Wasted Years [Paperback]

John Harvey (Author), Harvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

A series of brutal robberies takes Detective Inspector Resnick back ten years, to a time when a rash of similar incidents left him face to face with a frenzied sociopath and to a time when his wife ran off with her lover leaving Resnick with a psychic wound that still hasn’t healed. Now with the look-alike robberies escalating into violence and poignant memories that threaten to overwhelm him, Resnick must track down the men before they kill.

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

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Harvey writes better crime novels than anyone in the world. His books transcend genre." -- The Denver Post

"In Wasted Years, Harvey deftly weaves past and present, blending the strands of character and story to form the kind of rich tapestry that lifts the police procedural into the realm of the mainstream novel." -- Sue Grafton

"Like Thelonius Monk and other jazz greats who make the mood music in his books,John Harvey likes to play with form. In Wasted Years, the fifth police procedural in a haunting series set in the industrial wasteland of Nottingham, the British novelist switches time frames like song keys to tell a story about the cold hopes and lost chances that breed crime in the red-brick provinces." -- The New York Times Book Review

"The prose is pared down and tersely elliptical-Wasted Years wastes littlelanguage. But, as always with Harvey, less is bountifully more." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

John Harvey just completed Last Rights, the final volume in his Charlie Resnick series, which Holt will publish in May. Six of the ten in the series are now available in Owl editions.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Owl Publishing Company (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805054995
• ISBN-13: 978-0805054996
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #520,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Series, August 24, 1999

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wasted Years (Paperback)

The fifth and strongest entry in Harvey's Charlie Resnick series is less sensational on the procedural side than previous outings, focusing on two separate sets of armed robberies. One set does a good job of portraying a bullying wayward youth and his aimless follower, while the other very high-end, hitting banks and armored cars, and is rooted in Resnick's past. Harvey effectively cuts back and forth between the present and 1981 in order to show the past events and characters. As usual, the private lives of the police squad is further developed.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than 99% of the genre, but not perfect, September 10, 1999

By 

Andrew Sherman (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wasted Years (Paperback)

This book is so much better written than 99% of the genre that it seems a pity to criticize it. However... there is a problem. The author uses characters' consumer choices as little labels. One person eats a Linda McCartney meal, another listens to Lionel Ritchie. You can't help but feel that he is laughing at them. Not so Resnick who has impeccable taste. Near the end a bad character hops into bed with a Jeffrey Archer novel. It is then you realize that he is damned.