's swan song.
October 28, 2018
I didn't realise this was a book in a series and I thought that Lynn was the main character, so I was really surprised when she got killed off halfway through the book. It seems that this is book in the Resnick series so apparently he is the main character, but I definitely wouldn't have guessed that from this book!
I was enjoying the book and the interweaving storylines but for me, a lot of the impetus went out of it when Lynn was killed and I struggled to stay interested to the end. The reveal of her killer didn't contain any big surprises either.
I was enjoying the book and the interweaving storylines but for me, a lot of the impetus went out of it when Lynn was killed and I struggled to stay interested to the end. The reveal of her killer didn't contain any big surprises either.
April 4, 2008
COLD IN HAND (Police Proc-Charlie Resnick-England-Cont) – Ex
Harvey, John – 11th in series
William Heinemann, 2008, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9780434016945
First Sentence: It was the curious time, neither day nor night, not even properly dusk, the light beginning to shorten and fade, the headlights of a few overcautious drivers raising a quick, pale reflection from the slick surface of the road, the main route back into the city.
DI Lynn Kellogg has been shot while breaking up a fight between girls in two rival gangs. One girl was badly injured, while the other girl, attacking Lynn at the time, was mortally shot. Lynn’s lover, DI Charlie Resnick is nearly retired but brought in to lead the investigation for the shooter while the dead girl’s father blames Lynn. Meanwhile, once Lynn is back at work, she is investigating a case which links to one being worked by the Serious and Organized Crime Agency. The case goes from dangerous to tragic.
I was so excited to see a new Charlie Resnick book and I wasn’t disappointed. Harvey knows how to tell a story. He draws you in, gets you involved in the characters and the plot, hits your emotions, builds the suspense and brings it to resolution in a satisfying, realistic manner. Charlie is a great character and Harvey gives you a real feel for his life and the people in it. Lynn, being much younger than Charlie, is a perfect balance and foil for him. I’ve read all the books in the series but, with each new one, I want to go back and read them again. Not because I don’t remember them, but because they are so good and this was the icing on the cake.
Harvey, John – 11th in series
William Heinemann, 2008, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9780434016945
First Sentence: It was the curious time, neither day nor night, not even properly dusk, the light beginning to shorten and fade, the headlights of a few overcautious drivers raising a quick, pale reflection from the slick surface of the road, the main route back into the city.
DI Lynn Kellogg has been shot while breaking up a fight between girls in two rival gangs. One girl was badly injured, while the other girl, attacking Lynn at the time, was mortally shot. Lynn’s lover, DI Charlie Resnick is nearly retired but brought in to lead the investigation for the shooter while the dead girl’s father blames Lynn. Meanwhile, once Lynn is back at work, she is investigating a case which links to one being worked by the Serious and Organized Crime Agency. The case goes from dangerous to tragic.
I was so excited to see a new Charlie Resnick book and I wasn’t disappointed. Harvey knows how to tell a story. He draws you in, gets you involved in the characters and the plot, hits your emotions, builds the suspense and brings it to resolution in a satisfying, realistic manner. Charlie is a great character and Harvey gives you a real feel for his life and the people in it. Lynn, being much younger than Charlie, is a perfect balance and foil for him. I’ve read all the books in the series but, with each new one, I want to go back and read them again. Not because I don’t remember them, but because they are so good and this was the icing on the cake.
January 12, 2009
I was so excited to find out that one of my favorite mystery series had started up again. Killing off Lynn made me mad, but I was able to get over it as I got swept up in the investigation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2012
An extraordinarily good police procedural.
To read my review go to my blog at:
http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...
July 1, 2020
A friend knows the author from when she lived in England and recommended the series. The Goodreads reviews for the first novel were mixed so I decided to read a later one. My local library had an e-copy of "Cold in Hand" available for immediate checkout so I downloaded it to my Kindle, not realizing it was the next-to-last Charlie Resnick novel. I probably should have waited for an earlier novel in the series to become available, because there's an air of finality and closure with this one. In fact, I was surprised to learn there's one more after this one.
The Charlie Resnick I met in this novel is in his 50s. He has his thirty in and, while his work as a detective inspector is still methodical and thorough, I got the sense he was going through the motions while deciding whether to retire or not. After losing Lynn, the lover he's lived and worked with in at least one previous novel, likely several, he's about as down as anyone can be at the conclusion of "Cold in Hand." I liked Charlie and was depressed for him.
That aside, this is an exciting novel. Part police procedural, part inspired detective work based on experience and intuition, with what feels like a realistic depiction of life and crime in contemporary Britain. I enjoyed the action, loved the plotting, was easily able to keep a large cast of characters straight, and want to read more of the series.
It was a mistake on my part to start with the penultimate novel. It reads well as a stand-alone novel, but it's going to hard to forget what I know of Charlie and Lynn's future when I follow their earlier, younger adventures.
