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Bill Slider #19
Old Bones
“Harrod-Eagles graces her narrative with a quiet wit that makes the book a pleasure to read” - Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Another sterling entry in a truly outstanding series” - Booklist Starred Review
DCI Bill Slider tackles the coldest of cold cases in this absorbing mystery.
A young couple discover human remains buried in the garden of their new could this be the resting place of 14-year-old Amanda Knight, who disappeared from the same garden two decades before, and was never seen again?
The problem comes almost as a relief to DCI Slider, still suffering from the fallout of his previous case. He is not popular with the Powers That Be, and his immediate boss, Detective Superintendent Porson, reckons that at least this little puzzle will keep Slider out of trouble. After all, with a murder twenty years in the past, this is the coldest of cold cases. Most of the suspects and principal players are now dead too, and all passion is long spent … Or is it?
Another sterling entry in a truly outstanding series” - Booklist Starred Review
DCI Bill Slider tackles the coldest of cold cases in this absorbing mystery.
A young couple discover human remains buried in the garden of their new could this be the resting place of 14-year-old Amanda Knight, who disappeared from the same garden two decades before, and was never seen again?
The problem comes almost as a relief to DCI Slider, still suffering from the fallout of his previous case. He is not popular with the Powers That Be, and his immediate boss, Detective Superintendent Porson, reckons that at least this little puzzle will keep Slider out of trouble. After all, with a murder twenty years in the past, this is the coldest of cold cases. Most of the suspects and principal players are now dead too, and all passion is long spent … Or is it?
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2017
52 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
169 books495 followersCynthia Harrod-Eagles (aka Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett)
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles was born on 13 August 1948 in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, where was educated at Burlington School, a girls' charity school founded in 1699, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.
She had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, starting as a junior cashier at Woolworth's and working her way down to Pensions Officer at the BBC.
She wrote her first novel while at university and in 1972 won the Young Writers' Award with The Waiting Game. The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled Cynthia Harrod-Eagles to become a full-time writer in 1979. The series was originally intended to comprise twelve volumes, but it has proved so popular that it has now been extended to thirty-four.
In 1993 she won the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award with Emily, the third volume of her Kirov Saga, a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles was born on 13 August 1948 in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, where was educated at Burlington School, a girls' charity school founded in 1699, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.
She had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, starting as a junior cashier at Woolworth's and working her way down to Pensions Officer at the BBC.
She wrote her first novel while at university and in 1972 won the Young Writers' Award with The Waiting Game. The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled Cynthia Harrod-Eagles to become a full-time writer in 1979. The series was originally intended to comprise twelve volumes, but it has proved so popular that it has now been extended to thirty-four.
In 1993 she won the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award with Emily, the third volume of her Kirov Saga, a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
January 16, 2022
Toby and Nicola Freeling moved into their new home at 15 Laburnum Avenue about 10 months ago. They engaged a contractor to pull down a rickety old shed at the end of the garden and build a better, bigger one in its place. But work stops when the contractor finds what looks like a human femur as he is digging. Police are called and soon a human skeleton is uncovered. It looks to be a teenage girl who has been in the ground for about 20 years - give or take a few years.
Superintendent Porson is delighted - here is a case for DCI Bill Slider to investigate without stepping on important toes! The previous owners, the Barnards, are chased down but they didn’t have a girl of the right age. Then police learn that 25 years ago Amanda Jane Knight disappeared from that address when the Knights owned the house. She was an only child and were never any clues as to whereabouts. Her father was suspected of killing her but he is now dead as are many of the other potential leads.
This was a difficult and tedious investigation that stretched the team considerably but Slider is not giving up - particularly as the events of the previous book look like not going before the courts. The whole team is despondent. This book has lots of references to the previous case and one of the team resigns at the end to seek custody of one of the very young victims. As Slider looks at increasingly remote clues, something clicks and the twist at the end is surprising and very well done. I enjoyed this one very much.
Superintendent Porson is delighted - here is a case for DCI Bill Slider to investigate without stepping on important toes! The previous owners, the Barnards, are chased down but they didn’t have a girl of the right age. Then police learn that 25 years ago Amanda Jane Knight disappeared from that address when the Knights owned the house. She was an only child and were never any clues as to whereabouts. Her father was suspected of killing her but he is now dead as are many of the other potential leads.
This was a difficult and tedious investigation that stretched the team considerably but Slider is not giving up - particularly as the events of the previous book look like not going before the courts. The whole team is despondent. This book has lots of references to the previous case and one of the team resigns at the end to seek custody of one of the very young victims. As Slider looks at increasingly remote clues, something clicks and the twist at the end is surprising and very well done. I enjoyed this one very much.
January 7, 2020
A new year and a new author for me to try and one where I now have to go back and read the other 18 in the series because I enjoyed this so much. I really need to get on board with writers at the start!
The thing I enjoyed most about this is not a huge amount happened really. Some old bones are found that look to belong to a girl who went missing 25 years ago and the detectives set about finding out the whodunnit. Apart from a DNA test that becomes important later in the book, there's no forensics just interviewing, footwork and brain power. It's quite refreshing and at the same time there's no drag in the story.
There's a sub plot from something that appears to have happened in previous books but I didn't feel I needed to read them (only want) to understand that part. There's a gentle humour between the detective team and no one seems to have any damaged pasts (again based on the one book). Again...refreshing.
I really enjoyed the pace and unravelling of the mystery. Full marks
The thing I enjoyed most about this is not a huge amount happened really. Some old bones are found that look to belong to a girl who went missing 25 years ago and the detectives set about finding out the whodunnit. Apart from a DNA test that becomes important later in the book, there's no forensics just interviewing, footwork and brain power. It's quite refreshing and at the same time there's no drag in the story.
There's a sub plot from something that appears to have happened in previous books but I didn't feel I needed to read them (only want) to understand that part. There's a gentle humour between the detective team and no one seems to have any damaged pasts (again based on the one book). Again...refreshing.
I really enjoyed the pace and unravelling of the mystery. Full marks
August 7, 2017
3.5 STARS
A human skeleton is found in the garden of a house newly inhabited by a young couple. Twenty years ago teenager Amanda Knight disappeared from the same area. Could this be the missing teen?
