Off Minor (Charlie Resnick Series) [Paperback]

John Harvey (Author), Harvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998 | Series: Charlie Resnick Series

Two little girls are missing, two little girls of the same age but very different backgrounds who lived near one another. To Resnick, that was the only connection. Until one of them turned up dead. Fast-paced and full of the abrasive and often despairing work of cops everywhere, this is both a richly textured novel and a heart-stopping thriller.

Editorial Reviews

Review

No one escapes the glare of the author's insights or the warmth of his compassion for the pathetic frailties of human nature. -- The New York Times Book Review, Marilyn Stasio

Off Minor is John Harvey's fourth in the Charlie Resnick series. It's as good as any of the earlier entries, which makes it smashing. -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

Suffused with the dark, moody rhythms of the jazz that Resnick loves, Off Minor is a treat. -- San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

John Harvey is the author of the richly-praised sequence of ten Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times as one of the ‘100 Best Crime Novels of the Century.’ In 2004, William Heinemann published Flesh and Blood, the first novel featuring retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder. He is also a poet, dramatist and occasional broadcaster. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Owl Publishing Company (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805054987
• ISBN-13: 978-0805054989
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,356,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the best tradition of Connelly and Sjowall and Wahloo, July 28, 2003

By 

Linda Oskam "dutch-traveller" (Amsterdam Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Off Minor (Charlie Resnick Series) (Paperback)

Charlie Resnick is inspector in Nottingham, where the 6 year old girl Gloria disappears. After a few months her body is found by a young couple making love in an abandoned warehouse. A few months later another 6 year old girl, Emily, disappears. At first sight the disappearances look very similar and there are quite a few possible suspects. It is up to Resnick and his team to sort out who was involved in what. In the end both crimes are solved, but it takes until the last page before it becomes clear to the reader what happened exactly.

Charlie Resnick is an inspector in the tradition of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch including his love for jazz music. We also follow Resnick's colleagues, who are not all equally likeable, but that only makes the characters more realistic. There is also quite a lot of criticism on society in the tradition of Sjöwall and Wahlöö. All in all this book is a very enjoyable read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Series!, March 23, 2002

By 

Ms. Nancy F. Jones (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Off Minor (Charlie Resnick Series) (Paperback)

I just discovered the Charlie Resnick series and I am loving it!
John Harvey has created a believable, compassionate protagonist in Charlie. Charlie's a bit of a schlump--loves his food and isn't too concerned about grooming or fashion. He loves American Jazz and he loves his cats. This British police procedural series introduces us to the detectives in Charlie's crew and we grow to know and like them all.

When two little girls go missing and one is found murdered, Charlie fears he may be dealing with a serial killer. The story jumps quickly back and forth between characters and this method of story telling proves very effective after one becomes accustomed to it. The two little girls are the same age, but from different economic circumstances. Harvey does a fine job in showing us the devastation their disappearances cause their respective families.

Harvey is a fine writer and skilled at picturing the despair, danger and frustration of Nottingham's mean streets, where gangs of unemployed or underemployed youths take out their rage on each other. His Charlie Resnick is a bit of an outsider himself, having been born of Polish immigrants. He never seems to feel quite comfortable embracing either his Polishness or his Englishness. He's something of a loner. His marriage failed and his relationships usually fizzle as well.

He has great sympathy and concern for the victims he meets in his work, and for his crew of detectives, but his most solid relationships are with his four cats. I recommend this series without reservation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great work-classic crime thriller, June 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Off Minor (Charlie Resnick Series) (Paperback)

Six-year-old Gloria Summers simply vanished from the Lenton Recreation Ground where she was playing. Her parents are distraught and the police are totally stymied, as their investigation goes nowhere. Sixty-three days later the corpse of the little girl is found.

In a nearby neighborhood, six-year-old Emily Morrison has disappeared from her family's garden where she was playing. Like the Summers, Emily's family is distraught and at the end of their rope with despair. A desperate Inspector Charlie Resnick, feeling the pain of both families, begins a desperate search of the streets of Nottingham in order to avoid a second fatality from what appears to be a serial killer.

OFF MINOR is a reprint of a classic British police procedural that will thrill fans of the sub-genre. The story line is gripping, forcing readers to care and finish the story in one sitting. Charlie is one of the leading lights in mystery tales and the support cast adds a touch of authenticity to the novel. This reviewer strongly recommends readers who enjoy police procedurals or even just a damn good story, try the entire Resnick series because they are consistently of a quality level that would have pleased Dr. Deming.

Harriet Klausner