In Good Hands Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur is alarmed when ordered to hunt his own boss and close friend, the ungovernable Assistant Chief Constable, Desmond Iles. Rumour says that Iles was responsible for the savage revenge killing of two accomplished villains, Jamieson and Favard, after they had probably murdered Iles's mistress, and were acquitted of the murder of a promising young detective. Now Mark Lane, the Chief Constable, wants Iles brought to book, and tells Harpur to organise it.
Then Lester Magellan and Raoul Caesar Brace, one a petty crook, the other a big-time drugs dealer, are found slaughtered. The bizarre circumstances of their deaths exactly repeat those in which Jamieson and Favard were found. The murders of Magellan and Brace, always known as 'the original nice guy', are obviously the work of someone immensely resourceful and fiendishly ruthless. Could Iles be involved? Or is it 'Panicking' Ralph Ember putting a final stop to Raoul's affair with his 14-year-old daughter, Venetia?
Lester Magellan was to have been the key crossbow man in a plot to rob a local drugs baron, and his associates must quickly find a replacement. As the plans for the burglary continue, tensions mount at police headquarters, to explode in a chilling climax of violence which leaves yet more victims, not only in the ranks of villains but in the force itself... In Good Hands reopens unsolved mysteries from an earlier story, Halo Parade 'An unconventional and spicy tour de force… James is terrific' Frances Fyfield
'The fun is more ferocious than ever ... This is a superbly conceived gritty addition to James's growing chronicle of the interwoven sins of
cops and robbers.' John Coleman, Sunday Times
'There is not a nuance of the police-criminal interface that James does
not convey effortlessly and with total conviction.' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Another movement in the savagely comic, expertly choreographed
Jamesian dance to the music of crime ... Addicts and newcomers will love it.' Matthew Coady, Guardian
First British Edition Macmillan (1992)
Gospel Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur knew all along that he wasn't entitled to fall in love with Denise Prior. But his infatuation for the beautiful young student added a vital new dimension, both real and untarnished, to his life.
At nineteen years old, Denise knew little about criminals, and even less about the law. She loved Harpur because he was different. In hindsight only her innocence was to blame for their passionate affair. The same innocence that led to an open friendship with fellow ballet student Helen Surtees - live-in lover of Harpur's number-one informer, Jack Lamb.
It wasn't until later that the guns came out for the raid on the Link Street sub-post office. The tip-off had come from Jack Lamb and Harpur wanted to be there... But the Link Street shoot-out changed everything, and Harpur's actions made Denise the only possible victim for a cruel and terrible revenge… 'No one betters James in describing the morally hazy world where cops and crooks meet… and few writers can match the constant sense of tension and malice that permeates nearly every scene. Dialogue and characters, both criminal and copper, are superb, and the story compelling. This is crime writing at its most honest.' The Times
Astride a Grave Now and then Harpur had to deal with graves - mostly shallow, hastily made, ineffective - though he had never encountered a woman standing astride one ...
After the news from Exeter. Chief Superintendent Harpur and ACC Desmond Iles can only pretend to be surprised at their colleagues' tale of woe.
First a daring bank raid. netting £1.8 million in cash. Then a vicious fight over the share of the spoils. A fight that doesn't stop at kidnap - or murder.
Whatever happened to honour among thieves, wonders Harpur, leaving his scruples behind to enter the fray ... 'James has to be the funniest crime writer now trespassing on that twilight territory where fuzz and felons make their moves and talk their humorous heads off, with menace constantly rippling beneath the surface.' John Coleman, Sunday Times
'Another movement in the savagely comic, expertly choreographed Jamesian dance to the music of crime... Addicts and newcomers will love it.' Matthew Coady, Guardian
'Cops and villains belong to one family... Quietly, subtly, Bill James is compiling a brilliant portrait of a society which few writers have penetrated.' Marcel Berlins, The Times
'Only too convincing, and quite unputdownable.' Irish Times
'Wickedly entertaining.' Guardian
First British Edition Macmillan (1991)
Club The trial of the crew behind a bungled wages heist has come at last. Among the friends, relatives and police keenly awaiting the outcome in court is someone quite unexpected who has a particular interest in one of the accused - Sarah Iles, the Assistant Chief Constable's wife. Her relief is visible when Ian Aston is the only one to go free, for Ian and Sarah were lovers.
Sarah Iles is heavily pregnant. Her husband is sure he's the father, but rumours are not so kind. After all, Sarah's affair with Aston was longstanding - and widely suspected. So when Aston is found with his head broken in some accusing fingers point to a jealous husband, and ACC lies finds himself under the spotlight.
Aston's death also means that the team with whom he was planning a bank raid are one man short. 'Panicking Ralph' is called back from respectable 'retirement' to fill Aston's place, and though he is not at all happy about this his pride won't let him refuse.
The police enquiries into the murder of Ian Aston continue, but seem to be getting nowhere. Perhaps they are afraid to catch the killer. Whose side are they on? Aston's parents are far from sure, and his grieving father decides to take matters into his own hands. And Sarah Iles decides to seek sexual comfort elsewhere.
Bill James's gritty but very human thriller is the seventh in the DCS Harpur and ACC Iles series and offers us new insights into their tortured private lives as well as into the machinations behind a high-yield bank raid. ‘Savagely comic, expertly choreographed... dialogue and black comedy cast still among the choicest. Wickedly entertaining.' Guardian
‘Excellent on the seamy side with few illusions about human nature in or out of uniform.' Observer
'The tortuous private lives of James's policemen are often more savage than the crimes they investigate... Mr James is bruisingly good and deserves to win converts.' Mike Ripley, Sunday Telegraph
In Good Hands
In Good Hands