DCI Bill Slider and his team are charged with investigating. But after so many years, there is no evidence, and a lot of the people who were questioned back then are no longer in the area or have passed.
With police corruption hanging over their heads, Slider almsot welcomes a cold case. It will keep him busy and keep him out of the public eye at the same time.
This is the 19th book featuring DCI Bill Slider. While reading this one, there are a lot of references to previous cases. The book was not fast paced, and it was more mysterious than suspenseful. I did enjoy the characters and the humor that sparked along the way. OLD BONES is a fairly good British police procedural.
Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of OLD BONES. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
A human skeleton is found in the garden of a house newly inhabited by a young couple. Twenty years ago teenager Amanda Knight disappeared from the same area. Could this be the missing teen?
DCI Bill Slider and his team are charged with investigating. But after so many years, there is no evidence, and a lot of the people who were questioned back then are no longer in the area or have passed.
With police corruption hanging over their heads, Slider almsot welcomes a cold case. It will keep him busy and keep him out of the public eye at the same time.
This is the 19th book featuring DCI Bill Slider. While reading this one, there are a lot of references to previous cases. The book was not fast paced, and it was more mysterious than suspenseful. I did enjoy the characters and the humor that sparked along the way. OLD BONES is a fairly good British police procedural.
Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of OLD BONES. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
July 28, 2019
A solid police procedural portraying the right amount of office politics, hard work, and intelligence. DCI Bill Slider did seem to have ruffled a few feathers in the office in his previous book which caused him to be assigned to old bones.
Bones were found in the garden by a young couple, and they were surmised to have been buried 20 years ago. 14 year old Amanda Knight had disappeared from the garden around the same time. A most difficult of all cold cases, there seemed to be no leads. The suspects and the witnesses were dead or lost. Nobody seemed to know much.
My first book by author Cynthia Harrod Eagles, and it took me some time to get oriented to the characters and their style of working. This was the 19th book in the series, my first, it started slow, and it was difficult to follow the way the office worked with the fallout of the previous case. But once the investigation started rolling, it was one wicked ride.
DCI Slider and his team form a cohesive team who painstakingly followed every single path they could, even if it led to a dead end. Their passion and single mindedness had to be commended upon. The author had made them quite interesting, enough for me to get hooked to the plot.
The whole book was a routine police procedural, it went where it was supposed to go until the last few chapters. Then it turned upon itself and gave me the shock of my reading life when a massive twist was revealed. I COULD HAVE NEVER IMAGINED THE DIRECTION THE PLOT WOULD GO!!
The book finished with the explosive end where the team had to work with the new reveal. Slider was fantastic at the way he deduced the right perp. One more killer caught, on to my next!!
Bones were found in the garden by a young couple, and they were surmised to have been buried 20 years ago. 14 year old Amanda Knight had disappeared from the garden around the same time. A most difficult of all cold cases, there seemed to be no leads. The suspects and the witnesses were dead or lost. Nobody seemed to know much.
My first book by author Cynthia Harrod Eagles, and it took me some time to get oriented to the characters and their style of working. This was the 19th book in the series, my first, it started slow, and it was difficult to follow the way the office worked with the fallout of the previous case. But once the investigation started rolling, it was one wicked ride.
DCI Slider and his team form a cohesive team who painstakingly followed every single path they could, even if it led to a dead end. Their passion and single mindedness had to be commended upon. The author had made them quite interesting, enough for me to get hooked to the plot.
The whole book was a routine police procedural, it went where it was supposed to go until the last few chapters. Then it turned upon itself and gave me the shock of my reading life when a massive twist was revealed. I COULD HAVE NEVER IMAGINED THE DIRECTION THE PLOT WOULD GO!!
The book finished with the explosive end where the team had to work with the new reveal. Slider was fantastic at the way he deduced the right perp. One more killer caught, on to my next!!
August 2, 2019
This is the first Bill Slider book and Cynthia Harrod-Eagles book that I have read and I loved it.
I checked the copyright several times as there is very much a retro feel to the story-there are DNA tests that take a real world time frame to come back, very real dogged policework which relies on communication skills, eye for details which has the feel of an older book.
Bill Slider is a detective on the outs-an investigation into child sex abuse and exploitation which reached as high as a commanding officer has left him with a small coterie of loyal staff anddetermination to make investigation Neptune bring justice to the girls he dealt with in the previous book . There are enough details and carrying on of the story in this to make me want to go back and read it whilst carrying on the story as a side plot.
The main story concerns the discovery of human remians in a residential back garden.
The owners are furious, and demanding compensation from the police in a darkly funny scene where the police have to search the whole property-the spectre of Rose and Fred West and John Christie looming over the proceedings.
The bones turn out to belong to a young girl, and here begins the paper trail as the detectives work backwards through time to establish the previous owners, the way the street was laid out 25 years ago as well as identifying who the bones belong to.
The key to this book is that the characters are built through the dialogue. Most of the story would easily be doubled by another writer, here the author skilfully uses vernacular and colloquialisms to go back and forth between suspects, witnesses and past residents. You have a sense that Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has a keen ear for the way people talk and what they reveal is as important as the pasues they take-or don't-between breaths.
I worked out what was going on half way through the book but that absolutely did not spoil my enjoyment of this police procedural-the joy is in reading the journey of the whoudunnit rather than just the thrill of working it out.
I am hopeful that there will be more in this series and would recommend it to fans of police procedurals, detective fiction and mysteries.
I checked the copyright several times as there is very much a retro feel to the story-there are DNA tests that take a real world time frame to come back, very real dogged policework which relies on communication skills, eye for details which has the feel of an older book.
Bill Slider is a detective on the outs-an investigation into child sex abuse and exploitation which reached as high as a commanding officer has left him with a small coterie of loyal staff anddetermination to make investigation Neptune bring justice to the girls he dealt with in the previous book . There are enough details and carrying on of the story in this to make me want to go back and read it whilst carrying on the story as a side plot.
The main story concerns the discovery of human remians in a residential back garden.
The owners are furious, and demanding compensation from the police in a darkly funny scene where the police have to search the whole property-the spectre of Rose and Fred West and John Christie looming over the proceedings.
