What do you think?
Rate this book
Bill Slider #12
Fell Purpose
Bank Holiday Monday, and beautiful Zellah Wilding, straight-A student at St Margaret's, prefect, future Head Girl, lies dead near the famous Wormwood Scrubs prison in London. What was this good girl from a strict Christian family doing out there, dressed to kill, when she was supposed to be at a sleep-over with schoolfriends? A secret boyfriend from a run-down estate and a recently-released rapist look tasty; or could the nearby fairground or the eponymous prison have something to do with it? The mysteries only seem to proliferate as the investigation progresses, and the more Bill Slider knows, the less he understands about this very secret girl...
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
23 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
148 books499 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
May 9, 2018
I just enjoy the characters in the Slider detective stories--the way the author approaches new (permanent) characters is always thorough and like describing new friends. Slider himself as well as Joanna and, to a lesser extent Atherton, are comfortable people to know. The witty repartee, the sarcasm, the shared jokes are always fun. and, then, the speech patterns of Superintendent Porson always bring a laugh. (around the Marlborough bushes!) But he's also a creditable character and likeable. Then, the mystery is always confusing and distressing, but always solvable. Just fun.
April 10, 2017
Found a new series to read off and on.
November 14, 2020
Such a great series Love Bill
January 21, 2018
A young girl is found dead on some waste ground. DI Bill Slider always feels sorry for the victims but this is somehow more close to home because he has a teenage daughter too. There are rather too many suspects to make it an easy case to investigate - the girl's nearest and dearest, her ex-boyfriend who she definitely met shortly before her death and a previous offender who may or may not have been in the area at the time. That's before Slider's team start investigating further afield.
The plot is complex, the writing is crisp and the dialogue sparkles as do the chapter headings which are never less than apt and amusing. I love the banter between the police officers involved in the investigation and the way they all come over as fallible human beings with worries and concerns of their own. Slider himself is one of my favourite fictional detectives.
If you like our crime stories mixed with humour and peopled with likeable characters then try this series. The books can be read in any order as there is enough background information in each one to keep up with what is going on in the private lives of the series characters.
The plot is complex, the writing is crisp and the dialogue sparkles as do the chapter headings which are never less than apt and amusing. I love the banter between the police officers involved in the investigation and the way they all come over as fallible human beings with worries and concerns of their own. Slider himself is one of my favourite fictional detectives.
If you like our crime stories mixed with humour and peopled with likeable characters then try this series. The books can be read in any order as there is enough background information in each one to keep up with what is going on in the private lives of the series characters.
July 28, 2011
Reading Bill Slider is like spending some time in a pair of favorite mocassins with a cup of tea and a great view to enjoy when your mind wanders from the page - great stuff, a real quiet pleasure with just the right amount of humour.
May 16, 2013
Audiobook read by Terry Wale, who has read most of the series and whose voice fits very well
June 1, 2023
Someone murdered Zella Wilding early on a Monday morning in a secluded wooded area. She was that notable combination of almost-17-year-olds who are extremely beautiful and brilliant. Her dad is a conservative Christian, and Zella had extraordinarily little wiggle room in which to grow up. It stands to reason that, just days from her 17th birthday, she would show a little leg, so to speak, and rebel. She goes off for what she says is a sleepover, and on a bank holiday Monday, her parents must identify her body.
The suspects are many and bizarre. The chapter titles are highly creative. My favorite was “All Creatures Grunt and Smell.”
This is not fast action whiz-bang stuff. It’s British police procedural reading, and you’re going to spend some time on this. It’s just over 10 hours at normal speed.
This could have been at least a four-star book, but it falls to three because I figured out the killer at about two hours in, and sadly I was right. I was a little off on the motive, but it’s no fun to be that right that early.
The suspects are many and bizarre. The chapter titles are highly creative. My favorite was “All Creatures Grunt and Smell.”
This is not fast action whiz-bang stuff. It’s British police procedural reading, and you’re going to spend some time on this. It’s just over 10 hours at normal speed.
This could have been at least a four-star book, but it falls to three because I figured out the killer at about two hours in, and sadly I was right. I was a little off on the motive, but it’s no fun to be that right that early.
January 24, 2018
Not the best mystery in the series, but as always, enjoyable to spend time with the continuing main characters. As usual, incidental characters who don't all sound alike and a tight police procedural. And as usual, much word play--including the guvnor of the investigative team who repeatedly speaks in screwed up cliches: "Yes, we don't want to stir up a hermit's nest." "Keep me up to scratch on this." Etc. At one point he pronounces and uses "plethora" correctly, and the hero is so surprised he almost loses the thread of what's being said. And there are the usual punning chapter titles: All Creatures Grunt and Smell; How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Ring You Back; and one that had me puzzled until I finally thought of Keats: "Bedlam Sans Mercy."
