The discovery of a headless corpse on the rocks below cliffs on the Isle of Wight is only the beginning of a journey for DI Joe Faraday to the centre of the grim trade in human cargo from the crippled societies of the Balkans. From cheap labour to prostitution, Portsmouth, like every other city in the UK, is home to untold human misery; a black economy built on illegal immigration. Joe Faraday is determined to find the real criminals that lie behind the tabloid hysteria. Detective Constable Winter, on the other hand, is determined only to find a way out of the disciplinary action that threatens his entire career. A burgeoning relationship with a young prostitute isn't exactly helping his cause. Graham Hurley has written another vivid novel of an all-too-human policeman struggling against an overwhelming tide of crime. This is crime writing with a vivid edge of documentary realism.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
A densely plotted British murder mystery, sixth in the series featuring Detective Inspector Joe Faraday.Two separate plot lines, linked by the role and treatment of women, twist through this painstakingly authentic police procedural set on the southern coast of England, partly in Portsmouth (aka Pompey), partly on the Isle of Wight, which faces it across a narrow sea channel. Faraday, working for the Major Crimes unit, and sent to investigate a headless corpse washed up on a beach, runs across suspect Rob Pelly, an former army engineer with an explosive temper and complicated links to Bosnia, where he served. But the dead person could equally be the victim of a contract killing commissioned by rich and ruthless Maurice Wishart, who comes to the attention of another detective (and associate of Faraday's), Paul Winter, working for the Portsmouth Crime Squad. Winter's enquiries lead him to a high-class prostitute, Maddox, who subsequently seeks his protection - and a bit more - after Wishart beats her up. Hurley, who uses lots of local vernacular and charts every twist and turn of the investigations, switching back and forth between his two detectives, expects the reader to pay attention. Answers to the questions of who died, when and how, do come, but slowly, late and sometimes unsatisfactorily, like police work itself, after lots of sifting, interviewing and, of course, some shifting.No shortcuts are taken in a solid crime novel that anchors itself in the less glamorous aspects of police work. (Kirkus Reviews)
About the Author
Graham Hurley is an award-winning TV documentary maker who now writes full time. He has lived in Portsmouth for 20 years. He is married and has grown up children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best Joe Faraday story yet!,
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This review is from: Blood and Honey (DI Joe Faraday) (Hardcover)
Firstly, it needs to be made clear that in order to fully appreciate the context of "Blood and Honey" it helps to have read the previous (fifth) book in the series "Cut to Black" to appreciate some of the references in this, the sixth of them. Joe Faraday is an ever developing creation, with a range of concerns from the welfare of his deaf son, finance for the operations that he wants to mount to discover the identity of the dead body that is central to the plot, a woman friend who has returned to the Antipodes and his obsession, birdwatching! His 'oppo' DC Winter has gradually developed a grudging respect for Faraday in the course of the series, and is as ever concerned with the 'information' from his wide ranging band of 'snouts' and a growing relationship with an extremely up-market hooker.There are some of the familiar characters from the other stories, both in the police force and outside it, toether with an interesting development in the character of DI Tracey Barber. Hurley laces the book with sub plots which he sustains throughout, as well as flinging in a fine selection of Portsmouth (Pompey) high and low life. A geographical idea of how insular Portsmouth is would help potential new readers, as would an appreciation of just how important the soccer team is to the life of the City. As ever the plots come together with a scattering of a believable sense of happenstance and willing suspense of belief, but the book builds on the strengths of the previous books in the series, as well as offering some interesting avenues to explore in the next book in the series. If you're looking for a 'new' English detective based in a gritty and believable environment then the Joe Faraday stories should provide some excellent reading.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great mystery,
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This review is from: Blood and Honey (DI Joe Faraday) (Paperback)
This is the first Graham Hurley book I have read but it won't be the last. This was an absolutely great read....wonderful characters and a real page turner. I am very anxious to read the other books in the series although I feel that this one stood very well on its own. Highly recommend to readers who enjoy British police procedurals.
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