The bones turn out to belong to a young girl, and here begins the paper trail as the detectives work backwards through time to establish the previous owners, the way the street was laid out 25 years ago as well as identifying who the bones belong to.
The key to this book is that the characters are built through the dialogue. Most of the story would easily be doubled by another writer, here the author skilfully uses vernacular and colloquialisms to go back and forth between suspects, witnesses and past residents. You have a sense that Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has a keen ear for the way people talk and what they reveal is as important as the pasues they take-or don't-between breaths.
I worked out what was going on half way through the book but that absolutely did not spoil my enjoyment of this police procedural-the joy is in reading the journey of the whoudunnit rather than just the thrill of working it out.
I am hopeful that there will be more in this series and would recommend it to fans of police procedurals, detective fiction and mysteries.
August 5, 2019
Old Bones by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a really good police procedural. When I started reading this book, I wasn’t aware that this was the nineteenth book in the DCI Bill Slider series. Although I may have missed out on some character development from the previous books, the story-line was very easy to follow. I had no trouble at all in settling into it.
The discovery of human remains in a back garden re-opens a haunting mystery which has never been solved. It dawns on the police that they may be the remains of fourteen-year-old Amanda Knight, who vanished decades earlier. She has never been seen since. The remains have been found in Amanda’s former home. A murder investigation is launched, and the police go back to square one to try and finally unearth what happened to her. Can they finally uncover the answers to this cold case?
I loved Cynthia Harrod-Eagle’s writing. Her description is what made her writing stand-out for me, and it pulled me into the story. The mystery here is really engaging as well. I kept thinking, as I was reading, that it was someone close to the girl’s family who knew the full truth. Cynthia had me peering a little more closely at all the characters directly linked to the crime, to see if they could be involved. I really enjoyed trying to work the mystery out.
After the discovery of the remains, the police have to go back to square one, and this means re-interviewing people, who were witnesses to the crime. Although this does prove tricky for the police as many have either moved on or passed away. It seemed to be painstaking work for the police as they had to sift through old information. But as they managed to trace people and after speaking to them, little details begin to emerge about what may have happened. There were some chilling revelations.
As the plot began to come together, I was able to guess the direction it was going to go, but I would never have thought of it right at the beginning of the book. As everything began to become clearer, I just had to read on to find out what was going to happen.
If you haven’t yet tried a book by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, I would definitely recommend giving this book a go.
The discovery of human remains in a back garden re-opens a haunting mystery which has never been solved. It dawns on the police that they may be the remains of fourteen-year-old Amanda Knight, who vanished decades earlier. She has never been seen since. The remains have been found in Amanda’s former home. A murder investigation is launched, and the police go back to square one to try and finally unearth what happened to her. Can they finally uncover the answers to this cold case?
I loved Cynthia Harrod-Eagle’s writing. Her description is what made her writing stand-out for me, and it pulled me into the story. The mystery here is really engaging as well. I kept thinking, as I was reading, that it was someone close to the girl’s family who knew the full truth. Cynthia had me peering a little more closely at all the characters directly linked to the crime, to see if they could be involved. I really enjoyed trying to work the mystery out.
After the discovery of the remains, the police have to go back to square one, and this means re-interviewing people, who were witnesses to the crime. Although this does prove tricky for the police as many have either moved on or passed away. It seemed to be painstaking work for the police as they had to sift through old information. But as they managed to trace people and after speaking to them, little details begin to emerge about what may have happened. There were some chilling revelations.
As the plot began to come together, I was able to guess the direction it was going to go, but I would never have thought of it right at the beginning of the book. As everything began to become clearer, I just had to read on to find out what was going to happen.
If you haven’t yet tried a book by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, I would definitely recommend giving this book a go.
February 13, 2017
More work for the Shepherd's Bush police station but luckily this is a cold case. DI Bill Slider is still treading carefully after uncovering senior figures up to no good in the last book. Now a garden reveals the remains of a young woman or girl, and Slider's crew have to investigate who she may have been and how she died.
The painstaking work is well detailed with antediluvian filing methods and evidence storage revealed; interviews are tricky because possible witnesses have moved away or died. The station staff are not too exercised about the outcome it must be said, and some of their lives are shown, slightly out of step at times. A couple of new transfers are added and with regret we see an old hand decide to move in other directions.
For fans of the series or indeed anyone coming to the books for the first time, this is a good read.
I downloaded a copy from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.
The painstaking work is well detailed with antediluvian filing methods and evidence storage revealed; interviews are tricky because possible witnesses have moved away or died. The station staff are not too exercised about the outcome it must be said, and some of their lives are shown, slightly out of step at times. A couple of new transfers are added and with regret we see an old hand decide to move in other directions.
For fans of the series or indeed anyone coming to the books for the first time, this is a good read.
I downloaded a copy from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.
August 11, 2018
I've only got one more to read in this clever and reliable series until the author writes another. I'll have to be patient and pace myself. This one involves the discovery of a girl's skeleton buried behind a small house in London. Twenty-five years ago the girl who lived there disappeared and was never found. Her father was immediately suspected of abusing and murdering her, but no evidence was ever discovered. He has since died. The solution to this one occurred to me fairly early as a notional possibility, but it seemed too far-fetched to be really quite possible. Harrod-Eagles works it out with such well-drawn characters and circumstances that she makes it finally seem not just possible but plausible. And of course there are the usual (for this series) puns, jokes, and teasing among the team of detectives. One of them though, decides at the end to leave the force and pursue other interests. I'll miss her.
November 2, 2016
This is my first Bill Slider police procedural, and I just realized there are many more to enjoy.
It was a nice surprise to discover how much I liked the book since I was not much impressed with the cover.
Old Bones is about the discovery of a skeleton in a garden. Bill Slider's boss thinks an obviously cold case will keep his detective out of trouble since Slider's previous investigation of an underage sex ring involving upper echelons in the police hierarchy has put him under a cloud.
The case does get under Slider's skin. The skeleton of a fourteen-year-old girl who went missing two decades previously will be difficult--memories of the day Amanda Knight disappeared are twenty years old, files are missing, and possible suspects are dead or have moved away, but Slider's team will give it every effort.
