What do you think?
Rate this book
Charlie Resnick #4
Off Minor
Little Gloria Summers' body has been found, hidden inside two plastic bin bags in a disused warehouse. Somewhere in the city, a child killer is on the loose, free to strike again. Then Emily Morrison vanishes on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A week later there are still no clues.
Inspector Charlie Resnick is as appalled as the media. But years of patient police work have taught him a thing or two - including his conviction that those who jump to easy conclusions are often the last ones to solve a crime.
Inspector Charlie Resnick is as appalled as the media. But years of patient police work have taught him a thing or two - including his conviction that those who jump to easy conclusions are often the last ones to solve a crime.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
John Harvey
292 books207 followersaka Jon Barton, William S. Brady (with Angus Wells), L.J. Coburn (with Laurence James), J.B. Dancer (with Angus Wells), John B. Harvey, William M. James (with Terry Harknett and Laurence James), Terry Lennox, John J. McLaglen (with Laurence James), James Mann, Thom Ryder, J.D. Sandon (with Angus Wells), Jon Hart
John Harvey (born 21 December 1938 in London) is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham. Harvey has also published over 90 books under various names, and has worked on scripts for TV and radio. He also ran Slow Dancer Press from 1977 to 1999 publishing poetry. The first Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, was published in 1989, and was named by The Times as one of the 100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century. Harvey brought the series to an end in 1998 with Last Rites, though Resnick has since made peripheral appearances in Harvey's new Frank Elder series. The protagonist Elder is a retired detective who now lives, as Harvey briefly did, in Cornwall. The first novel in this series, Flesh and Blood, won Harvey the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2004, an accolade many crime fiction critics thought long overdue. In 2007 he was awarded the Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Contribution to the genre. On 14th July 2009 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his literary eminence and his associations with both the University and Nottingham (particularly in the Charlie Resnick novels). He is also a big Notts County fan.
John Harvey (born 21 December 1938 in London) is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham. Harvey has also published over 90 books under various names, and has worked on scripts for TV and radio. He also ran Slow Dancer Press from 1977 to 1999 publishing poetry. The first Resnick novel, Lonely Hearts, was published in 1989, and was named by The Times as one of the 100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century. Harvey brought the series to an end in 1998 with Last Rites, though Resnick has since made peripheral appearances in Harvey's new Frank Elder series. The protagonist Elder is a retired detective who now lives, as Harvey briefly did, in Cornwall. The first novel in this series, Flesh and Blood, won Harvey the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2004, an accolade many crime fiction critics thought long overdue. In 2007 he was awarded the Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Contribution to the genre. On 14th July 2009 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his literary eminence and his associations with both the University and Nottingham (particularly in the Charlie Resnick novels). He is also a big Notts County fan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
March 26, 2019
John Harvey can be depended upon to deliver a great story full of interesting and sometimes flawed characters as well as a wonderful puzzle to be solved via police investigation.
July 15, 2012
Off Minor is the fourth in the Charlie Resnick series by John Harvey and the best. Harvey does a superb job of delineating characters, especially the men and woman of the Serious Crime Division. Charlie is so well defined the reader could recogonize him on any street, consciencious, caring, food-loving, sloppy dresser, cat lover; Jack Skelton the head detective, fastidious and healthy; Lynn Kellogg, late twenties, single, heavy; Mark Devine, lover of his pints at a pub; Patel, Pakistani, never carring a gun. The plot rises as a six-year-old girl disappears and is found under a disused warehouse. Now the action rises as the Serious Crime members try to solve the mystery of how she died. Before they do, another six year-old girl goes missing. Now the focus in on her father, mother and step-mother and the people who are suspected. The conclusion is unexpected.
January 21, 2016
Grim. Gritty. Gripping. I lost sleep over this book, simply because I couldn't put it down. Credible three-dimensional characters in vivid settings with some twists and turns along the way. I was pretty sure I knew what had happened to Emily. I didn't. The only reason I haven't given 5 stars is that the Resnick series just gets better and better. This is only book 4, so I need something in reserve for the next one. Recommended!
June 2, 2016
Interesting story line. The characters did not appeal to me though. They seemed one-dimensional.
May 31, 2017
A Charlie Resnick story.Body of young girl found and another missing. The story is entwined with twists and a harrowing conclusion with a policeman dead. Vivid portrayal of the anguishes of families of the victims and the damage that occurs to the lives of the professionals who hunt the perpetrators.
