Girls: A Harpur & Iles Mystery (Harpur & Iles Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Bill James (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harpur & Iles Mysteries | Publication Date: October 17, 2007

"[Bill James'] strangely compelling series offers its own ample rewards."—Mystery Scene

For years Panicking Ralph Ember and Mansel Shale have run profitable drugs empires in peaceful cooperation with each other, and ACC Iles will blind-eye their trade as long as it keeps violence off the streets. But this happy arrangement is threatened by foreign dealers moving in and offering not just drugs, but punters—exploited girls from Eastern Europe. And bloody gang warfare threatens as a scrabble for territory ensues.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In British author James's darkly humorous 23rd police procedural featuring Asst. Chief Constable Desmond Iles and DCS Colin Harpur, a turf war between local thugs and the Albanian mafia over the drug trade leads to several murders and an intensification of the amiable cat-and-mouse game between Iles and Harpur—whose approach to ethical dilemmas is highly subjective—and sympathetic villains Mansel Shale and Ralph Ember. After ganglord Tirana is slain, Harpur's daughter's boyfriend becomes a suspect, adding a personal element to the inquiries, which naturally focus on his perennial adversaries. James's droll writing and well-hidden solutions will encourage newcomers to catch up on the previous books in the series. Those seeking a change of pace from more dour procedurals will find the time invested in this book amply rewarded. (Oct.)
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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

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Countryman Press (October 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881507806
• ISBN-13: 978-0881507805
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,585,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and engaging, October 22, 2007

By 

H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Girls: A Harpur & Iles Mystery (Harpur & Iles Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Girls is a Harpur & Iles mystery, Harpur and Iles being the two main police characters in Bill James' series of mystery novels. While I have read none of his other books, I had little difficulty following Girls as a standalone book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as such. For such a dark premise and subject matter (and, yes, plenty of appropriately adult language to go with it), this is an incredibly quirky, witty, bizarre, bewildering, fascinating, and utterly delightful book.

The story is told from various characters' points of view, and centers upon the search for a kid who might be in a great deal of danger--one Scott Grant, the boyfriend of Hazel, Harpur's older daughter. Everyone seems to be after him for one reason or another---to protect him, to get revenge on him for something he might or might not have done, to eliminate him as a rival.

Despite the fact that it's the men's minds and eyes we see through, it's the girls who drive the action. Harpur's two high school-aged daughters lecture him on the sociological implications of his policework, while his university student girlfriend gives him advice on whether or not to break into Scott's home. A dead Albanian kingpin's girl kicks off several key events, as do other prostitutes at various times. Nearly every major figure has at least one daughter who seems to figure into things; even those that don't come on-screen have clearly shaped their fathers' ambitions and plans for the future.

The most beautiful and brilliant thing about the book, however, is all of the wonderful dialogue. People talk at, past, through, and around each other in the most amazing and baffling ways--whether due to brilliance, stupidity, malice, stubbornness, or snark.

And in the end, while the mystery is great, it takes a back seat to the amazing and daft characters that populate this book.

Note that while there's plenty of adult subject matter and language, this is not a particularly graphic book in terms of sex or violence.

3.0 out of 5 stars Harpur and Iles Carry On, November 3, 2007

By 

The Windhover "Reader New York" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girls: A Harpur & Iles Mystery (Harpur & Iles Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is the 20th something novel in Bill James' police procedural series featuring Detective Chief Superintendant Colin Harpur and his superior (and sometimes nemesis), Assistant Chief Constable, Desmond Iles. The appeal of this series, set in an unnamed small English city, is the relationship between Harpur and Iles. Harpur cultivates an understated persona, which masks his considerable intelligence, in sharp contrast to Iles, also of considerable intelligence, but constantly on the verge (and sometimes over the verge) of mania. This is essentially played as comedy in sharp contrast to the simultaneous story of law enforcement in a city inhabited by rival drug gangs.

I have read all the books in this series. "Girls," which is about the invasion of the unnamed city by Albanian drug and prostitution gangs, holds one's attention throughout and is enjoyable reading. However, it is not on a par with the early novels. This decline has been apparent in the last few entries and seems to be evidence that this series is beginning to run out of steam.