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Harpur & Iles #15

by Bill James

Up-and-coming drug lord Keith Vine likes the fine work of his best pusher, Eleri ap Vaughan, who sells to the rich on the floating restaurant The Eton Boating Song, but when Eleri strays (gets supplies from someone else), Vine kills her. Her death is intended as a message to the other players to stay loyal, but instead - amid fears of an intended invasion from the London syndicate (in the person of a lurking stranger, "Lovely Mover") - it sets off a murderous struggle for control. Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, working undercover as Vine's supposed partner, now finds himself in increasing danger, and only one person suspects what he's up to - his sneering superior ACC Desmond Iles, a man he can't always trust. Before the story comes to its exciting conclusion, Harpur will be lucky to get out alive.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

263 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 1998

About the author

Bill James (born 1929) is a pseudonym of James Tucker, a Welsh novelist. He also writes under his own name and the pseudonyms David Craig and Judith Jones. He was a reporter with the Daily Mirror and various other newspapers after serving with the RAF He is married, with four children, and lives in South Wales.

The bulk of his output under the Bill James pseudonym is the Harpur and Iles series. Colin Harpur is a Detective Chief Inspector and Desmond Iles is the Assistant Chief Constable in an unnamed coastal city in southwestern England. Harpur and Iles are complemented by an evolving cast of other recurring characters on both sides of the law. The books are characterized by a grim humour and a bleak view of the relationship between the public, the police force and the criminal element. The first few are designated "A Detective Colin Harpur Novel" but as the series progressed they began to be published with the designation "A Harpur & Iles Mystery".

His best known work, written under the "David Craig" pseudonym and originally titled Whose Little Girl are You, is The Squeeze, which was turned into a film starring Stacy Keach, Edward Fox and David Hemmings. The fourth Harpur & Iles novel, Protection, was televised by the BBC in 1996 as Harpur & Iles, starring Aneirin Hughes as Harpur and Hywel Bennett as Iles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_James_(novelist)

Reviews

[Bill Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harpur undercover with one of the younger drug lords, whose ambitions are threatened by London poachers. Also threatened is Panicking Ralph, who must survive disloyal employees and a power move by his supplier. Harpur finds himself at great risk when he wants to get out and as usual must contend with ACC Iles who is more interested in one of Harpur's daughters than Harpur's safety.
Well written as always with an interesting psychological profile of the young drug dealer. Some clever plot twists and plenty of red herrings as well as the usual cross purpose dialogue most of the characters engage in that sets this series apart from other police procedural crime fiction.

[Tom]

A well-above-average Harpur & Iles, with excellent activity by "Panicking" Ralph Ember (recently reread).

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh yes, lovely mover, that's Bill James. the most under-rated crime writer in the UK.