In the opening chapters it was a times difficult to discern if the action was in the here and now or if it was reflective. However this becomes less evident as the story unfolds.
All round an enjoyable crime novel.
In the opening chapters it was a times difficult to discern if the action was in the here and now or if it was reflective. However this becomes less evident as the story unfolds.
All round an enjoyable crime novel.
November 8, 2014
This is number four of the Charlie Resnick series. This series grows on a reader and for those that enjoy books with stories with a large amount of back story and development, then this series is for that type of reader.
Also, readers that enjoy this author and Charlie Resnick would most likely enjoy books by Ian Rankin (Rebus series) and Henning Mankell (Wallender series). I am kind of surprised how often these three authors are not mentioned in the same breath.
Off Minor deals with the subject matter of a child murder investigation. Harvey has a practice of developing characters, both the vile ones and decent ones, in a way that does not turn them into simple, plot based characters created to simply drive a plot forward. This is not to say he makes villains likeable, but he does develop them to breathe life into them.
One thing odd about Harvey's writing to this reader is how his books appear to sometimes abruptly end, but that may be to show that this is really about a string of related tales involving people over a period of time instead of tying each book up in a neat, tiny bow.
Another thing I like about authors like Harvey is how when be brings up a part in a book from one of his previous books, he offers just enough information to remind the reader in case the reader has forgotten the exact details of the previous book.
Also, readers that enjoy this author and Charlie Resnick would most likely enjoy books by Ian Rankin (Rebus series) and Henning Mankell (Wallender series). I am kind of surprised how often these three authors are not mentioned in the same breath.
Off Minor deals with the subject matter of a child murder investigation. Harvey has a practice of developing characters, both the vile ones and decent ones, in a way that does not turn them into simple, plot based characters created to simply drive a plot forward. This is not to say he makes villains likeable, but he does develop them to breathe life into them.
One thing odd about Harvey's writing to this reader is how his books appear to sometimes abruptly end, but that may be to show that this is really about a string of related tales involving people over a period of time instead of tying each book up in a neat, tiny bow.
Another thing I like about authors like Harvey is how when be brings up a part in a book from one of his previous books, he offers just enough information to remind the reader in case the reader has forgotten the exact details of the previous book.
August 11, 2018
I was on the verge of not finishing the read as I was both bored and confused with the book. The better part started around half of the page and the previous parts were very confusing. Actually the writing is not that good as it gets to outline unecessary details and highlight characters in a not so interesting way. Also, there were more than names that I could really remember in this book and it wasn't much of a help either. The ending of the story was also lame. It tried to build up suspense/thriller towards the end but it didn't seemed to really get it through. I'm rating this 3 but not recommending.
August 17, 2013
This was the first John Harvey book I read, picked up from a second hand shop. I thought it was absolutely brilliant and so I went on to purchase the whole series of Charlie Resnick. The depth of the characters is superb, I couldn't wait to read the next book to see how Charlie's life progresses. The best series of books by far on my bookshelf. Have enjoyed so much that I read them all twice.
August 11, 2013
This series really gets better as it goes along! Not all series can say that, often authors seem to run out of insights into their characters and they become 1 dimensional. So far, each of the reoccurring characters in this series surprises me at some point in each book.
March 9, 2021
Who can really look directly into the darkness of human nature, and then convince yourself that such ugliness is a moment that ordinary people have?
The disappearance and death of children link up the most real side of people’s hearts. Those parents who are in sin, those neighbors who make bold comments, and the perpetrators of all injuries. The most terrifying thing is the evil that is concealed in good faith. , No one can see, only the dead can regret the lost way at that time.
The gap between good and evil is usually confusing. The kindness of repeated rejection may mutate into an uncontrollable impulse, but who would have expected that evil is so close and familiar to oneself.
In the fourth episode of the series, there is a certain concept of the understanding between the characters. Their respective problems continue, and the loneliness, desires, sorrows and dissatisfaction they face also exist. They are gradually lost in life, but they are also gradually progressing. Find a solution to resolve and postpone.
Each fixed character handles and responds to the case at its own level, facing the dead, facing the mystery, and facing the truth. They have to analyze each element again, and the readers also resonate with the shaped characters and think melancholy The answer, sadly mourning the dead, persistently looking for the murderer, can see that what the author has given is not only a pure crime, but also a disregarded human heart and feeling.
