The Take (Windsor Selection) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Graham Hurley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002 | Series: Windsor Selection

Portsmouth is a city on the ropes. Parts of the city are as deprived as anywhere in the UK; it has the highest repossession rate in the country; only East London packs in its people more densely. As the city haemorrhages jobs the crime rate is soaring; it has the highest volume of cases going through the Crown Courts of anywhere in England. It is a city of contrasts: People in the bottom 5% of earners live alongside those in the top 5%; HMS Victory rests in the docks, the Royal Navy is pulling out. It is a poor, dirty city but a spirited one. And it is home for DI Joe Faraday. Joe Faraday is 42. Six foot tall, loose-limbed and with a slow smile, Faraday has made it in the CID through extraordinary diligence, an unswerving commitment to principle and an uncanny knack for gauging character. Slow to make friends, a widower, dedicated to bringing up his profoundly deaf son, Faraday pushes himself hard and expects the same from his colleagues. Stories abound in the Portsmouth North Division of the quiet DI's sudden, volcanic outbursts of fury directed at inferiors and superiors alike who haven't matched his own exacting standards. An enigma to those he works with, Faraday's refuge from the desperate business of policing his hometown is his passion for the natural world and the birdlife that teems on the beaches and estuaries of the South coast.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Quite simply the best police procedural I’ve read this year. -- Harlan Coben --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Graham Hurley was an award winning TV documentary producer. He has lived in Portsmouth for 22 years, writes a column for the local paper and is closely involved with the civic life of the city. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754017788
• ISBN-13: 978-0754017783
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,559,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Momentum -- A Study of Personal Motives, August 3, 2006

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Wayfaring Stranger (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Take (DI Joe Faraday) (Paperback)

Hurley's novel seems a bit stiff if you're used to reading Rankin or some of the American tough-guy procedurals. The mystery aspect of this piece involves two investigations, a missing quack and a exhibitionist who dresses as one (by hiding behind a Donald Duck mask). All the while these cases are being handled, DI Joe Faraday is trying to impose some form of contrition on a young driver whose irresponsibility caused a fatal car wreck that ended the life of his close friend and office assistant, Vanessa. (The driver was talking on his cell phone! I shudder to think what Faraday would have to say about the state of American drivers blabbling all through traffic day in and day out.) Anyway, this story unfolds through plot machinations that are not unusual for the police procedural genre, but the depth of characterization was highly enjoyable. If you're a fan of detective/thriller/police procedurals, and if you enjoy glimpses into the English mannerisms and dialect found throughout particular cities in the UK, then I recommend you give Faraday and his colleagues in the Portsmouth CID a go. I am curious about the first book in this series, as this second one seemed to focus on very personal moments (read: vendettas) in the lives of the characters. Perhaps the initial outing had a bit more punch and more of a compelling crime in the forefront (?)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rising Star, December 7, 2002

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Sapidity (Smalltown, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Take (DI Joe Faraday) (Paperback)

I have read both this book and the earlier Turnstone which are the first two books in a series of police procedurals set in Plymouth, England. Mr. Hurley bears comparison with John Harvey, Ian Rankin and the early Michael Connolly. Hurley's protagonist, Joe Faraday, and other characters are as well drawn and quirky as any of their characters. The stories move along and the plots hang together. They would appeal to anyone who likes procedurals or was a fan of the TV show Homicide. Highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great discovery, October 13, 2011

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Srdjan Pesic (Minneapolis, Mn United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take (A Di Joe Farady Investigation) (Hardcover)

Graham Hurley is unfortunately one of those British mystery writers who for some unfathomable reason is not published in the USA. His marvelous, realistic novels are not flashy and simple enough to sell zillion copies. In the society on the verge of colapse, DI Joe Faraday desperately tries to do his job.The cases that he deals with are dreary, the bosses make things worse, and other policemen are more trouble than they are worth.
I fell in love with these beautifuly written procedurals, and I managed to slowly get a hold of all of them. Great writer and exceptional books.