Protection [Hardcover]

Bill James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 1988

Underworld boss Bernie "Tenderness" Mellick is certainly paying a heavy price for maiming Ivor Wright with a blowlamp. For Wright's men have now kidnapped his eleven-year-old son Graham. Senior policemen Colin Harpur and Desmond Iles see their chance to nail a ruthless, sadistic villain.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A well-preserved, months-old corpse found in a community college classroom poses an irresistible mystery for Penelope Spring and Sir Tobias Glendower, recently made a Dame and a baronet for saving the British prime minister's life (in The Catacomb Conspiracy ). In Hyannisport, Mass., to visit their children and grandchildren (Toby's daughter is married to Penny's son), Penny and Sir Toby find their family time cut short by a bout of chicken pox. Looking for something to do, they agree to the urgings of none-too-bright Chief of Police Ernie Birnie, who wants them to find out why Clara Bacon, a teacher and community activist, was not reported missing in the several months after her death. Going their separate ways, Penny and Toby investigate which among Clara's causes may have led to her murder. Real-estate speculation, the raising of a sunken treasure ship and the claims of local Indians all provide tantalizing clues. Rejecting the chief's two prime suspects, the two sleuths propose a solution of their own and a hair-raising plan to prove it. Arnold's academic odd couple remain as literate and sophisticated as ever, although the small-town setting here doesn't show them off as well as did the metropolitan milieus of previous volumes.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Detective Superintendent Colin Harpur (Halo Parade, The Lolita Man, etc.) is again enmeshed in departmental politics: this time out, he discovers that if he wants to protect one of his snitches- -as well as a just-retired on-the-take pal from the force--he may have to endanger the life of gangster ``Tenderness'' Mellick's slow-witted young son, who was kidnapped by rival gang members. Harpur is soon stitching together a bogus story about corruptly rich Scott's undercover work that demanded he accept payoffs, while also trying to track down Mellick's son and prevent Mellick himself from pulling off a robbery to get the ransom money. Meanwhile, gang members are tossed from cars, buried in barns, and the few who are left have it in for the cops. Using information from his snitch and from Scott, and deftly planting evidence, Harpur saves a few reputations while continuing to sully his own--but it'll be up to young Mellick to rescue himself. Morals that would make a civil libertarian wince, but nonetheless a believable portrait of a longtime cop who thinks some crimes need to be punished more than others. Plus: a clever, if gloomy, spin on protecting one's mates. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Constable Co Ltd (April 25, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0094683905
• ISBN-13: 978-0094683907
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,995,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Police & Thieves in the Street Again, November 6, 2006

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Protection (Harpur & Iles S.) (Paperback)

This fourth entry in James' lengthy (20+ books) "Harpur + Iles" series is a welcome return to excellence after the last one, which was a little disappointing. As in all the books in the series, the story starts more or less in the middle of events, as we learn that a war between two protection racket gangsters has gotten extremely personal and ugly. In retaliation for having his privates blowtorched, Ivor Wright has kidnapped the mentally handicapped 11-year-old son of Bernie "Tenderness" Mellick. Meanwhile, one of the police force's old detectives is retiring just as an outside investigator is coming to take a long hard look at his career in response to rumors of corruption. Naturally, this ends up being connected to the war between the gangsters.

The story is pretty simple at its core, but has plenty of interesting threads going. After a two-book absence, superinformant Jack Straw reappears to tip Harpur off to the kidnapping, which, for obvious reasons, hasn't been reported. So, you have Harpur unofficially nosing around that case. At the same time, Tenderness is trying to keep his marriage together and lead his own investigation on the QT -- with the help of his colorful crew. Then there are the three cronies of Ivor Wright (two of whom have excellent gangster nicknames: Ancient Dave and Rick the Intelligent) who are nervously babysitting the kidnappee and waiting for events to play out. Meanwhile, the police force is trying to close ranks and stem any fallout from the impending investigation, while the retired copper is desperately seeking a lifeline. This all becomes a whirling kaleidoscope of murky ethics, semi-good intentions, and gray areas.

As always, Chief Lane doesn't leave much of an impression, Assistant Chief Iles spouts some crazy dialogue, Harpur's assistant Garland hovers unobtrusively in the background, Harpur's wife and kids make token appearances, and his paramour Ruth still plays an important part in his life. There's tons of action, from a hit on Wright, a bank heist, and the attempted recovery of the kid -- it's no wonder this is the one Harpur book to have been made into a film. Between the action and the various head games, James managed to pack a lot of entertainment into a mere 180 pages -- great stuff.