"Fell Purpose"

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' latest Detective Inspector Slider myster does not disappoint. Slider and his team are investigating a young girl's murder on a Bank Holiday Monday so it's no holiday for them. It takes the whole team to try to find out more about this young woman as she seems to have kept her doings private from her strict parents and her school friends. As they investigate and think they have an idea about "who did it," more possible suspects are unearthed requiring additional legwork. In the meantime, Slider and his wife, Joanna, are feeling quite cramped in her pre-marital living space now that they have a toddler son, George, sleeping in their bedroom, too. As Slider is engrossed in solving his case, Joanna is looking for a larger home but everything seems priced out of their reach. In the midst of all this, Slider's father has been trying to reach them -- He just might have the perfect solution to their living arrangements! Another great read by Harrod-Eagles!

pazt

Detective Inspector Bill Slider

I discovered a new detective series last summer on my library's recommended reading shelf. The Detective Inspector Bill Slider series (www.billslider.com) is authored by Englishwoman, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, who writes with humor and well developed characters.

Her hero, London's Detective Inspector Bill Slider, has a very interesting life outside his profession of solving crimes. I always look forward to reading the next book in the series not only to solve a murder but to see what's happening in Slider's personal life so I highly recommend reading them in order.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has a way of writing that brings her characters to life. My biggest challenge is sometimes figuring out her English humor. That's when I resort to contacting my daughter in England and/or her British husband for help translating from English to American. We may share a common language but what a world of difference at times!

The first book in the series is "Orchestrated Death" where investigating the murder of a beautiful violinist leads Slider and his partner, Atherton,as far afield as Birmingham and disrupts Slider's home life.

The second book, "Death Watch," has Slider and Atherton investigating the death of a man in a fire that may have links to a 20-year-old homicide.

The third book, "Necrochip" (also known as "Death to Go"), provides additional challenges for Slider. While he investigates a murder that takes him to Hammersmith and Notting Hill, he has to deal with a change in supervision back at the station.

The fourth book, "Dead End" (also known as "Grave Music"), takes Slider back to the world of music when he and Atherton investigate a death at the Royal London Philharmonic.

The fifth book, "Blood Lines," keeps Slider in the music world when he investigates the death of a music critic and tries to prevent another murder.

The sixth book, "Killing Time," finds Slider solving the murder of an erotic dancer without Atherton's help because Atherton is in the hospital recovering from an injury sustained while working their last case.

The seventh book, "Shallow Grave," gives us a glimpse into Slider's interest in old homes when he investigates the death of a woman at a famous historian's home.

The eighth book, "Blood Sinister," is the investigation of the death of a journalist who championed the underdog and attacked the police whenever she could. She had enemies in high places who don't want Slider digging too deep.

In the ninth book, "Gone Tomorrow," Slider investigates a death on a children's playground in Shepherd's Bush and becomes involved with all kinds of unsavory and very scary characters as he attempts to solve this murder and the subsequent murders it spawns. At the point of exhaustion due to lack of sleep, Slider has even less time to deal with his increasingly complicated personal life.

The tenth book, "Dear Departed," has Slider investigating the death of a young woman found murdered in a park in broad daylight while the park was full of people. While trying to find out more about the victim, he discovers she led a complicated life - both in terms of her work, her private life, and her family. Was her death that of a notorious serial killer or something else?

The eleventh book, "Game Over," has Slider in the middle of solving a high profile murder that, for once, the major case squad does not want to take off his hands to solve themselves, Slider has his hands full. With his boss and his whole department behind him, he sets out to solve the case while trying to thwart the attempts of a crazed escaped convict threatening violence against him and his family. This English whodunit gets my vote!

The twelfth book is "Fell Purpose."

These books are also available in "Omnibus" versions.

"Bill Slider Omnibus" contains the first three books; "The Second Bill Slider Omnibus" contains the next three books; "The Third Bill Slider Omnibus" has books 7 and 8 while "The Fourth Bill Slider Omnibus" has books 9 and 10.

"Game Over" -- a Detective Inspector Bill Slider Mystery

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has done it again with a new Detective Inspector Bill Slider mystery - kept me entertained and wishing for more. I think she only has one other book written in this series that I haven't read so I'm hoping she's busy writing another one!

In the middle of solving a high profile murder that, for once, the major case squad does not want to take away from him to solve themselves, Slider has his hands full. With his boss and his whole department behind him, he sets out to solve the case while trying to thwart the attempts of a crazed escaped convict threatening violence against him and his family. This English whodunit gets my vote!

pazt

"Harte's Desire"

This novel by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a departure from her Detective Bill Slider series which I fell in love with last year. This story centers on two neighbors, Polly and Ginnie, and their ever so different lifestyles. When American media mogul, Simon Harte, moves into their neighborhood, their lives are turned upside-down! It's about deception in marriage and other relationships and how adding an outsider to the equation has the potential to change everything! Although it was an enjoyable read, I have to admit I still prefer the Bill Slider series.

pazt

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

While I was waiting to read Book 10 in Harrod-Eagles' Bill Slider detective series, I checked out Harrod-Eagles book, "Real Life," which is a collection of short stories. I found them to be a mix of quirky, strange, and downright funny tales! It's not at all like what I have come to expect in the Bill slider series but an enjoyable read none the less.

In the last couple of years my daughter and son-in-law in England have been house hunting so the concept of real estate "chains" were explained to me in some detail and that came in handy in reading one of the stories. Basically, if the person purchasing a home has a home to sell and the person below or above them also is in the same position, it's like falling dominoes -- any deal in the chain that doesn't go has the potential to affect all the transactions in the chain below.

Back to "Real Life," though -- a good read but not all stories gave me the same feeling as the Detective Bill Slider series which I can't get enough of!

pazt