Blood Sinister

This is the third book I've read in the Bill Slider series -- and what a discovery! These are intelligent, well-written mysteries in the British detective genre. Mostly it's police procedure, as detective Slider investigates and solves a murder. In addition, his private life and that of some of his staff also come into it, but not intrusively, so that it overwhelms the murder mystery. The book begins with the discovery of the body of a journalist who had been very critical of the London Metropolitan Police. The police aren't that excited about getting involved in the case, for various reasons, not least of which is she's been their enemy. Slider will hear nothing of it, and does his best to find her killer. The obvious choice is an architect with a political career, who is a long-time friend of the deceased. There are also a number of other possibilities, however, and things that suggest that the architect is not the killer, even if he is lying about some things. Part of the mystery was fairly obvious to me, but that was just the beginning, and the real secret truly came as a surprise. It all made sense, however. One of the things that I like about this series is that you don't have the "detective explains it all" thing going on at the end -- it unfolds naturally, without having to explain things that might not make sense to the reader. The mystery is solved right before the end of the book -- no post-solution scenes to tie up loose ends. I look forward to reading the next in the series to find out what will happen in Slider's personal life with his musician-girlfriend Joanna.

This gal is the real goods, she delivers. Cynthia has the knack for reconstructed cliches and malaprops. There are lots of chuckles, out loud laughs and guffaws. For some of the fun you have to have a frame of reference, a history, of course, but you will not be disappointed even when you don't know what you are missing. The plot is nicely constructed and the conclusion credible, which is not true of much of the dreck on the market today.

Bill Slider keeps getting better and better and his police crew are also growing and maturing. They are half the fun in these stories. This series should be read in order because the development of the characters is so well laid out from one book to the next. In this book Bill is trying to find out who raped and murdered a well-known journalist. Don't forget to read the chapter headings because Ms. Harrod-Eagles is still in fine form with the puns. Even her titles have hidden meanings which you will discover when you find out who committed the crime this time. There are lots of red herrings and lots of interference by principles in the crime to help keep the murderer a secret until you near the end. Very good series! My only complaint is the way this book leaves the reader hanging at the very end regarding Bill's and Joanna's relationship. Now that Bill's divorce is final, things should be going smoothly for him and Joanna, but that unfortunately is not the case. We'll have to read the next one to keep up to date on that relationship.

I'm so glad I stumbled across Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, a prolific British writer I'm guessing not well known here in the colonies, despite her portfolio of some 30+ books counting both these mysteries and over two dozen historical romances. I've only tried Bill Slider so far, but he's a wonderfully low-profile hero in the style of Dick Francis' leading men: guys you either want to be like (men) or want to be with (women). That our author can get that feeling so consistently over eight stories is impressive, despite plots that are entertaining and often complex enough to bewilder til right near the end. The series is best read in order, because part of the fun is following Bill's personal life as his somewhat flawed marriage is tested (uncharacteristically for our straight arrow) by a lovely violinist that turns his head. His unattached "playboy" sidekick Atherton has much the same "trouble" and the interplay between these two men makes interesting counterpoint to the thorough police work otherwise on display. Indeed, we have come to know and like many of the precinct's supporting players beside our leading men. I'm guessing Harrod-Eagles has either real life experience in an orchestra or a close friend in one, because her description of the lives and times of the players, and the politics and "affairs" in the symphony, are right on. (If that's "just" the result of research, I'm astounded!) Maybe best of all, some personal dilemmas for Joanna (our musician) add some real kick to the story, right up to a cliff-hanger ending that can only be resolved in the next book -- hopefully being penned as we speak! So "Blood" seems to have it all: a mystery and plot that leads us here and there right to the end; compelling developments between Bill and Joanna that make us worry; and story that entertains on almost every page. Sounds like 5-stars to me!!

Blood Sinister should have been a feature for this month. Harrod-Eagles provides another chapter in her top-notch series with Slider, Atherton, and Joanna, characters you will care about - rare in the mystery genre. Strongly suggest readers start with the first Bill Slider book to get the most out of this very satisfying series.