It's just that life has all kinds of questions waiting for people to clarify. As the knowledge gets more and more confused, the meaning of being a human being is more and more confused. Every time Renike faces a case, he asks himself about the motive of the victim and the situation of the victim. At the same time, he felt the same but also puzzled in every way. How could the simplicity and complexity of human nature be so close but so far away.
But I can't help but wonder why he would easily choose from evil in the face of choice. Perhaps it is a long suppressed desire or a fragility trying to resist. What is undeniable is that the tug of war between good and evil tests not only human nature, but also the jailed soul.
In the end, even if there is a blur between good and evil, one should not open one's eyes and close one's eyes to challenge and straddle.
The disappearance and death of children link up the most real side of people’s hearts. Those parents who are in sin, those neighbors who make bold comments, and the perpetrators of all injuries. The most terrifying thing is the evil that is concealed in good faith. , No one can see, only the dead can regret the lost way at that time.
The gap between good and evil is usually confusing. The kindness of repeated rejection may mutate into an uncontrollable impulse, but who would have expected that evil is so close and familiar to oneself.
In the fourth episode of the series, there is a certain concept of the understanding between the characters. Their respective problems continue, and the loneliness, desires, sorrows and dissatisfaction they face also exist. They are gradually lost in life, but they are also gradually progressing. Find a solution to resolve and postpone.
Each fixed character handles and responds to the case at its own level, facing the dead, facing the mystery, and facing the truth. They have to analyze each element again, and the readers also resonate with the shaped characters and think melancholy The answer, sadly mourning the dead, persistently looking for the murderer, can see that what the author has given is not only a pure crime, but also a disregarded human heart and feeling.
It's just that life has all kinds of questions waiting for people to clarify. As the knowledge gets more and more confused, the meaning of being a human being is more and more confused. Every time Renike faces a case, he asks himself about the motive of the victim and the situation of the victim. At the same time, he felt the same but also puzzled in every way. How could the simplicity and complexity of human nature be so close but so far away.
But I can't help but wonder why he would easily choose from evil in the face of choice. Perhaps it is a long suppressed desire or a fragility trying to resist. What is undeniable is that the tug of war between good and evil tests not only human nature, but also the jailed soul.
In the end, even if there is a blur between good and evil, one should not open one's eyes and close one's eyes to challenge and straddle.
March 25, 2019
In this fourth installment of the series, Charlie and his team are presented with missing children: an overworked topic that nevertheless always makes me cringe throughout. The first missing girl is eventually found dead in an abandoned industrial building, discovered by a young undereducated slaughterhouse worker and his new girlfriend, which of course makes him an early suspect.
The second missing girl was playing in her yard while her parents had sex upstairs and then she goes missing for several days.
In the midst of these investigations, there also will be a shocking change to Resnick's detective squad, and Charlie himself will have only the smallest love interest in this story, one that arrives and leaves quickly.
What distinguishes these novels and raises them to a higher level than many police procedurals is not only that Harvey writes so well, but that he invests energy in detailing the personal lives of both police, suspects and victims. The young couple whose daughter goes missing is struggling in their marriage. She is much younger than he is; he has gone through a nasty divorce with his first wife, who it becomes apparent is mentally ill; and the missing child looks as though it will either shatter them completely or bring them back together. Meanwhile, in an almost parallel plot, one of Resnick's detectives, Kevin Naylor, is going through a separation from his young wife and baby, and it takes steady efforts by the one female detective to possibly offer light at the end of the tunnel.
This also becomes the second novel in a row where Resnick's squad must figure out whether two similar crimes and really connected or not.
Extremely well done, as always. On to No. 5.
The second missing girl was playing in her yard while her parents had sex upstairs and then she goes missing for several days.
In the midst of these investigations, there also will be a shocking change to Resnick's detective squad, and Charlie himself will have only the smallest love interest in this story, one that arrives and leaves quickly.
What distinguishes these novels and raises them to a higher level than many police procedurals is not only that Harvey writes so well, but that he invests energy in detailing the personal lives of both police, suspects and victims. The young couple whose daughter goes missing is struggling in their marriage. She is much younger than he is; he has gone through a nasty divorce with his first wife, who it becomes apparent is mentally ill; and the missing child looks as though it will either shatter them completely or bring them back together. Meanwhile, in an almost parallel plot, one of Resnick's detectives, Kevin Naylor, is going through a separation from his young wife and baby, and it takes steady efforts by the one female detective to possibly offer light at the end of the tunnel.