The Charlie Resnick I met in this novel is in his 50s. He has his thirty in and, while his work as a detective inspector is still methodical and thorough, I got the sense he was going through the motions while deciding whether to retire or not. After losing Lynn, the lover he's lived and worked with in at least one previous novel, likely several, he's about as down as anyone can be at the conclusion of "Cold in Hand." I liked Charlie and was depressed for him.
That aside, this is an exciting novel. Part police procedural, part inspired detective work based on experience and intuition, with what feels like a realistic depiction of life and crime in contemporary Britain. I enjoyed the action, loved the plotting, was easily able to keep a large cast of characters straight, and want to read more of the series.
It was a mistake on my part to start with the penultimate novel. It reads well as a stand-alone novel, but it's going to hard to forget what I know of Charlie and Lynn's future when I follow their earlier, younger adventures.
December 21, 2018
Despite the Resnick character (memorably played by Tom Wilkinson when making a brief appearance on British television screens in the early 90s) being quite compelling, this will be the end of the line with Harvey for me. True, this novel is, as always, well plotted but the characterisation is so poor (Resnick himself aside) with a lazy descent into cliché and stereotype all too evident. The moment a character is introduced there are few shades of grey, little nuance. In a writer as vaunted as Harvey it really is disappointing. And then there’s the jazz. Don’t get me started on the jazz. Harvey is clearly an aficionado and is desperate for us to know it. Endless uninteresting (to me) details about old/dead jazz ‘legends’: fine, John, you like jazz and some of its old ‘masters’ but really, you’re just showing off, aren’t you? It gets worse in this novel though _ he starts parading his knowledge of blues… No, that will be it for me. Hill, Dexter, Billingham, Booth and (usually) Rankin can tell a good story with more style, depth and humour and less irritating affectations and I’ll stick to them, thanks.
September 19, 2025
Charlie Resnick is an appealing character, so it is a pleasure to read that he has finally found true love with DI Lynn Kellogg. They work on separate cases, but have each other to bounce things off of, and their life together seems charmed -- until, shockingly, Lynn is gunned down on their doorstep. The rest of the book deals with Charlie's grief and the investigation into the shooting, headed up by DI Karen Shields, a tall woman of Jamaican descent (meaning black) who is brought in from outside. A professional relationship slowly forms with Charlie as he slowly begins to recover, and Karen proves her worth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2020
Some years after "Last Rites" which was to be the final Charlie Resnick novel, John Harvey revisits Resnick nearing retirement and Lynn Kellogg, trained in hostage negotiations and living with Resnick. Part one follows several cases and culminates in a surprising and upsetting act of violence. In part two, Resnick follows up on a witness Lynn was worried about all the while being kept informed of a murder investigation. Harvey merges a crime procedure with melancholy to present an emotional, heart breaking read. One of his best.
September 22, 2018
This is a fairly typical British police crime novel which is understated, low key and fairly mundane with one or two twists thrown in for good measure. The writing is solid, the characters are well rendered and the good guys are likeable in a calm, 'stiff upper lip' kind of way.
A satisfactory read which kept my interest for the most part. Having said that, reading more from this author is not high on my list of priorities.
A satisfactory read which kept my interest for the most part. Having said that, reading more from this author is not high on my list of priorities.
December 9, 2020
Mystery series - you can see that Harvey is getting ready to wind this series down. Charlie Resnick suffers a couple of nasty shocks that questions whether he still wants to be a policeman or not. There is a tragic death that he is not officially allowed to investigate. Harvey almost makes me want to listen to jazz.
Canadian reference - brief mention of a Celine Dion CD
Pharmacy reference - murder victim works in a pharmacy and had aspired to become a pharmacist
Canadian reference - brief mention of a Celine Dion CD
Pharmacy reference - murder victim works in a pharmacy and had aspired to become a pharmacist
January 25, 2022
My first read by this author and I seem to have come into #11 of the series ! I don’t think it mattered in the slightest that I didn’t know the back stories. It was a decent read if a bit hard work at times. Probably a 3 1/2 edging towards 4 stars. I would definitely read more by this author, but not just yet. For me it needed to be shorter
July 12, 2017
Great to see Resnick back- and he and Lynn Kellogg were the finely drawn stars of this rather bleak story. Disappointed tho that all the other characters are sketchily presented and not particularly likeable. Not in the same league as the earlier books.
February 25, 2020
This book was published 9 years after the previous book in this series was published. However, only about 5 years has elapsed since then. There is more substance to this book than many of the previous ones.
November 1, 2016
it was god to revisit Charlie Resnick. But Harvey commits what for me is a fatal flaw. He kills off a major character who is very sympathetic half way through the book. I almost didn't finish it.
September 10, 2017
Compelling and shocking UK-set mystery thriller
June 16, 2018
Part 1 was ok but part 2 with a new character wobbled and by the end it petered out.
March 12, 2019
no surprises - okay read
March 20, 2020
I really liked part one, because it was so nice to have Resnick happy. A really good read.