Old Bones is an excellent police procedural with good characterization and an intriguing plot. That alone would have been enough, but what raises the bar even further is Harrod-Eagles writing. She skillfully maneuvers all elements of the story--the characters, plot, and pacing.
And then there are the occasional lines that brought a little humor, an allusion, or a neat comparison:
"That's what I like about you, Maurice," Swilley said sweetly. "Always ready to go the extra meal."
"...as lively as a botoxed brow."
"You're no fun on a road rip, Thelma."
on architectural styles: "Twentieth Century Insensitive"
All in all, a book to be enjoyed on many levels, but first and foremost the competence of the author in presenting a serious and intriguing cold case police procedural.
Favorite minor character: Connie Bindman, the police archivist.
Read in Oct.; blog review scheduled for Jan. 23, 2017. A Garden Carried in the Pocket
NetGalley/Severn House
Police Procedural/Mystery. Feb. 1, 2017. Print length: 265 pages.
It was a nice surprise to discover how much I liked the book since I was not much impressed with the cover.
Old Bones is about the discovery of a skeleton in a garden. Bill Slider's boss thinks an obviously cold case will keep his detective out of trouble since Slider's previous investigation of an underage sex ring involving upper echelons in the police hierarchy has put him under a cloud.
The case does get under Slider's skin. The skeleton of a fourteen-year-old girl who went missing two decades previously will be difficult--memories of the day Amanda Knight disappeared are twenty years old, files are missing, and possible suspects are dead or have moved away, but Slider's team will give it every effort.
Old Bones is an excellent police procedural with good characterization and an intriguing plot. That alone would have been enough, but what raises the bar even further is Harrod-Eagles writing. She skillfully maneuvers all elements of the story--the characters, plot, and pacing.
And then there are the occasional lines that brought a little humor, an allusion, or a neat comparison:
"That's what I like about you, Maurice," Swilley said sweetly. "Always ready to go the extra meal."
"...as lively as a botoxed brow."
"You're no fun on a road rip, Thelma."
on architectural styles: "Twentieth Century Insensitive"
All in all, a book to be enjoyed on many levels, but first and foremost the competence of the author in presenting a serious and intriguing cold case police procedural.
Favorite minor character: Connie Bindman, the police archivist.
Read in Oct.; blog review scheduled for Jan. 23, 2017. A Garden Carried in the Pocket
NetGalley/Severn House
Police Procedural/Mystery. Feb. 1, 2017. Print length: 265 pages.
July 16, 2019
4 and 1 / 2 stars
DCI Bill Slider has offended the chain of command once again. This time it was for not backing off when he discovered one of the senior officers was involved in an underage sex scandal. So to teach him a lesson and keep him in his place he is assigned a twenty-something year old cold case. Some bones have been found in a garden and he is to investigate.
Slider gathers his team together and they begin their investigation. They check records to see who owned the house, interview neighbors and try to identify the young teenage girl. The pathologist can offer no definite cause of death.
A possible identity is found. She is the daughter of some people who lived in the home. Her name was Amanda Knight. Slider and DS Atherton go to visit the elderly man who was the SIO on the missing persons case. He states that he suspected Amanda's father in her disappearance from the start, but could never find enough evidence to charge him. Slider’s team track down Amanda's mother; her father has passed away. While the police are nearly certain that the remains are Amanda's, they take a DNA sample from her mother. The old file on the disappearance is remarkably slim. Did the detectives at the time do a poor job?
This book outlines the detailed and painstaking investigation of the death of a young girl some twenty-five years earlier. It is extremely well written and plotted and shows an exhaustive knowledge of police work. It describes the highs and lows that police officers experience during the course of any investigation. I really like DCI Slider and his wife Joanna. They make a beautiful couple. Slider's usual partner Atherton is a bright young guy on his way up. Despite some minor grumbling here and there, Slider's team works together very well. I truly enjoy reading about DCI Slider and Ms. Harrod-Eagles is a fantastic author. I love the way she slipped in that huge twist toward the end of the novel. More please!
I want to thank NetGalley and Black Thorn for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely great book for me to read, enjoy and review.
DCI Bill Slider has offended the chain of command once again. This time it was for not backing off when he discovered one of the senior officers was involved in an underage sex scandal. So to teach him a lesson and keep him in his place he is assigned a twenty-something year old cold case. Some bones have been found in a garden and he is to investigate.
Slider gathers his team together and they begin their investigation. They check records to see who owned the house, interview neighbors and try to identify the young teenage girl. The pathologist can offer no definite cause of death.
A possible identity is found. She is the daughter of some people who lived in the home. Her name was Amanda Knight. Slider and DS Atherton go to visit the elderly man who was the SIO on the missing persons case. He states that he suspected Amanda's father in her disappearance from the start, but could never find enough evidence to charge him. Slider’s team track down Amanda's mother; her father has passed away. While the police are nearly certain that the remains are Amanda's, they take a DNA sample from her mother. The old file on the disappearance is remarkably slim. Did the detectives at the time do a poor job?
This book outlines the detailed and painstaking investigation of the death of a young girl some twenty-five years earlier. It is extremely well written and plotted and shows an exhaustive knowledge of police work. It describes the highs and lows that police officers experience during the course of any investigation. I really like DCI Slider and his wife Joanna. They make a beautiful couple. Slider's usual partner Atherton is a bright young guy on his way up. Despite some minor grumbling here and there, Slider's team works together very well. I truly enjoy reading about DCI Slider and Ms. Harrod-Eagles is a fantastic author. I love the way she slipped in that huge twist toward the end of the novel. More please!
I want to thank NetGalley and Black Thorn for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely great book for me to read, enjoy and review.
July 11, 2022
Bill Slider--a London detective whose mishandling of an earlier investigation continues to annoy the brass--has been assigned a real iceberg of a case: bones have been found in a suburban garden, apparently belonging to a teenaged girl who went missing twenty years ago. Who put her there? Was she the victim of an accident, or was she murdered? If the latter, was it her father who did it--dead for years, he was rumored to have had a volatile temper--or her mother? What about her philandering uncle, himself the target of ugly rumors about his penchant for pretty young girls? As Slider and the men and women on his team journey into the past, secrets are revealed, old wounds are scraped raw. and the surprising truth finally emerges. The characters are real--including the cops, who are all tough, even vulnerable, and consistently hard to fool--the dialogue is sharp, and Harrod-Eagles' wryly humorous prose will keep you chuckling throughout. A subplot involving an underage sex ring (Slider's earlier failure) has its moments, too. This was my first Slider police procedural, and it won't be my last. A "good read", indeed.
March 21, 2021
An in-depth glimpse into police procedure. The book provides a detailed account of the investigation by DCI Slider and his detective squad after a skeletal remains are uncovered in a garden. The author takes us through the ups and downs of interrogation. As the plot twists, it remains (pardon the pun) unclear if a deceased higher-up policeman is somehow involved. Eventually, things begin to sort themselves out and the killer is brought to justice.
July 14, 2019
It has been a while since I read a book in the Bill Slider series and this book didn't disappoint. Great storyline and I had no idea how it was going to end until the end. Great read
Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy
Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy
January 30, 2021
This is the first crime novel of Cynthis Harrod Eagles that I have read. I have read her Morland history series. I enjoyed it and found it a good example of a police procedural novel. I hadnt realised it was so late in the series but it was easy to pick up as a story. I would read more.
July 31, 2019
Classic and excellent English police procedural with a shocking twist at the end.
December 21, 2022
New to me British detective mystery series (Bill Slider) by a very prolific writer. Engaging read start to finish.
July 17, 2022
Old bones turn up just when Bill Slider needs a 'win' for his crew. Should be simple, right? Another puzzler for Bill Slider and his group.
October 22, 2016
I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of Old Bones, the nineteenth novel in Ms Harrod-Eagles series of place procedurals featuring DCI Bill Slider.
After the events of the previous novel, One Under, Bill is decidedly not flavour of the month with the brass and Superintendent Porson, much to Bill's disgust, advises him to keep his head well below the parapet. To this end he allows a full scale investigation of a skeleton found in a suburban garden during the erection of a new shed. The bones would appear to be those of a teenager buried about 20 years ago but there is no apparent cause of death. After a fair amount of trawling (I hesitate to say digging, though Ms Harrod-Eagle wouldn't) through non computer records they tentatively identify the bones as those of Amanda Knight, a 14 year old teenager who vanished from the same garden in 1990. Cold cases, however, present their own problems, not least finding witnesses and jogging their faded memories. Throughout it all police politics and their last case rumble along in the background.
Old Bones is a first class procedural. I must admit that I guessed the twist at the end but it didn't spoil my enjoyment. With it being a cold case there is none of the modern fad of inserting the perpetrator's thoughts and feelings and it concentrates wholly on the investigation, its progress and the team's reactions to each new piece of information. I found the slow, logical build up to the reveal fascinating as the clues are all there for you to work it out and it was difficult to put the book down.
Bill Slider is a pleasant protagonist. He is mildly anti-authoritarian, not a great character attribute in a hierarchical organisation like the police, and prepared to stand up for his views, even if it may be career suicide and sometimes it seems that his boss, Superintendent Porson, exists to stop him being reckless. He is a bit of an Everyman, standing up for victims at personal cost, intent on doing right, very solicitous of his team and managing to hold on to his sense of humour. The novel is not a comedy but the team have a few good lines of banter to make you smile.
I really enjoyed Old Bones and have no hesitation in recommending it as an excellent read.
After the events of the previous novel, One Under, Bill is decidedly not flavour of the month with the brass and Superintendent Porson, much to Bill's disgust, advises him to keep his head well below the parapet. To this end he allows a full scale investigation of a skeleton found in a suburban garden during the erection of a new shed. The bones would appear to be those of a teenager buried about 20 years ago but there is no apparent cause of death. After a fair amount of trawling (I hesitate to say digging, though Ms Harrod-Eagle wouldn't) through non computer records they tentatively identify the bones as those of Amanda Knight, a 14 year old teenager who vanished from the same garden in 1990. Cold cases, however, present their own problems, not least finding witnesses and jogging their faded memories. Throughout it all police politics and their last case rumble along in the background.
Old Bones is a first class procedural. I must admit that I guessed the twist at the end but it didn't spoil my enjoyment. With it being a cold case there is none of the modern fad of inserting the perpetrator's thoughts and feelings and it concentrates wholly on the investigation, its progress and the team's reactions to each new piece of information. I found the slow, logical build up to the reveal fascinating as the clues are all there for you to work it out and it was difficult to put the book down.
Bill Slider is a pleasant protagonist. He is mildly anti-authoritarian, not a great character attribute in a hierarchical organisation like the police, and prepared to stand up for his views, even if it may be career suicide and sometimes it seems that his boss, Superintendent Porson, exists to stop him being reckless. He is a bit of an Everyman, standing up for victims at personal cost, intent on doing right, very solicitous of his team and managing to hold on to his sense of humour. The novel is not a comedy but the team have a few good lines of banter to make you smile.
I really enjoyed Old Bones and have no hesitation in recommending it as an excellent read.
November 9, 2017
I love Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' Bill Slider character. He's such an everyday guy and such a great boss to his CID team in Shepherd's Bush, London. Ms. Harrod-Eagles' sly sense of humour, and dry wit beams out on almost every page of every book in this series starting with the puns that are used in all chapter titles. In this case, Bill and his team are dealing with a set of "old bones", that have been buried for over 20 years. His hilarious boss. Porson thinks that Bill needs a cooling off period after the explosive last case that he was working, so he thinks old bones are just the ticket to keep his DI out of trouble, and most importantly, out of the eye of the higher-ups in the police department. But in typical Slider fashion, the bones open up a rather explosive line of enquiry, and the twists and turns in this case keep Bill and his team on their toes at all times. The final denouement was totally unexpected by me. I honestly didn't see it coming, But that is what a Bill Slider book is like. i love this light-hearted series. And the dark side, which is always there as well, brings everything into perspective and makes the books even more realistic. I highly recommend this series for those who love police procedurals with realistic characters and a cracking plot. And this book wouldn't even be a bad place to start with this series. If you do read it, it will make you want to read the whole backlist.
July 24, 2022
One of the best Bill Sliders yet. Very witty dialog, the usual good characters, and an intriguing mystery --I did guess the gist of it part way through, but still enjoyed seeing it all uncovered.
February 7, 2017
To DCI Bill Slider, colleague DCI Ron Carver’s retirement party is just another sign that the police force is changing. Top ranking officers come straight from college now instead of working their way up through the ranks and now beat cops are actually being eliminated. Slider’s job consists of more and more paperwork every day and he has made enemies of his superiors on his last case. When old human bones are found at a local home renovation site, Slider’s boss gives him the cold case to hopefully keep him out of trouble, but the case heats up more than anyone could have imagined.
I really enjoyed this installment of the long-running Bill Slider series. The case of missing teenage Amanda Knight is interesting and it’s great to read about old-fashioned detective work as Slider and his team work to solve the case. I love the clever, witty writing. One small example is a character saying they are going to the police café for some “cruel and unusual nourishment.” I have read several of the prior installments in the series and have gotten to know and love the characters. Slider is a great detective and person and anyone would love to have a boss as encouraging and understanding as he is. There is a wonderful subplot with one of Slider’s direct reports, Connolly, and a young witness from a prior case that is interesting and touching.
It would be going too far to say there is a happy ending, but there is a satisfying resolution to the case. Reading a new Bill Slider book is a joy and if you are familiar with the series or are just looking for a great police procedural with likable characters, I highly recommend “Old Bones.”
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this installment of the long-running Bill Slider series. The case of missing teenage Amanda Knight is interesting and it’s great to read about old-fashioned detective work as Slider and his team work to solve the case. I love the clever, witty writing. One small example is a character saying they are going to the police café for some “cruel and unusual nourishment.” I have read several of the prior installments in the series and have gotten to know and love the characters. Slider is a great detective and person and anyone would love to have a boss as encouraging and understanding as he is. There is a wonderful subplot with one of Slider’s direct reports, Connolly, and a young witness from a prior case that is interesting and touching.
It would be going too far to say there is a happy ending, but there is a satisfying resolution to the case. Reading a new Bill Slider book is a joy and if you are familiar with the series or are just looking for a great police procedural with likable characters, I highly recommend “Old Bones.”
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
July 28, 2019
DCI Slider works out of the Shepards Bush police station in London. Some old bones, in fact an entire skeleton has been discovered under a couple of paving slabs at the bottom of a garden in his precinct. The forensic pathologist has determined the bones to have lain in the ground at least twenty years and The skeleton is of a 13-14 year old female.
Slider’s boss is thrilled to assign Slider this case as he is not the flavor of the month with the top brass as he has been investigating an underage sex ring with connections to several very senior police officers.
Bill slider is middle aged, on his second wife and starting his second family. Refreshingly he is a humble and self effacing guy without the conceit of so many fictional police detectives. He treats his team with respect which leads to camaraderie not friction. He also delegates a lot, in so many books the DCI and the sergeant do everything, but in this book, many different constables do a lot toward solving the crime..
Intelligently and humorously written with likable characters. A clever plot with a massive twist at the end.
The 19th book in the series, it was the first Bill Slider for me, but won’t be the last. He has been compared to Inspector Thanet by Dorothy Simpson, and I agree, but I also see similarities with DCI Diamond by Peter Lovesey.
Thank you netgalley and Black Thorn for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed it very much.
Slider’s boss is thrilled to assign Slider this case as he is not the flavor of the month with the top brass as he has been investigating an underage sex ring with connections to several very senior police officers.
Bill slider is middle aged, on his second wife and starting his second family. Refreshingly he is a humble and self effacing guy without the conceit of so many fictional police detectives. He treats his team with respect which leads to camaraderie not friction. He also delegates a lot, in so many books the DCI and the sergeant do everything, but in this book, many different constables do a lot toward solving the crime..
Intelligently and humorously written with likable characters. A clever plot with a massive twist at the end.
The 19th book in the series, it was the first Bill Slider for me, but won’t be the last. He has been compared to Inspector Thanet by Dorothy Simpson, and I agree, but I also see similarities with DCI Diamond by Peter Lovesey.
Thank you netgalley and Black Thorn for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed it very much.
August 11, 2019
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has been writing the DCI Bill Slider mysteries for a long time, and they are solid police procedurals. This is the nineteenth of the series and it doesn’t suffer any diminution or signs of age. Although there are numerous references to earlier works, matters are sufficiently explained so that a reader new to the series would have no problem understanding what is going on.
A young couple has hired someone to pull down an old shed in the garden of their relatively new home, and a skeleton is discovered. The police from the Shepherd’s Bush station are called in, and an investigation is started. They discover a “misper,” that is the report of a missing person, a fourteen-year-old girl who had gone missing from that house twenty-five years before. The search is on for her killer.
I don’t like spoilers, so I am not going to give any. Suffice it to say that the investigation is both thorough and very interesting. Unlike in some books, things take time; there are no nearly magical leaps of detection which the reader cannot follow, rather, Harrod-Eagles plays very fair with the reader. I was able to figure out the mystery after Bill Slider, but before it was revealed. I was very pleased.
If you like police procedurals, I recommend “Old Bones,” in fact, I recommend the entire series. You could go further and do much, much worse.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.
A young couple has hired someone to pull down an old shed in the garden of their relatively new home, and a skeleton is discovered. The police from the Shepherd’s Bush station are called in, and an investigation is started. They discover a “misper,” that is the report of a missing person, a fourteen-year-old girl who had gone missing from that house twenty-five years before. The search is on for her killer.
I don’t like spoilers, so I am not going to give any. Suffice it to say that the investigation is both thorough and very interesting. Unlike in some books, things take time; there are no nearly magical leaps of detection which the reader cannot follow, rather, Harrod-Eagles plays very fair with the reader. I was able to figure out the mystery after Bill Slider, but before it was revealed. I was very pleased.
If you like police procedurals, I recommend “Old Bones,” in fact, I recommend the entire series. You could go further and do much, much worse.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.
July 5, 2019
Thank you NetGalley and Black Thorn for the eARC.
This 19th in the Bill Slider series is as good a Police procedural as you'll find, I just love this series!