November 26, 2017
Another terrific Slider mystery. This one was rather sad, since the victim was a young, gifted teenaged girl who wanted nothing more than to be loved. What a heart-wringer that is--no one saw her as anything other than an extension or a tool.
As ever for H-E, the mystery is finely worked out. So many suspects that are equally likely and unlikely both. And I always enjoy following along with Slider's thinking. Plus, the characters are compelling. And one more thing, H-E is so damned funny. The (good) puns come along at speed, including the chapter titles, and the Chief is a hoot. May he continue to mangle language cheerfully.
As ever for H-E, the mystery is finely worked out. So many suspects that are equally likely and unlikely both. And I always enjoy following along with Slider's thinking. Plus, the characters are compelling. And one more thing, H-E is so damned funny. The (good) puns come along at speed, including the chapter titles, and the Chief is a hoot. May he continue to mangle language cheerfully.
May 6, 2021
A truly sad and tragic story: a young girl of seventeen brought up by a strict father and status-hungry mother just wants to be loved but confuses infatuation for love. This young girl has to mislead her parents to be allowed to spend time with a boy her friends deem inappropriate, meaning they are rich and he comes from the poorer walks of life. Her body is found near a fair grounds and Slider and team have not one, but three suspects. Again, careful police investigation, clues, interrogation, and community involvement lead to the guilty party. And Slider, Joanna, and baby George are treated to some happy news after the turmoil of the heart wrenching case.
January 17, 2017
3.5 stars. While this is a decent book, I did not like it as much as the previous two in this series. This book illustrated the problem authors have with an initially unknown perpetrator. Reveal too much and the readers guess who it is. Reveal too little and the readers ends up being confused as well as surprised.
March 11, 2018
Some books in the Bill Slider series have been 4 and 5 starts, but this was somewhere between "It was OK" and "Liked it" so 2.5 stars. The writing and story moved right along with more and more learned about the murdered girl. But the murder was obvious so early in the book that it did not deliver one of the things I want most in a mystery.
August 1, 2017
If you like your detectives punny, you'll enjoy the Bill Slider series. This time out Slider, Atherton et al are investigating the murder of a seventeen-year-old girl. Lots of suspects, which one did it?
April 22, 2022
One of the better ones in this series so far, and that is saying a lot. The usual witty banter and enjoyable sarcasm made the book a fun read, and the mystery itself was intriguing and well-plotted, with a number of suspects emerging one by one. I'm going through this series like a box of candy.
October 15, 2023
Another great read
I’ve been reading this Bill Slider series for the past few months. Each book keeps getting better and better. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a wonderful author with a lovely sense of humour.
I’ve been reading this Bill Slider series for the past few months. Each book keeps getting better and better. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a wonderful author with a lovely sense of humour.
February 27, 2019
I love Cynthia Harrod-Eagles clever use of the English language, her plot and character development, her lovely sense of humor.
I definitely recommend Fell Purpose to readers.
I definitely recommend Fell Purpose to readers.
May 16, 2019
This is my first Harrold-Eagles book, and what a joy it was. Clever use of English with a touch of humour. The chapter titles are a delight and the story wasn't bad either!
September 4, 2019
A return to form after the disappointing (to me) last instalment. A tight plot and convincing characters, even if the murderer was rather obvious from about the half-way point.
April 15, 2022
Always enjoy Bill Slider mysteries. Love her dialogue.
September 27, 2022
I’m enjoying the Bill Slider series. They are light, well-written, and the characters are interesting.
September 8, 2023
I love the Bill Slider series. Ms. Harrod-Eagles is so good at weaving a great mystery plot while creating engaging characters and fleshing them out. A good read, all too quickly read.
October 5, 2024
Good solid British police detective series
November 18, 2024
My first Slider mystery. I will have to go back to the beginning and start with book one. Thoroughly enjoyed the word games. Decent plot. Enjoyable characters.
December 2, 2009
First Sentence: Atherton was singing as he drove.
Zellah Wilding is smart, attends a very good school and has a strict father who tries to keep her on the right path and out of trouble. She is also pregnant and dead. Inspector Bill Slider and his team are out to find her killer.
With each new Bill Slider book, my love this series and CHE’s writing is renewed. There is a great opening sentence and hook which immediately some of the main characters and gives the reader a bit of their background and relationships.
With the book’s opening sentence, I realized how much I had missed reading about these characters.