January 17, 2021
I liked the book but it wasn't a page turner for me. The ending is very plain. I was hoping for twists and turns but there came none. Overall a good read.
March 12, 2021
Listened to via audio book. Interesting characters, good sense of place and a plot that works.
May 9, 2024
I waited so long for a return to Charlie Resnick's world. I liked to say it was worth the wait but parts of this book destroyed me. I have never gotten so worked up over a piece of fiction.
October 1, 2024
I love most of John Harvey's books, just not this one. As it's the penultimate in the Resnick series, then perhaps it's just treading water until the final instalment, but it's a weak plot with colourless characters. Cold and bland would be a more appropriate title.
My only advice would be to read the first 10 and skip this one
My only advice would be to read the first 10 and skip this one
November 15, 2015
"A city this size ..."
There’s nothing wrong with genre-fiction with a recurring central character. I read lots of detective novels and have favourite detectives, not least DI Charlie Resnick. I was pleased to find that John Harvey had brought him back after a gap of some years. In some respects, the results are more interesting than in Ian Rankin’s last few John Rebus novels. But keeping a series going when acknowledging that time passes in the lives of the characters brings challenges and if the novel has weaknesses it is in coping with the pull, even in the best genre fiction, of formula and stereotype. As in the many excellent crime dramas on television just now, it is good to hear that a second or third series is coming but also disappointing that the very powerful impact of the drama as a one-off may be diminished.
“Cold in Hand” has an intricate and tense plot – as did “Lonely Hearts”, the very first Resnick novel back in 1989 – but part of the focus in this second-but-last Resnick novel is how Harvey manages time-passing and an approaching future of retirement in the Nottingham world of his central character. The police investigations into a number of crimes seem to pass Resnick by in many of the chapters. Here, the reasons are, initially, that Resnick – still a DI and not trusted by the police hierarchy – is simply no longer at the centre of things; and, later, he is often depicted in the Alexandra Park house that he has come to share with DI Lynn Kellogg, experiencing the good and bad times, while the plot sharpens. There is a technical reason, as well, for the rapid changes of focus. I recall a very perceptive talk Harvey gave in Nottingham in the 1980s detailing the influence upon him of the structure of “Hill Street Blues”.
It is also not primarily Resnick in this novel who voices the police’s position or individual police officers’ positions, whether faced with liberal do-gooders or the roughest of low-life. Harvey has often wanted to widen the sphere of the detective novel to include commentary. In “Cold in Hand”, there are digressions on the relationship between society and the police; on immigration and crime; and on the city of Nottingham, from Devonshire Promenade, through Midland Station to Hockley and Sneinton Vale. Harvey knows Nottingham really well and catches some of its recovery from the nadir of the 1990s-2000s, not all of it welcomed by Resnick. However, he remains the authoritative voice on jazz and the title is from a Bessie Smith song, though I didn’t see the relevance of the rest of the lyrics to this novel.
There’s nothing wrong with genre-fiction with a recurring central character. I read lots of detective novels and have favourite detectives, not least DI Charlie Resnick. I was pleased to find that John Harvey had brought him back after a gap of some years. In some respects, the results are more interesting than in Ian Rankin’s last few John Rebus novels. But keeping a series going when acknowledging that time passes in the lives of the characters brings challenges and if the novel has weaknesses it is in coping with the pull, even in the best genre fiction, of formula and stereotype. As in the many excellent crime dramas on television just now, it is good to hear that a second or third series is coming but also disappointing that the very powerful impact of the drama as a one-off may be diminished.
“Cold in Hand” has an intricate and tense plot – as did “Lonely Hearts”, the very first Resnick novel back in 1989 – but part of the focus in this second-but-last Resnick novel is how Harvey manages time-passing and an approaching future of retirement in the Nottingham world of his central character. The police investigations into a number of crimes seem to pass Resnick by in many of the chapters. Here, the reasons are, initially, that Resnick – still a DI and not trusted by the police hierarchy – is simply no longer at the centre of things; and, later, he is often depicted in the Alexandra Park house that he has come to share with DI Lynn Kellogg, experiencing the good and bad times, while the plot sharpens. There is a technical reason, as well, for the rapid changes of focus. I recall a very perceptive talk Harvey gave in Nottingham in the 1980s detailing the influence upon him of the structure of “Hill Street Blues”.
It is also not primarily Resnick in this novel who voices the police’s position or individual police officers’ positions, whether faced with liberal do-gooders or the roughest of low-life. Harvey has often wanted to widen the sphere of the detective novel to include commentary. In “Cold in Hand”, there are digressions on the relationship between society and the police; on immigration and crime; and on the city of Nottingham, from Devonshire Promenade, through Midland Station to Hockley and Sneinton Vale. Harvey knows Nottingham really well and catches some of its recovery from the nadir of the 1990s-2000s, not all of it welcomed by Resnick. However, he remains the authoritative voice on jazz and the title is from a Bessie Smith song, though I didn’t see the relevance of the rest of the lyrics to this novel.
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