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DEAR DEPARTED
by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
St Martin's Minotaur, November 2005
352 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0312347685


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I want to know why Cynthia Harrod-Eagles isn't a massive name in the crime fiction field. Like another under-rated Brit Stuart Pawson, she writes highly-enjoyable, well-plotted books with a heavy dash of humour and humanity.

DEAR DEPARTED is the tenth book to feature London Detective Inspector Bill Slider. And, as with the other books, it's like slipping into a comfy pair of slippers as you renew old acquaintances with Slider, partner Joanna and colleague Jim Atherton.

A large part of the fun of Harrod-Eagles' books is that relaxed writing style, complete with puns. Her love of language always puts me in mind of Reginald Hill -- and if there was any justice in the world, she'd be as well known as St Reg!

DEAR DEPARTED is set in Slider's usual Shepherd's Bush patch. He's been hoping for some quality time with pregnant fiancee Joanna, but the discovery of a body in a park puts paid to that.

The dead woman turns out to be Chattie Cornfeld, who works in PR and is connected with an up-and-coming young band. The more Slider and Co delver into Chattie's background, the more they discover that she seems too good to be true. So was she really Ms Perfect, or was she harbouring a dark and dodgy private life?

DEAR DEPARTED is an absolute delight to read. Harrod-Eagles boasts a distinctive writing style that most authors would sell their first-born for. The plays on words which are so much a feature of the series never become tiresome. And the dialogue zings off the page. Oh, and Harrod-Eagles plots like a dream as well.

Half the fun of this series is watching the characters move and grow. It looks like Slider has found some domestic stability; shame the same can't be said for debonair Jim Atherton.

I devoured this book in an afternoon and adored every sentence of it. As usual, there's a teaser for the next book. So I sincerely hope that the rumour that Harrod-Eagles has been dropped by her UK publisher is untrue. This is a series that stays fresh as a daisy.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, November 2005

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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