The characters are all well-drawn and fully developed. But more than that, I appreciate that the Slider team like and respect each other. There are no anti-social, angst-driven acrimonious characters here. Lest you think this might make the characters boring, they are anything but.
One of my favorites is Porson, Sliders superior, who supports and respects his men, but can mangle phrases such as “It’s the early day that catches the worm.” And “There’s more than one way to butter a parsnip.” I think CHE must have enormous fun writing Porson’s dialogue, but he is not a foolish character, and that takes particular skill. The dialogue is very well done. I occasionally am caught by a Britishism but can always figure them out. She does write in the dialect of the characters, which add realism and personality, but didn’t slow down my reading.
The story provides the reader a strong sense of place. One thing I love about English mysteries is the history of England itself. In this case, the crime takes place at Wormwood Scrubs, a name I know from reading historical mysteries. Bits of area’s histories are seamlessly intertwined into the story. London is not a city I know well, having been there only once for a short time, yet I always had a sense of where the characters were.
The story’s plot was so well done. This is not another serial killer book, but a classic murder investigation. There is one murder of a young woman followed by focused police procedure to find the killer. What a nice change.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is one of those writers I feel should be much better know and more widely read. The book jacket compares Slider to John Harvey’s Charlie Resnick. I don’t know that I completely agree with the character comparison, but I would compare the quality of both author’s writing. My only hope is that there will continue to be new Bill Slider books for many years to come.
FELL PURPOSE (Pol. Prod-Bill Slider-England-Cont) – Ex
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia – 12th in series
Severn House, 2009, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9780727868428
Zellah Wilding is smart, attends a very good school and has a strict father who tries to keep her on the right path and out of trouble. She is also pregnant and dead. Inspector Bill Slider and his team are out to find her killer.
With each new Bill Slider book, my love this series and CHE’s writing is renewed. There is a great opening sentence and hook which immediately some of the main characters and gives the reader a bit of their background and relationships.
With the book’s opening sentence, I realized how much I had missed reading about these characters.
The characters are all well-drawn and fully developed. But more than that, I appreciate that the Slider team like and respect each other. There are no anti-social, angst-driven acrimonious characters here. Lest you think this might make the characters boring, they are anything but.
One of my favorites is Porson, Sliders superior, who supports and respects his men, but can mangle phrases such as “It’s the early day that catches the worm.” And “There’s more than one way to butter a parsnip.” I think CHE must have enormous fun writing Porson’s dialogue, but he is not a foolish character, and that takes particular skill. The dialogue is very well done. I occasionally am caught by a Britishism but can always figure them out. She does write in the dialect of the characters, which add realism and personality, but didn’t slow down my reading.
The story provides the reader a strong sense of place. One thing I love about English mysteries is the history of England itself. In this case, the crime takes place at Wormwood Scrubs, a name I know from reading historical mysteries. Bits of area’s histories are seamlessly intertwined into the story. London is not a city I know well, having been there only once for a short time, yet I always had a sense of where the characters were.
The story’s plot was so well done. This is not another serial killer book, but a classic murder investigation. There is one murder of a young woman followed by focused police procedure to find the killer. What a nice change.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is one of those writers I feel should be much better know and more widely read. The book jacket compares Slider to John Harvey’s Charlie Resnick. I don’t know that I completely agree with the character comparison, but I would compare the quality of both author’s writing. My only hope is that there will continue to be new Bill Slider books for many years to come.
FELL PURPOSE (Pol. Prod-Bill Slider-England-Cont) – Ex
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia – 12th in series
Severn House, 2009, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9780727868428
September 1, 2012
‘Fell Purpose’ by Cynthia Harrod Eagles
Published by Severn House, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-7278-6842-8
Inspector Bill Slider is now a father, and the elegant Sergeant Atherton now has a steady girlfriend. It’s a Bank Holiday and Bill has arranged to take Katie and Matthew, the children of his first marriage, and Joanna and the new baby, to visit his elderly father in Essex, whilst Atherton has arranged a day out with Emily. But both outings are off when the body of a young girl is found in the Wormwood Scrubs area.
The girl is identified as Zellah Wilding, a straight A student from a good family. But there are anomalies – why would she be seeing Ronnie Oates, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and where is her mobile? When they get a confession, Superintendant Porson looks as if he’s been thrown a lifeline, but Slider isn’t sure. But as Porson says, ‘Rhodes wasn’t built in a day’
Whilst the main protagonist is Bill Slider, who I like enormously, as I do Atherton, any devotee of this series like me must love the Porsonisms which abound in this book. I love it when Superintendent Porson is supplying his own band of proverbial expertise – just throw some words out, some will make it through! Highly recommended.
