A Harpur & Iles Mystery

For years Colin Harpur's dubious boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, ran a questionable but practical arrangement with Mansel Shale and Panicking Ralph Ember, owner of the Monty Club: Iles would protect their businesses if they ensured peace on the streets. But the arrangement fails when violence erupts. After a small-time criminal's house is firebombed, leaving the owner and his daughter dead, mistrust and uncertainty pervade the formerly well-managed streets: more drug dealers emerge and competition grows. With the failure of a once mutually beneficial relationship between cops and criminals, a battle for survival ensues. Bill James, with humor, fast dialogue, and incisive wit, offers entrance into the shocking and fascinating underbelly of a city and its inherent mysteries.

“A brilliant combination of almost Jacobean savagery and sexual betrayal with a tart comedy of contemporary manners.” —John Harvey, Guardian

“[Bill James] transcends what can often be a stale mystery sub-genre to produce novels that are startling, achingly funny and sometimes wholly surreal. Essential reading.” —Peter Guttridge, Observer

“Most other British police writers are foam rubber truncheons to James's iron riot baton.” —Time Out

“James is a real pro.” —Mystery Scene

“James [has an] ability to surprise and delight with his language—a kind of powerful, deadpan poetry that pricks up your ears.” —Publishers Weekly

“Part of what makes this decidedly creepy stuff fascinating is the brilliant prose.” —Washington Post Book Review

$14.95 0-88150-704-0
5.375 x 8.25, 224 pages, Paperback
July 2006