DCI Slider, after digging up dirt on some of his higher-ups in no.18's One Under, is definitely not flavor of the month with the brass and Superintendent Porson wants to keep him out of sight, so the discovery of 25-year old bones found in the newly-bought house of a young couple is a perfect case for Slider, Atherton and the team to solve and stay off the radar.
There follows a wonderfully twisty, intricate and complicated unwinding of a really fascinating mystery. 25 Years is a long time and it's almost impossible to find witnesses or family, most of them have scattered or died, so the team have an incredible amount of legwork. But solve the case they do and even though I guessed the who and how towards the end, it definitely didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I loved it and love the series. Slider and his team are very likeable, Porson and his malapropisms are hilarious and Slider's happy home life a welcome change from the usual morose, loner detectives. Here's hoping there will be many more to come. Highly recommended!
This 19th in the Bill Slider series is as good a Police procedural as you'll find, I just love this series!
DCI Slider, after digging up dirt on some of his higher-ups in no.18's One Under, is definitely not flavor of the month with the brass and Superintendent Porson wants to keep him out of sight, so the discovery of 25-year old bones found in the newly-bought house of a young couple is a perfect case for Slider, Atherton and the team to solve and stay off the radar.
There follows a wonderfully twisty, intricate and complicated unwinding of a really fascinating mystery. 25 Years is a long time and it's almost impossible to find witnesses or family, most of them have scattered or died, so the team have an incredible amount of legwork. But solve the case they do and even though I guessed the who and how towards the end, it definitely didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I loved it and love the series. Slider and his team are very likeable, Porson and his malapropisms are hilarious and Slider's happy home life a welcome change from the usual morose, loner detectives. Here's hoping there will be many more to come. Highly recommended!
August 20, 2019
Bill Slider is not popular with the higher ups after accusing one of being part of a sex and finance case. He is assigned to a case of old bones. A garden contractor has turned up what appears to be the full skeleton of a 13 or 14 year old girl, who had probably been dead at least 20 years. After checking through missing persons cases, they find that a girl living at that address, Amanda Knight, had gone missing 25 years before. After much work, they track down the mother (father has since died). The mother is sure her husband couldn't have killed her, even though it would have been difficult for someone outside the family to have buried her in their garden.
They talk to others who lived nearby and her best friend (who wasn't very close), and her mother's sister. The best friend does give them a lead that shortly before she died she talked about a rich new friend who went to a fancy private school. For awhile, it seems like they'll never find someone who they could prosecute. However, they keep looking, and finally get some real clues!
The story is very well told and has a big surprise at the end!
They talk to others who lived nearby and her best friend (who wasn't very close), and her mother's sister. The best friend does give them a lead that shortly before she died she talked about a rich new friend who went to a fancy private school. For awhile, it seems like they'll never find someone who they could prosecute. However, they keep looking, and finally get some real clues!
The story is very well told and has a big surprise at the end!
March 9, 2022
A Skeleton!
This novel is one of the author's series about a British detective in the modern era called Bill Slider. In this story, the skeletonized remains of a young girl are found in the garden of a family who is digging a foundation for a new shed in their back yard garden. The bones appear to be about twenty years old and female. Who is it, and how did she die?
At about the time of the death of the girl whose bones have been found, the girl who then lived in the house went missing. Could this be Amanda's remains? The police have always believed that Amanda was killed by her father. Unfortunately, the file is suspiciously thin, and the police supervisor who had overseen the investigation has passed away. If this is really Amanda, who killed her and why?
The author does a credible job of describing the investigation in excruciating detail. Much more detail than is necessary for a good story, in fact. Much of the dialog seems stilted to me. There are also a few editing errors. The book is an easy, albeit slow, read. I'm not likely to dig deeply into this series.
This novel is one of the author's series about a British detective in the modern era called Bill Slider. In this story, the skeletonized remains of a young girl are found in the garden of a family who is digging a foundation for a new shed in their back yard garden. The bones appear to be about twenty years old and female. Who is it, and how did she die?
At about the time of the death of the girl whose bones have been found, the girl who then lived in the house went missing. Could this be Amanda's remains? The police have always believed that Amanda was killed by her father. Unfortunately, the file is suspiciously thin, and the police supervisor who had overseen the investigation has passed away. If this is really Amanda, who killed her and why?
The author does a credible job of describing the investigation in excruciating detail. Much more detail than is necessary for a good story, in fact. Much of the dialog seems stilted to me. There are also a few editing errors. The book is an easy, albeit slow, read. I'm not likely to dig deeply into this series.
February 22, 2024
Bill Slider is not popular with the higher ups after accusing one of being part of a sex and finance case. He is assigned to a case of old bones. A garden contractor has turned up what appears to be the full skeleton of a 13 or 14 year old girl, who had probably been dead at least 20 years. After checking through missing persons cases, they find that a girl living at that address, Amanda Knight, had gone missing 25 years before. After much work, they track down the mother (father has since died). The mother is sure her husband couldn't have killed her, even though it would have been difficult for someone outside the family to have buried her in their garden.
They talk to others who lived nearby and her best friend (who wasn't very close), and her mother's sister. The best friend does give them a lead that shortly before she died she talked about a rich new friend who went to a fancy private school. For awhile, it seems like they'll never find someone who they could prosecute. However, they keep looking, and finally get some real clues!
The story is very well told and has a big surprise at the end!
They talk to others who lived nearby and her best friend (who wasn't very close), and her mother's sister. The best friend does give them a lead that shortly before she died she talked about a rich new friend who went to a fancy private school. For awhile, it seems like they'll never find someone who they could prosecute. However, they keep looking, and finally get some real clues!
The story is very well told and has a big surprise at the end!
April 26, 2024
Amanda Knight went missing 20 years ago. A couple bought the house where Amanda grew up, and while tearing down an old shed, they found bones. No one knows whose bones they are, but the cops eventually assume they are Amanda’s bones.
The cops liked Amanda’s dad for the killing, but they could never pin anything on him since they couldn’t find a body. Now dear old Daddy is dead. Harder still is the fact that Slider and his group feel the burden of a corrupt cop investigation that happened in the previous book. The crooked cops found a way to obliterate the investigation and whitewash themselves. Morale is not high.
