Orchestrated Death: #1 Bill Slider (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) [Paperback]

Cythia Harrod-Eagles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 16, 2009 | Series: Felony & Mayhem Mysteries

Bill Slider, a middle-aged, straight-arrow London cop, finds his life thrown into passionate disarray by the murder of a mysterious young violinist. The writing is irresistibly clever and heavily laced with the very best puns, many of which work best with an English accent. The character, for instance, who has a cat named Oedipus? To an American, that?s not particularly amusing. But take a minute to remember that the Brits pronounce the name with a long ?e???EE -dipus.? The cat, after all, is aptly named, because ?Ee-da-puss wot lives ?ere.?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this masterful debut, a beleaguered British detective struggles to solve a series of murders that shake up the world of classical music.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Felony & Mayhem; Reprint edition (July 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934609226
• ISBN-13: 978-1934609224
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,227 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hurray for British Detective Novels, November 16, 2000

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orchestrated Death (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my first time reading a book with Inspector Bill Slider, and this is the first in the series. I will certainly be reading the rest. This is a great detective story. Tight plot, great characters, and enough human interest to keep your attention. Slider is an endearing hero, a good cop, a sweet man, and enough humbleness to make you like him a lot. I definitely recommend this series.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging British police procedural, September 3, 2000

By 

Sheila L. Beaumont (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orchestrated Death (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first in Ms. Harrod-Eagles' engaging police-procedural series featuring the likable and very human policeman Bill Slider. While he's content with his rank of inspector, his socially ambitious wife constantly nags him to go after promotion. The intricately plotted story involves a murdered female violinist, an extremely valuable Stradivarius, some large tins of olive oil from Italy, the mob, a key witness whom Slider finds very attractive, and a veterinarian who isn't exactly James Herriot. There's a good chance that readers who like Ruth Rendell's Wexford novels or Reginald Hill's Dalziel/Pascoe mysteries will enjoy this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Perfect., June 30, 2009

By 

Amanda Peck "amanda931" (Waynesboro) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orchestrated Death: #1 Bill Slider (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Paperback)

I first read this book years ago, then lost track of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' Bill Slider mysteries.

Rediscovered them recently.

This one in particular is wonderful. A strange combination of police procedural and (sometimes very) British humor A knowledge of ALICE IN WONDERLAND helps. It also helps if you grew up in a family for whom punning was a way of life. "You've been eating razor soup" was what my mother's family said to the worst of the punsters. Here's an example--Sergeant Atherton's cat is "unimaginatively named Oedipus." Huh? Try dividing it into three words, using a long E, in the British style for the first. I'm kind of looking for [...] who can carry that name.

But it's not all a barrel of laughs (or wondering what British-ism you've missed there). The victim's life, as it's unraveled by the investigators, is sad, And we get caught up as she tries to escape the fate closing in on her. And it is unraveled by the investigators, not seen through her eyes.