Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.
I can't praise the Bill Slider series highly enough! This 21st outing is another fantastic read.
Famous literary agent Ed Wiseman has fallen to his death and Slider is basically being told by his bosses to pronounce the death an accident, but his instinct tells him it wasn't. As usual, he's right and we have another superb police procedural, filled with interesting and colorful suspects and a (to me) bit of a surprising culprit. The last chapter is so heartwarming, I do enjoy the fact that Slider isn't a brooding, unhappy character, but a decent man who has a normal, satisfying family life.
The writing is also extremely good, the wit throughout the series is like catnip to me, these books lift my spirits, despite the murders! Highly recommended, can't wait for the next book!

Hi Karen,

My Next review is:-

“Headlong:Bill Slider Mystery 21”, written by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and published in hardcover by Severn House Publishers Ltd on 31 Oct. 2018. 224 pages ISBN-13: 978-0727888365

This is the 21st book in this series and the first that I’ve read for review although I have read many in the past privately as I find them extremely true to life and much more exciting than the usual police procedurals that one comes across.

In this latest one, DCI Bill Slider and his team are called to the scene of the death of a well known literary agent named Ed Wiseman. The apparent cause of death is a fall from an office window but Bill is unhappy about it being declared an accident.

Bill's is sure that it is murder but the most senior local policeman is pressurising him to confirm that it was an accident. Fortunately, the coroner concludes that it is in fact murder and as a consequence Bill is able to direct his team of detectives in to all the likely leads to locate the murderer. These include a discarded mistress, an embittered wife and a frustrated would be author and a rejected former employee. All have to be interviewed and their stories investigated before they can be crossed off the list.

The murdered man had a very scandalous love life and a long list of former lovers so could one of them be so hurt that they could have caused his death

All of this very gripping investigation and the strong bonds between the various detectives on Bill Slider’s team provide a very engaging back story particularly with all the details relating to Bill Sliders marriage to a violinist in an orchestra and the problems of childcare when she is away on concerts.

The mysteries are always extremely well plotted with highly atmospheric stories with a rich cast of authentic layered characters and the usual odd red herring before the ultimate murderer is revealed in the final few paragraphs

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a very prolific author with several series ongoing including the very famous historical Morland Dynasty which was originally intended to be 12 books but was so popular it was extended to 34. She also wrote the Kirov Saga a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia for which she won the 1995 RNA Novel of the Year Award and of course she writes other romantic novels and the Bill Slider police procedural mystery series.

This book was absolutely a delight to read and I always look forward to reading her books. Very strongly recommended.

Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

4 and 1 / 2 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

DCI Bill Slider and DS Jim Atherton respond to the call of an “accidental” death. The man is Ed Wiseman, a famous literary agent. Slider‘s bosses are insisting that he the death an accident. Slider reviews the scene and is not sure it was an accident.

When the pathologist returns a finding of death by blows to the head before the fall occurred, Slider now has a murder on his hands. He and Atherton begin interviewing witnesses, including Wiseman’s ex-wife, assistant, friends and associates. Is the killer the ex-wife? The rejected novelist? The father of a young woman Wiseman went out with? The former employee that was let go? Or is it the somewhat talentless and volatile girlfriend?

The intense investigation goes on. Interminably it seems at times. They interview all the potential suspects, then interview them again. Suddenly, a man confesses to the murder. They arrest him, for among other things, attacking one of the officers. He refuses to speak other than say that he killed Ed Wiseman over and over. Slider, Atherton and the others have their doubts.

The top brass still insist that the young woman who was among those currently “dated” by Wiseman is off limits. This frustrates Slider to no end as he has narrowed the list of suspects considerably. Slider carefully re-examines the material that he and his team have collected. Suddenly, he has it! The identity of the killer becomes clear.

In a sad revelation, Slider and a colleague go to arrest the killer.

Ms. Harrod-Eagles writes a darn good novel. I really like the way she interjects sly humor into the exchanges between the police officers, especially Slider and Atherton. This is a police procedural in the truest sense of the words. The book concentrates on the minutiae of day to day police work; the slogging through financials, CCTV tapes, interviews and all the rest. The police discuss the case among themselves trying to ascertain who is telling the truth and who is lying. The reader gets the picture of the story in a straight line. That is to say one event follows another in a logical manner. I liked that the author also put in her story details about Slider’s wife Jo and Atherton’s girlfriend. There was not so much information, however, that it intruded on the story. Wonderful novel! Keep writing them, Ms. Harrod-Eagles.

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Headlong is a well-written detective novel of the traditional school, with police detectives investigating a small pool of suspects to find out who pushed the victim out a window. The writing is deliciously pun-filled, and all the characters have distinct voices. Characters are clearly the author’s strong point, with every person’s quirks and concerns well drawn. The ending is not terribly surprising, but the fun of this book is getting to spend time with this cast, including hearing about the wacky motivations of some of the suspects. I’d happily read more of the author’s work to follow the lives and adventures of Slider and his colleagues.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy ofHeadlong, the twenty first police procedural to feature Chief Inspector Bill Slider of The Met.

When literary agent Ed Wiseman falls to his death the Brass, in the form of Commander Carpenter and his convoluted link to the dead man, are desperate for it to be declared accidental. Slider has his doubts but is wise enough to toe the party line until the post-mortem proves murder. Wiseman was a popular figure, especially with the opposite sex, but as the team start to investigate cracks start to appear in his veneer.

I thoroughly enjoyed Headlong which is exactly the kind of novel I like, a straightforward police procedural told in the third person in a linear fashion where the detectives start with nothing but a body and gradually gather enough information to make an arrest. I was glued to the pages from start to finish as I followed the team’s progress and speculated along with them. There isn’t much new in the plot with the victim being a renowned womaniser leaving a trail of hurt women and seething husbands behind him or as we know them, viable suspects. It is, however, very well done with suspicions raised at every turn. I did guess some of the developments but not enough to destroy my interest.

What I like about Ms Harrod-Eagles’ writing is her wry observations on her characters and their situations. They are always apt and to the point giving the reader so much more information than is actually stated. I also love Bill Slider who is so British in his approach to life, slightly subversive and not overly eager to unquestioningly accept orders and yet dedicated to his job.

Headlong is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I think this is one of the best books in the Detective Chief Inspector Slider series. Murder,
humour and lots of suspects. An amorous book agent has been murdered and there is a
lot of detecting for Slider and his team to sort through. Highly recommend.