I was late coming to Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ DCI Bill Slider books, but I’ve read all these outstanding police procedurals since I discovered them. The combination of witty dialogue and clever phrasing, along with the unconventional police team and the investigations are on display in the twenty-fifth book in the series, Easeful Death.

Rhianne Morgan was only eighteen when her stepfather, David Morgan, found her dead in their garden. It would have appeared to be a natural death, but Rhianne was strangled with a ligature of some sort. Slider and his team suspected Morgan because he was the stepfather and he discovered the body. But, it seemed that Rhianne had secrets. Of course, the police investigated a man recently released from prison for sex crimes. And, there was that graduate student she dated. Rhianne’s friends talked about “an older man”.

Slider’s team is under pressure to close the case of the death of a young woman. But, they face lies every time they question a witness, men and women. It appears that answers are slipping away.

I started this series because it was a well-reviewed police procedural, my favorite type of book. I continue to read the books because of the clever writing, the chapter headings, the wit, along with the strong characters who form a working team. There are just phrases that jump out at me; “the bare arms and legs as browned as a nicely roasted chicken but with much less meat on them”. And, there are such realistic relationships between characters, such as Slider and his wife, Joanne, or Slider and his sergeant, Jim Atherton.

Easeful Death shows the determination of a team of police detectives who won’t give up in investigating the death of a young woman. It’s another solid entry in the series.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ website is https://www.cynthiaharrodeagles.com/

Easeful Death by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Severn House, 2025. ISBN 9781448314638 (hardcover), 256p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley, with no promise of a review.