This also becomes the second novel in a row where Resnick's squad must figure out whether two similar crimes and really connected or not.
Extremely well done, as always. On to No. 5.
June 3, 2026
It started with an assault and ended with a solved kidnapping but still loose ends - will Patek suvive his injuries? The case of a young girl who goes missing starts a frenzy - then she is found murdered just as another little girl goes missing; the case heats up when a substitute teacher's husband starts acting susupicous - but so does an acquaintance of the murdered girl who found her when having sex with his girlfriend. He was assaulted in the beginning of the book and tried to get revenge at the end - but an off duty PC tried to intervene and nearly lost his life; the other missing girl is found safe and sound out of town and the reasons are absurd
October 15, 2020
Mystery series - Will Resnick ever find happiness? His ex-wife is now in a mental hospital. Ladies around him give out signals and he ignores them. The story here revolves around a dead girl and a missing young girl. Are they interconnected? A minor character from the force is killed tragically at the end. Well done.
Canadian references - Drugs delivered from Canada; officer goes to Canada for training "to watch snow melt"; character is taking Canadian Studies at university
Pharmacy references - chemist in village; character refills her diazepam prescription.
Canadian references - Drugs delivered from Canada; officer goes to Canada for training "to watch snow melt"; character is taking Canadian Studies at university
Pharmacy references - chemist in village; character refills her diazepam prescription.
February 3, 2022
Interwoven between a rattling good yarn about a murder and a subsequent abduction (possibly murder) of two young girls, there lies back drop stories to a plethora of characters. These characters play major or minor roles in or around the main story and to that end a joy ( allowing me to wallow in someone else's misery) to read
Like myself, John Harvey is a life long Notts County fan. So come on John, a biography of Jimmy Sirrell or Don Masson would be just the ticket. Come on you pies
Like myself, John Harvey is a life long Notts County fan. So come on John, a biography of Jimmy Sirrell or Don Masson would be just the ticket. Come on you pies
October 1, 2017
Well-developed characters, a solid storyline, and excellent writing make this the best in the series so far. I look forward to reading the next one.
January 19, 2018
Stretched and felt few bits unnecessary. But liked the descriptions of the scenarios.
May 30, 2018
I like this series. Good plots and interesting characters including the likeable main protagonist. I will read more of them
March 13, 2019
Not the best one in the series, but I'll keep reading.
May 29, 2019
Abandoned
October 21, 2019
Except for Agatha Christie, I think British mysteries or British authors are probably really not for me.
January 1, 2020
Pretty good read but felt a little let down by the ending
March 3, 2020
I liked this book enormously, though Patel’s death (spoiler) was very sad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2020
An atmospheric read that keeps drawing you in. Liked main character Resnick.A good plot and storylie.
August 13, 2020
因為這樣那樣真是難受得有點難以說感想……這整個系列其實都不只是一個、一組警探辦案的故事，罪案本身從來就不是唯一的重點，更多是從旁看著這一群人，警察、被害者、加害者，和直接或間接相關的那些人，在這一段時間中的生活。
推進或許緩慢，卻又感覺那麼快就能和這些人熟悉起來。可以從頭慢慢看下來真是太令人愉快了可是這一本我好難過嗚噗
推進或許緩慢，卻又感覺那麼快就能和這些人熟悉起來。可以從頭慢慢看下來真是太令人愉快了可是這一本我好難過嗚噗
September 15, 2020
An early Charlie Resnick, another set of crimes against young girls. Good writing - characters, dialog, place, cluing and suspense. How many of Harvey's books are crimes against women?
December 4, 2020
First time reading this author. Good story and pace and I enjoyed it. Definitely of its era.
September 1, 2021
I like the series, but I don’t need a description of every sandwich Resnick eats. Also don’t think the references to musicians adds to the story—it’s overdone.
October 3, 2021
I really like this Charlie Resnick series. Love Charlie and his cats. And his co-workers. And his sandwiches. 😄
March 20, 2022
Tragedy
Noooooo! Complex with multiple storylines weaving into each other, producing tragedy and one happy ending. I can’t believe what happened.
Noooooo! Complex with multiple storylines weaving into each other, producing tragedy and one happy ending. I can’t believe what happened.
August 7, 2022
This book is not for me.
The characters are boring, unlikeable, even Resnick. The storyline is flat.
Title can be deceiving and overrated!
The characters are boring, unlikeable, even Resnick. The storyline is flat.
Title can be deceiving and overrated!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews