Most homicides are young male on young male, and that’s bad enough. But as a father of two daughters, DCI Bill Slider can’t help but take it harder when the victim is a young woman.

Rhianne Morgan, just eighteen, waiting for her A-level results, lies dead in her comfortable middle-class home in a nice, respectable area. Neighbours remember rows with her stepfather. Schoolmates talk of a boyfriend humiliatingly dumped. Her bestie mentions an unnamed new boyfriend, who possibly provided her with drugs. But the back gate was open, and anyone could have walked in. Did she even know her assailant?

Secrets and lies flourished around this troubled teenager, a thicket of thorns Slider and his team must cut through to find the truth. Who killed Rhianne?

As Slider’s boss says, it’s always the first person you suspect. Except when it isn’t.

Loved it. WIll recommend to others

Easeful Death is not Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' most complex police procedural but I was too happy to be back in the company of Bill Slider and his family, friends and colleagues to worry about that! The story cracks along at a good pace, full of puns and in-jokes and the now familiar usual suspects. As ever, Bill is worrying about doing his job well, Jim Atherton is putting up his still attractive facade, Mr Porson is mangling language and the rest of the team are being themselves. Wonderful stuff!

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Here Slider and Atherton investigate the death of Rhianne, a teenage girl awaiting her A-Level results, found apparently strangled on her patio. Slider looks after Atherton's cats and Atherton proposes to his girlfriend.

I found this instalment a little disappointing: Mr Porson's mangling of the English language was entertaining as ever, but otherwise the story was full of men treating women badly (or very badly indeed). There were a couple of red herring-type investigative paths which the police followed, but the ultimate solution was unpleasant and ever so slightly random.