This is the first of the Detective Colin Harpur novels, published in the 1980's, so before the age of cell phones. I mention this because technology has made writing contemporary crime fiction more complicated than it used to be, since everyone knows everything instantly these days. This novel can use the old conventions, but essentially, is all about the character, a good detective who uses some unorthodox methods to fight crime in his small seaside town in England. My only slight beef was that I wanted more of a sense of place. I know those seaside towns, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been enlightened through this novel. But I will probably read the next one, and see how things go.

I collected about 20 books in this series through years. Bill James, well respected crime writer, somehow never got the recognition he justly deserves. But then, where is justice?
I finaly read the first book in the series and I am deeply hooked. His procedural is like nothing else written these days. Det. Superintendant Harpur is quite an original character. Sharp, capable,murky, dishonest, and many other things. In the world of Bill James, good guys are in short suply. It is hard to distinguish the villains from heros. Is fighting a crime while commiting a crime or at least overlooking the crime, less of a crime? I am looking forward to find out in the future books. This is seriously addictive stuff.

Well-crafted book; excellent sardonic dialogue.

This is a skillfully written police procedural, but the cynicism, pessimism, lack of strong moral compass of the "hero", and the brutality are very off-putting. Not pleasant or light entertainment. gcm

This first entry in the lengthy (20+ books) "Harpur + Iles" series is an excellent introduction to the murky world of DCS Colin Harpur, a rising star of a police officer in his mid-30s who spends a great deal of his time wading through very morally gray territory. Set in a fictional small seaside city on England's southern coastline, the book kicks off with Harpur and his crew staking out a Lloyd's Bank branch that they've been tipped off is going to be hit by some gangsters down from London. When the heavy hitters don't show, Harpur applies pressure to all informants great and small, including high-profile wide-boy Jack Lamb and a shifty Jamaican hospital porter, in order to find out when the heist has been rescheduled for. What he doesn't expect is that one of his own overzealous officers is going to go missing -- the same officer whose wife Harpur is lining up for a little bit of adultery. Matters are further complicated when various small time hoods start turning up dead, as it appears the London gang are clearing the way of loose lips before they stage their raid. And when the raid goes off halfway through the book, Harpur's ambush doesn't come off textbook perfect, and the ringleader escapes. Driven by guilt, anger, and even fear, tracking the villain down becomes personal for Harpur -- to the detriment of clear, rational thought.

What's nice about the story is that it doesn't take the usual police procedural tack of the detective doggedly pursuing leads and tracking down his quarry via hard work and inspiration. Rather, Harpur is often totally lost, and the case is all but written off by his superiors until events boomerang on him. Another nice element is that while the story is built upon Harpur's squeezing his informers for information, it becomes increasingly evident that the relationship is a two-way street, and Harpur is entangled and implicated in his informers' shady dealings to his own potential disgrace. The book is a quick read at 155 pages, and the characterization is a bit thin as events build to a nice climax and dovetail nice and neatly by the end. The essentials are all there, but Harpur's wife makes only a token few appearances, and it isn't until almost the end of the book that one of his children makes an appearance. Still, the book sets the stage for many interesting recurring characters, including the dead cop's widow, Harpur's informant Lamb, Harpur's underling Grayson, and Chief-in-waiting Iles, who spends the book literally lurking in the Chief's shadow, waiting for him to retire. The prose is crisp and economical, and the pacing is dead on. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, he of the double vision - one eye on nookie, the other on the perps - goes after the bad guys. Of course they are no local small fry, but heavy hitters out of London. He has the help of Detective Garland and assorted whistle blowers, Lamb being preeminent among them. Harpur solves the case, of course, with panache, fortitude, tenacity and courage.
This book was first published in 1985 and is the first one in a long series of Harpur mysteries. It is written extremely well and is utterly believably. The action is fast paced and tightly constructed with a novel plot.
Please keep the series going!

This is the first book in the Harpur & Iles detective series, although this debut novel mostly focuses on Colin Harpur. Through the use of many informants, Colin with the help of his precinct tries to spoil a robbery of the Lloyds Bank Branch of his town (which is never mentioned, an any of the novels). The characters come from many different walks of life, and the look into Harpur's not-exactly-angelic personal life is a nice touch. A great start to a series that gets even better after this.

Reading Bill James' Harper and Iles mystery series can be addictive to your reading health. Going cold turkey does not work; they are fascinating, the dialogue crackles, the plots never formulaic [unlike James' more well known namesake, P.D.James] and the characters especially the long suffering Harper and the demonic, sweet talking "Des" Iles wholly believable and wonderfully crafted.