There’s no suspense here to speak of. Nothing will put you on the edge of your chair gripping your book player. But it’s solid British police procedural stuff. The case winds on methodically but satisfactorily. It will hold your interest throughout the book, and the ending will feel like the floor dropped from beneath you.
It's probably best to read the entire series consecutively, especially book 18. You should read it and this current book in order of appearance in the series at least.
The cops liked Amanda’s dad for the killing, but they could never pin anything on him since they couldn’t find a body. Now dear old Daddy is dead. Harder still is the fact that Slider and his group feel the burden of a corrupt cop investigation that happened in the previous book. The crooked cops found a way to obliterate the investigation and whitewash themselves. Morale is not high.
There’s no suspense here to speak of. Nothing will put you on the edge of your chair gripping your book player. But it’s solid British police procedural stuff. The case winds on methodically but satisfactorily. It will hold your interest throughout the book, and the ending will feel like the floor dropped from beneath you.
It's probably best to read the entire series consecutively, especially book 18. You should read it and this current book in order of appearance in the series at least.
May 4, 2017
Bill Slider’s team is still smarting from the fallout over their inability to bring to court a case involving senior police officers.
Porson, the wonderful boss and singularly gifted operator of the language salad spinner, gives them a cold case to keep them out of trouble.
Bones have been discovered in a suburban garden, the remains of a teenage girl dating back about 25 years. The daughter of the family who lived there at the time disappeared and was never found. Police and neighbors were suspicious of the father, but nothing was ever proven, and the couple remained under a cloud until he died. Witnesses have died and/or forgotten things, evidence has disappeared. It is a typical cold case exercise in evidence sifting. It is well plotted with an interesting twist at the end.
The chief pleasure in the book, as is typical of the series, is the interactions of the appealing characters - Slider’s domestic life, Atherton’s love life (fairly tranquil for once), the police team - and the author’s very clever use of language and her excellent descriptive abilities.
Porson, the wonderful boss and singularly gifted operator of the language salad spinner, gives them a cold case to keep them out of trouble.
Bones have been discovered in a suburban garden, the remains of a teenage girl dating back about 25 years. The daughter of the family who lived there at the time disappeared and was never found. Police and neighbors were suspicious of the father, but nothing was ever proven, and the couple remained under a cloud until he died. Witnesses have died and/or forgotten things, evidence has disappeared. It is a typical cold case exercise in evidence sifting. It is well plotted with an interesting twist at the end.
The chief pleasure in the book, as is typical of the series, is the interactions of the appealing characters - Slider’s domestic life, Atherton’s love life (fairly tranquil for once), the police team - and the author’s very clever use of language and her excellent descriptive abilities.
March 12, 2017
First Sentence: There comes a point in the life of a balloon when it has lost so much air that its taut, festive body becomes sagging, wrinkled and—well, frankly, sad.
DCI Bill Slider is decidedly unpopular at HQ due to those implicated in his last cast. A young couple discovers a skeleton in their back garden. It’s thought to be that of a young girl who disappeared from that garden two decades ago. Slider’s boss, DS Porson, hope this case will be simple and will keep Slider out of harm’s way. But does it?
Harrod-Eagles never disappoints. Her use of language, Britishisms notwithstanding, is always a delight, including her chapter headings. Her description of people makes them immediately recognizable—“Carver was a miserable bastard, who had raised resentment to an art form, and his leaving do was appropriately cheerless.” and—“It was time that Atherton, the serial romancer, settled down. He was tall, handsome, elegant, and irresistible to females. Pure catnip. He could commit sexual harassment by sitting quietly in another room. Really, the world needed him to be taken out of circulation.”
How lovely to have the protagonist be in a marriage that has suffered its rocky patches, but that works. There is an excellent comparison between Slider being a cop, and his wife Joanna being a professional musician. There is also a moving and painful description of a mother learning of her daughter’s body being found years often her disappearance. It is this ability to convey both light and dark equally well that makes CHE such a fine writer.
Slider and his team truly are a team. They are an ensemble cast, each with their own parts to play and backgrounds about which we learn. The case is a jigsaw puzzle, put together piece-by-piece, following the clues. But don’t make the mistake of thinking the cases are clichéd or the ending pat. They are far from so being.
“Old Bones” is a very well-done police procedural with excellent characters. It is so well written; no prologue, no tricks, no portents or cliff hangers, just 256 pages of solid writing.
OLD BONES (Pol Proc-Insp. Bill Slider-England-Contemp) – Ex
Harrod Eagles, Cynthia – 19th in series
Severn House, Feb 2017
DCI Bill Slider is decidedly unpopular at HQ due to those implicated in his last cast. A young couple discovers a skeleton in their back garden. It’s thought to be that of a young girl who disappeared from that garden two decades ago. Slider’s boss, DS Porson, hope this case will be simple and will keep Slider out of harm’s way. But does it?
Harrod-Eagles never disappoints. Her use of language, Britishisms notwithstanding, is always a delight, including her chapter headings. Her description of people makes them immediately recognizable—“Carver was a miserable bastard, who had raised resentment to an art form, and his leaving do was appropriately cheerless.” and—“It was time that Atherton, the serial romancer, settled down. He was tall, handsome, elegant, and irresistible to females. Pure catnip. He could commit sexual harassment by sitting quietly in another room. Really, the world needed him to be taken out of circulation.”
How lovely to have the protagonist be in a marriage that has suffered its rocky patches, but that works. There is an excellent comparison between Slider being a cop, and his wife Joanna being a professional musician. There is also a moving and painful description of a mother learning of her daughter’s body being found years often her disappearance. It is this ability to convey both light and dark equally well that makes CHE such a fine writer.
Slider and his team truly are a team. They are an ensemble cast, each with their own parts to play and backgrounds about which we learn. The case is a jigsaw puzzle, put together piece-by-piece, following the clues. But don’t make the mistake of thinking the cases are clichéd or the ending pat. They are far from so being.
“Old Bones” is a very well-done police procedural with excellent characters. It is so well written; no prologue, no tricks, no portents or cliff hangers, just 256 pages of solid writing.
OLD BONES (Pol Proc-Insp. Bill Slider-England-Contemp) – Ex
Harrod Eagles, Cynthia – 19th in series
Severn House, Feb 2017
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