The Detective is Dead: A Harpur & Iles Mystery [Paperback]

Bill James (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harpur & Iles Mysteries | Publication Date: February 2002

"A tremendous writer. . . . Where else can you find a mystery series with as many layers of gorgeous stuff?"—Chicago Tribune

"The detective is dead" because the old process of justice doesn't work any more. No one, including Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, would testify at the trial; Harpur refused to name his informant. The three murderers who were being tried are part of a savage underworld struggle for the lucrative domain of the late drug baron Kenward Knapp. The story opens as the three assemble at Ralph Embers's seedy club "The Monty" to celebrate their acquittal. The key player behind the scenes is ambitious drug dealer Keith Vine, now an informant for Harpur. Vine's partners have been murdered and his life is in danger. Harpur wants to send him (and his smart, beautiful, pregnant girlfriend, Becky) safely abroad, while the coldly plotting ACC Desmond Iles wants to keep him here, to serve as bait for the killers. Part pawn, part murderous player himself, reaching hungrily for the Knapp riches, Vine disappears into a labyrinth of fear and greed, twisting through schemes and alliances that very likely will destroy him.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An unconventional and spicy tour de force... . James is terrific. -- Frances Fyfield

Hard-edged narratives that leave readers gasping and flinching.... A ferociously poetic voice. -- The Times [London]

[A] terrific series.... Get these books; settle into peril and chaos. -- Bloomsbury Review

About the Author

Bill James has been called "the Elmore Leonard of Britain's underworld" (Kirkus Reviews) and has been named a "Master of Crime" in a mystery roundup by the London Sunday Times, which said, "There is nothing else quite like this series of police procedurals. James is concerned with the dilemmas and difficulties of policing Britain's inner cities, and he addresses these in hard-edged narratives that leave readers gasping and flinching, praying the people in these stories never come to live in their streets." In addition to the Harpur and Iles series, James is the author of other mystery series and a book on Anthony Powell. He lives in Wales.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393322467
• ISBN-13: 978-0393322460
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,619,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Bill James, February 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Detective is Dead: A Harpur & Iles Mystery (Hardcover)

A police procedural from the master of the genre. Hard edged narrative, terse dialogue. Bleak, cynical plot and characters expressed in an almost poetic style. The story is compelling and the characters unforgettable.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thin Line between cop and criminal--excellent, March 4, 2001

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Detective is Dead: A Harpur & Iles Mystery (Hardcover)

In THE DETECTIVE IS DEAD, Bill James writes again of the thinline between cop and criminal. When a judge lets two killers walkfree, Ives decides the police need to take matters into his ownhands. The results aren't pretty although they are occasionallyhysterically funny and always disturbing.

Mark Lane, the chief, isnoble, believes in doing right, and is a figure of fun for his deputyIves. The criminals believe Ives is dirty--that he is making moneyfrom the very drug lords they are seeking to become--and the reader isnever quite sure if they are right. Harpur is more practical,interested in solving crimes and locking up criminals but lackingeither Lane's nobility or Ives' brutal thrust.

This is policeprocedural with a twist. There is never any doubt about thecriminal--there are plenty of those and much of the story is told fromtheir point of view. Some of them will succeed in their dreams ofbecoming the next drug lord, others will fall. Ives knows he can'tarrest them all and so, by default, becomes something of akingmaker. Watching him work, interact with Lane, Harpur, and thecriminals, makes the novel fascinating.

Each of the Harpur and Ivesmysteries can be read independently without losing much although theydo form a continuous and enjoyable series.