Game Over

May 12, 2008
In Harrod-Eagles's elegant 11th Bill Slider mystery (after 2005's Dear Departed
), the detective inspector investigates the murder of civil servant Ed Stonax, a former high-profile BBC correspondent, found dead with his skull smashed on the floor of his West London flat. Stonax had been looking into something to do with a building site in Scotland, but no one can break his computer code to find out exactly what. Meanwhile, Slider's ladies' man of an assistant, Jim Atherton, falls for Stonax's grieving daughter, Emily, and Slider and his musician love, Joanna, are trying to marry before their firstborn arrives. To complicate matters further, convicted murderer Trevor Bates (aka “The Needle”) is at large and threatening to get even with Slider. The various plot lines neatly intersect at the highest levels of government by the end of this appealing English whodunit.

May 1, 2008
In his 11th outing, London Detective Inspector Bill Slider ("Dear Departed") and his team are called to the apartment of investigative reporter Ed Stonax, who has been murdered. Despite finding no evidence, the team begins to piece together a case of great complexity that includes several other murders and the return of Slider's nemesis, Trevor Bates. Harrod-Eagles writes terrific crime novels, meshing fully realized characters with multilevel plot lines. The result is a pleasing combination of puzzle mystery and police procedural. This series will appeal to patrons who like Quentin Jardine, Stuart MacBride, and Barry Maitland.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2008
The versatile Harrod-Eagles is a dab hand at everything from historical romances and sweeping family sagas to teen fiction and police procedurals, and her latest book, another winning entry in the Bill Slider series, shows off her writing skills to perfection. Slider is soon to become a husband and, shortly afterward, a father, because his fianc'e, Joanna, is expecting their first child. But when journalist Ed Stonax is murdered, Slider must shift his priorities. Stonax was a respected newspaperman who resigned to join the government. Shortly afterward, he and a colleague were photographed in a compromising situation with a young woman, and Stonax suffered a spectacular fall from grace. Now he is dead, and Slider must find his killer. On top of that, Sliders old nemesis, arch-criminalTrevor Bates, has started a campaign of taunts and intimidation designed to annoy Slideror worse. Suddenly, Slider is juggling concern over Joannas pregnancy, death threats from Bates, and one of the most complex murder cases of his career. A bit slow to start, the story soon picks up speed and rumbles along to a satisfying finish. Like John Harveys Charley Resnick, Sliders mix of toughness, sensitivity, and melancholy works on all levels.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)