Customer Reviews

Death to Go

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I can never put this author's books down until I've read the whole book (usually in one sitting). She always maintains a nice balance between humor and adversity and tops it all off with a wicked and logical plot. Harrod-Eagle is a wonderful mystery writer and I always look forward to reading her latest book. All of them (so far) have been excellent.

The original title of this book is Necrochip. The official book description says this book involves "[T]he body parts of murder victims. . . .turning up all over London. . . ."

In fact the body is found in bin bags behind Dave's Fish and Chips. It's discovered because a school girl's 20p of chips also included a deep fried finger. Ron Savage who ran Dave's insisted that he had the only key to the place and the back door had been bolted from the inside. It seems like it is an open and shut case.

Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Bill Slider has a new boss-- Mad Ivan Barrington, a spit and polish policeman who replaced the late Dickson, and who finds Slider unacceptable.

Add to this the fact that Slider's violinist lover wants him to confess their relation to Slider's wife. Slider, as usual, finds that every time he screws his courage to the sticking point something happens that gives him an excuse to postpone the scene.

Wonderfully complex plot that twists and turns back on itself with each new revelation. Solid British Police Procedural with good balance of personal angst and criminal detection.

I started three British Procedural series about the same time. Although they are all good, I like Ms. Harrod-Eagles series the best. She is a wonderful writer. Her plots and characterization are tight, and the story usually has many surprises. Bill Slider is a wonderful character. He's sensitive, a bit tentative (especially in his personal life), and a darn good detective. This was an interesting book because the mystery looked quite simple at the beginning, but the further that Bill dug into it, the more sinister it became. It took him all the way up to the top with his suspicions. With the help of his partner, he manages to discover the truth. I highly recommend this series.