----
Lizzie Hayes
Other books in the series are, Orchestrated Death, Death Watch, Necrochip, Dead End, Blood Lines, Killing Time, Shallow Grave, Blood Sinister, Gone Tomorrow, Game Over
Published by Severn House, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-7278-6842-8
Inspector Bill Slider is now a father, and the elegant Sergeant Atherton now has a steady girlfriend. It’s a Bank Holiday and Bill has arranged to take Katie and Matthew, the children of his first marriage, and Joanna and the new baby, to visit his elderly father in Essex, whilst Atherton has arranged a day out with Emily. But both outings are off when the body of a young girl is found in the Wormwood Scrubs area.
The girl is identified as Zellah Wilding, a straight A student from a good family. But there are anomalies – why would she be seeing Ronnie Oates, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and where is her mobile? When they get a confession, Superintendant Porson looks as if he’s been thrown a lifeline, but Slider isn’t sure. But as Porson says, ‘Rhodes wasn’t built in a day’
Whilst the main protagonist is Bill Slider, who I like enormously, as I do Atherton, any devotee of this series like me must love the Porsonisms which abound in this book. I love it when Superintendent Porson is supplying his own band of proverbial expertise – just throw some words out, some will make it through! Highly recommended.
----
Lizzie Hayes
Other books in the series are, Orchestrated Death, Death Watch, Necrochip, Dead End, Blood Lines, Killing Time, Shallow Grave, Blood Sinister, Gone Tomorrow, Game Over
December 16, 2016
Well, I had the mystery figured out pretty quickly but I love all the characters so it was fun to read the scenes in which they pondered all the possibilities. Hard to say who's more fun: Hart, Atherton, MacKay. But no one is as fun as Porson. I even try to remember some of his mixed metaphors ("Rhodes wasn't built in a day"; "stir up a hermit's nest") and simply can't recall them out of context. I need to start writing them down. Cynthia, this must be such fun for you!
Odd about the edition I got from Amazon. It was apparently printed on demand as it says "Made in USA, Middletown, DE, November 22, 2016" in the back. Seems to be an instant printing of an e-book. The publisher is listed as "Northwood Publishing" (no website) but the book seems to be associated with www.ebooks.com (a service for UK authors.) I was unnerved by the change in body typeface from time to time throughout the book, but, all in all, prefer paper in my had to an e-reader.
Odd about the edition I got from Amazon. It was apparently printed on demand as it says "Made in USA, Middletown, DE, November 22, 2016" in the back. Seems to be an instant printing of an e-book. The publisher is listed as "Northwood Publishing" (no website) but the book seems to be associated with www.ebooks.com (a service for UK authors.) I was unnerved by the change in body typeface from time to time throughout the book, but, all in all, prefer paper in my had to an e-reader.
October 31, 2010
This is another wonderful installment in one of my favorite series. Harrod-Eagles writes British police novels much as P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Peter Robinson do, but she has the extra fun of humor. She loves puns and word play which always add to the story - the chapter titles alone are worth a look. She is also more concise than any of the above mentioned folks, much as I love them - this is sometimes appreciated. This story concerns an upper class girl found on the grounds of Wormwood Scrubs, a prison, apparently dressed as a prostitute. As always, Harrod-Eagles includes Slider's home life as part of the book, and in this one he and Joanna are married, squashed into an apartment, and have an adorable new baby named George. I'd recommend any book in this series whole heartedly.
July 11, 2010
By the middle of this mystery, Bill Slider, the detective in charge at his Shepard's Bush, London police station has three perps --- all with good motives, all seen at the murder scene. Of course none of them, Michael Carmichael -- yes Atherton hates his name, and makes puns of it throughout the story -- a returned convict who likes to strangle girls -- low IQ, but confesses to her killing --- and her father, an uptight, too Christian, goody goody, who attempts to keep his 17-year-old daughter, Zellah (the victim) on a short leash --- is the killer. Harrod-Eagles, like the good mystery-writer that she is, keeps the real killer to the last pages. (I figured out who he was -- her art teacher -- about the middle ofthe book.) Still a very good outing for Bill Slider and company.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2010
One reviewer of this book found it excessively punny. I, however, love the punniness & think the reviewer just doesn't get British humor. This is a great series which manages to convey the impact of quite serious crimes while dealing with the personal lives of the series regulars. In this outing, a young girl is found murdered near a fairgrounds. We get conflicting reports of the girl's life from her parents, her teachers, her friends & her former boyfriend, so the murderer is not apparent nor is the motive. I love Harrod-Eagles & bought a number of her books while I was in London.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews