Game Over (A Detective Inspector Slider Mystery, 11)

As much as I enjoy the Bill Slider crime series, I was (like another reviewer) disappointed with what seemed to be a rushed ending. Everything was conveniently tied up in a dozen pages with a sort of literary 'deus ex machina' feeling.

The characters were all well drawn, with the possible exception of Emily Stonax (the daughter) who seemed at times to be unrealistically included in the official police investigation. It's often said (is it true?) that the police invariably include the next-of-kin on their list of suspects; why not in Emily's case? She also appeared to have free access to all the police facilities normally denied any member of the public. A bit thin really.

I understand that Severn House do impose obvious length restraints on their crime authors -- around 100 pages less than other publishers generally -- so Ms Harrod-Eagles should have borne this in mind as she developed the plot and bought it to its denouement.

Recommended -- with reservations.

The eleventh in the Bill Slider series finds the Detective Inspector trying to arrange his marriage to his love, Joanna, before the impending birth in approximately seven weeks of their child. As he says: "I've been trying to get married . . . arranging a wedding between a policeman and a musician is like trying to push a balloon into a milk bottle." As the book opens Slider and crew are investigating the murder of Ed Stonax, former BBC correspondent who had left to become a civil servant a couple of years back, only to be forced to leave that position when he became embroiled in a sex scandal. Is it a random burglary gone wrong, or does it stem from something in his previous professions that had somehow led to his demise?

At the same time, Slider is dealing with a communication he receives from a criminal in whose arrest he was a participant; the man, Trevor Bates, alias The Needle, had escaped during transfer to a different facility a month prior, and had not been seen or heard from since. Direct threats on his and Joanna's lives up the stakes, and indeed attempts are made on his life. Bates is variously described as a "wealthy businessman, property dealer, electronics expert, murderer . . . intellectual, cold-blooded, and pathologically vain." Quite a nemesis, and one that Slider is determined to re-capture, if only in self-preservation.

Slider's colleague, Atherton, never lacking for female companionship, finds a fast-growing attraction to Stonax' daughter, a journalist now living in New York but who has come back to the UK after her father's death. Only this time it feels different for the serial-dater. Emily, the daughter, begs to be allowed to stay involved in the investigation, and her experience as a journalist becomes a definite asset. For his part, Slider "was happily spoken-for, but there was no harm in admiring the scenery, even if you were on a non-stopping train." But his love for Joanna is never in doubt, despite that momentary thought.

The author's charming sense of humor is evident throughout, in spite of the sometimes grim nature of the plot. Another colleague is described as having a "face that lunched on a thousand chips." A superior has a habit of mixing his metaphors: "A leper doesn't change his spots, " "don't throw the winds to caution," and "still waters wait for no man." Ms. Harrod-Eagles is a wonderful storyteller as well as a gifted writer, two things not always, or even often, found together. The book is highly recommended.

Love all Bill Sliders and needing more words is why I don't usually submit these reviews so stop asking me to

Shepherd's Bush West London: divorced with two children, DI Bill Slider is finally putting his life back together. His rocky marriage of fourteen years now ended, he and his new partner Joanna await the birth of their first child and their impending marriage: it's anyone's guess which will occur first. But their hopes and plans, indeed, their very lives, will be put at risk by an escaped villain out to settle an old score.

Events begin straightforwardly enough, at least if you're a homicide detective. A middle-aged man has been murdered. An ex-journalist, Ed Stonax, had dropped out of sight following a three-way sex scandal involving a young reporter and another man. He claimed it was a set-up, but then everyone does, don't they?

Now Stonax is dead, killed by a blow to his head in his London flat. His daughter Emily Stonax, also a journalist, flies in from New York, hoping to make sense of her father's death. Complicating matters, she enters into a relationship with Slider's friend and colleague, Jim Atherton. To say the least, Slider is concerned.

It is not long before they learn that a file folder is missing from the victim's flat. When Slider suffers a near miss by a motorcycle, he wonders whether it is his old nemesis or somehow connected to the investigation. And checking further into the sex scandal, it seems that Stonax was targeted because he knew something dangerous to others.

Before the dust settles, more murders will surface, and not only Slider's life, but Joanna's as well, will be put at risk. Bill Slider must decide whether it is due to his old enemy, his current investigation, or both.

The eleventh novel in an underrated series, Bill Slider is one of my favourite characters in crime fiction. No superhero, he grapples with the challenges of his job and the frustrations of a complex personal life. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a master of her craft, building a cogent plot around a nuanced protagonist, and creating crackling dialogue that Kirkus Reviews has called "some of the best cop talk this side of the Atlantic." Not above a bit of humour as well, she peppers her book with chapter titles perpetrating truly awful--that is to say, delightful--puns. If you haven't read her before, do yourself a favour.

I've been eagerly awaiting the latest Bill Slider mystery; I wish Cynthia Harrod-Eagles were as prolific with them as she has been with her series of historical novels. There are times when this one feels a little formulaic, but it's a great read and just as witty as the rest.

I like Bill Slider's books. But this one was not up to standards as Cynthia Harrod-Eagles can write. But I will still keep buying her books as long as she doesn't kill one of her main people. Ann Lowry