FLESH AND BLOOD (Amateur Sleuth – Non-cozy) – VGJohn Harvey – StandaloneRetired Detective Inspector Elder is haunted by the unsolved disappearance of sixteen-year-old in 1988. One of the prime suspects, Shane Donald, has been released from prison, and Elder feels compelled to revisit the scene of the crime. When Shane breaks parole and disappears and another young girl is horribly murdered, Elder's involvement becomes crucial. Taunted by postcards from the killer, Elder battles his own demons as he and his family are inexorably drawn into the very heart of the crime***John Harvey won the first-ever Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British author, and deservedly so. I was sorry when Harvey retired his Charlie Resnick series, although Charlie makes a very brief appearance here, but Harvey certainly didn’t retire his writing skills. He knows how to draw you into the story and keep you there to the very end. Well-developed characters, good dialogue, tension, a very literate style; these are all hallmarks of Harvey’s writing
Not bad at all. Elder is literally an elder (well, from this young man's perspective at least), which seems a bit crushingly obvious, but this isn't some Hetty Wainthrop cosy-murder candy-floss. He even gets it on a couple of times, which didn't exactly leave the happiest of images in my head but certainly gave the character a little edge.Yes, there's your fair run of crime cliches, the vulnerable single daughter, the nightmares, the charismatic psycho urging on others from behind bars, but there's also a nice line in capturing the scummier side of Britain - stopping short of the author pulling a Rankin and making you suspect every chip-shop owner to be desperate to cut someone's face off.Actually one of the few books I've read in this genre that'd make me consider reading another in the series.
Do You like book Flesh & Blood (2004)?
I've always thoroughly enjoyed John Harvey's writing. I've read all the Charlie Resnick books, so I thought I would try the first in the Frank Elder series.I certainly wasn't disappointed. Harvey always has such great characterizations about believable characters. In addition to the crime(s) being investigated, there is such good interplay between all the characters. We learn about Elder's ex-wife and 16-year old daughter, Kate. I think Kate is a major character in the next book of this series as well.I couldn't really put this book down. It wasn't available on the Kindle, so I had to read in the old-fashioned way. It's a really good English procedural. I will start on the second in the series very soon.
—John
This was a pretty decent book. It is a book club book. The story is about a retired cop. Divorced with a 16 year old daughter. He is still bothered by the disappearance of a teenage girl (Susan) that occurred around the time this 2 guys were murdering young girls in the area. One of these guys has just been released from prison and is sent to a probation home. He escapes from the home and murders begin again. The old cop is asked to consult in the investigation. They find out that another ex con
—Kellie
