Bill James –
prolific UK crime author and known best for his long running police procedural
series with Harpur and Iles – up to 30
books and still going strong, has also published 17 books under the David Craig pseudonym. At one point I
stupidly thought I would try and back-track on his extensive library and
collect them all. I soon gave up.
“Listen Forman, if
you don’t go through with it…no police, no switches of van…I reckon I’ll kill
you”
When security tycoon
Riobert Forman’s daughter and mistress are kidnapped, it’s the first move in a
big robbery that needs every angle covered.
The kidnappers wasn’t
co-operation instead of cash.
The snag is Jim “Bottle”
Naboth – a policeman who found booze the fastest way out of the force – because
Forman’s mistress is Naboth’s wife….
On his own and dying
for a drink, “Bottle” Naboth’s making his come-back – the hardest way there is……
My copy – a film tie-in reprint - depicts a couple of scenes
from the 1977 film of the book which starred Stacy Keach, David Hemmings,
Edward Fox and Freddie Starr – I will try and see if I can track it down at
some point.
MESSAGE ENDS
No 2 in the Roy Rickman
trilogy
Britain in the late
70’s…fiendish treachery, cryptic clues, hot suspense and corpses galore.
Special investigator
Roy Rickman is assigned to unmask intrigue and corruption in Britain’s
futuristic “Ministry of Information.”
The trail of
treachery takes him on a dangerous trip half way round England… and despite his
panache in the field of professional deceit, Rickman is tormented by doubts:
Are the clues he is
following false?
Are his colleagues
really loyal?
Is his girlfriend
Rachel part of the plot – or just naturally elusive?
Less than 160 pages long, I think I will enjoy this, though
I may wait and see if I uncover the first Roy Rickman during my cataloguing
exercise. If I don’t I shan’t feel compelled to seek out the earlier one in the
series! I quite like the sound of this though.
I've read a couple of the Harpur & Iles series - I think he's a good writer, though I am put off by the sheer volume of his output. Will read your reviews with interest when the time comes....
ReplyDeleteI think I have maybe 20-odd of the H&I series, with perhaps 18 unread! (Go me). I think I don't need any more from him - as it is I need a life expectancy of about 150 years to read the existing library! He does keep things mercifully brief which is in his favour, unlike some authors.
DeleteCol - I'm always amazed by how prolific certain writers are. James/Craig is one of them. I hope you'll enjoy these.
ReplyDeleteMe too, perhaps he's not quite at the same level as James Reasoner, but he has certainly been busy over the years.
DeleteLooking forward to a bit of last century old school villainy and crime!
Col, I'm beginning to realise that a lot of crime fiction authors you read and review have never made it to my shores and in spite of nearly all of them being prolific. David Craig/Bill James is one of those. I'll look closer and harder next time.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right. Bill James is one of those funny authors that you don't even see much of in shops over here. I have only really encountered his books in any volume in my library (or the second hand book market on the internet). I used to feel the same way 20 years ago and had to go to a specialty crime fiction bookseller in London for a twice-yearly fix of US crime.
DeleteI think with the internet and the digital age, it won't be too long before everything will be more readily accessible to everyone.
I will stick with the Harpur and Iles series which I am only two books into. I have lucky to find a few of those at used book stores. Unless you review some of the others and convince me that they are worth trying.
ReplyDeleteI want to read more from him soon, but I guess I could say that about a lot of the authors and books on my shelves (tubs!)
DeleteI read the first chapter or two of THE SQUEEZE whilst doing the prep for the post and I was enjoying it, so I will probably get back to it soon, then who knows....
Just dropping in to say hi, Col. Doing a great job as usual. Anonymous-9
ReplyDeleteCheers, Elaine, thanks for stopping by......Bite Harder coming soon!
Delete