I’m always eager to return to Bill Slider’s world in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ series. Before I Sleep is the twenty-fourth in the series, and it’s just as delightful as a British police procedural as all the earlier ones.
It’s never a good sign when Detective Chief Inspector Bill Slider is pointed to by the higher ups. They say he’s been involved in “sensitive cases” before. He understands that to mean if the case goes wrong, the Borough Commander doesn’t mind sacrificing Slider. This time, the expectations go all the way to the top. Henry Holland, a popular writer of sea-faring adventure novels, went to school with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. He called him directly to say his wife is missing. Although the police normally wait 48 hours when an adult is missing, this time there’s pressure to find Felicity Holland. But, what if Felicity Holland doesn’t want to be found?
According to Holland, he and Felicity have had twenty-four years of a happy marriage. Maybe so, but as Slider and his team dig into Felicity’s past, her sister tells of a slightly scandalous youth that caused her to be estranged from her father, an eminent barrister. Felicity’s history could hold the clue to her disappearance. But, Holland is insistent that his wife may have been kidnapped and killed. When her purse is found in Burnham Beeches, 900 acres of woodland where murderers traditionally dump bodies, there’s reason to fear that Holland might be right.
Harrod-Eagles brings the best of several elements to her Bill Slider mysteries. These are excellent police procedurals, with a quirky team of investigators. For those of us who read for character, there’s always dry, witty humor and a superb cast. The funny chapter headings are worth reading all by themselves.
Before I Sleep is another enjoyable mystery in a series of excellent police procedurals.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ website is https://www.cynthiaharrodeagles.com/
Before I Sleep by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Severn House, 2023. ISBN 9781448306190 (hardcover), 256p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley for a journal review.
Sounds good as always. I enjoy his byplay with Atherton as well as his boss’s goofy malapropisms.
It is good. You’re right, Jeff. The conversations are so much fun.
Thank you. I am always eager (like on FB) to sing the pleasures of reading each of the Bill Slider and crew books. I wish they got more coverage here in the States. Of course, I am watching my hold on this latest episode which is in ‘received’ status at the library.😉
I agree with you, Emma. I wish they did better here in States, too. They are SO good!
One of the absolute best series. I have it on hold and hopefully it will show up one of these days. A cautionary bit of advice – if you have never read a Bill Slider I think it best to start from the beginning. The first book is Orchestrated Death first published in 1992.
I agree, Jeannette. Readers should start at the beginning. I’m glad you mentioned that. I don’t know why this series isn’t more popular in the U.S.
Good question. We discovered it from our friends in England. Then I would pick up whatever books I could find when we were there.