Kill My Darling
Detective Inspector Bill Slider #14
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Severn House
February 1, 2012 / ISBN: 072788137X
Police Procedural / England / Contemporary
Amazon

Reviewed by L J Roberts

First Sentence: At first Connolly thought he was crying; but after a few minutes she realized he just had a left eye that watered.

Melanie Hunter is known to be polite, and friendly. Now she's missing; reported gone by her downstairs neighbor who's caring for her dog. Melanie's body is soon discovered but the deeper Insp. Slider and his team become involved in the case, they more secrets they find; Melanie's and the men in her life.

Reading Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is always a delightful experience. Only someone with a superb grasp of language could use it as she does…"Connolly gave him a look so cold it could have hosted the Ice Capades." Who else includes words such as "propinquity" and creates malapropos with such aplomb. Her dialogue is flawless and so natural; while her descriptions provide mental pictures: "The woods looked beautiful as the sun reluctantly rose for its low-slung hibernal trajectory across the sky, sparkling and tinged with pink." She is the queen of metaphor: "The hard winter had taken its toll on the road surfaces, and…there were potholes you could find lost tribes in." Her voice is casual, almost conversational; the narriative as though you are being told a story by a friend.

Likeable, appealing characters are so important and these are that. They are human, fascinating and intriguing. They have lives outside their work, homes relationships and pets. This is not an angst-driven cast and how nice is that.

Lest you think all this overshadows the plot, you'd be wrong. There is an excellent twist right from the start and an investigation that builds on police teamwork.

Kill My Darlingis another very good addition to the Bill Slider series. As ever, I am anxious for the next book.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Blood Sinster #8
Headlong #11
Body Lines #13
Kill My Darling #14
Hard Going #16