Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Dear Departed (2005)
Reviewed by Yvette Banek
Poor, unfortunate Chattie Cornfeld. Misunderstood, misinterpreted, misjudged and ultimately brutally murdered in this, the tenth installment in a topflight British police procedural series written by the prolific and gifted Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Dear Departed is this author’s best book in years. Just when it appeared that perhaps this long-term series was running out of steam, Harrod-Eagles steps up to "wow" us with this fast-paced whodunit featuring, at its center, the heartless murder of a quixotic young woman.
The victim is Charlotte (known as Chattie) Cornfeld, attacked while out on her morning run in the park - her body found in the shrubbery by a man walking his dog. What could be more ho-hum? Is the dead girl just another victim of the serial killer known, aptly enough, as the Park Killer? The answer lies buried deep within the life of the victim.
The immediate and somewhat jaded reaction of the police is: drugs and/or sex as a profession. How else to explain Chattie’s mismatched income and lifestyle, the posh flat, the pricey clothes? But upon closer inspection, and here is where author Harrod-Eagles struts her talent for multi-layered story telling, the true nature of this particular crime is unveiled clue by clue until the pitiful truth is revealed.
Detective Inspector Bill Slider, Shepherd Bush C.I.D.’s finest, is a quiet, good hearted soul burdened with a mind like a steel trap. His battle weary, pragmatic nature is tainted somewhat by a slight bent toward sentimentality which is charming. Though he would be first to deny that he is anything special, he’s the sort who once on the scent rarely gives up the chase even if it means stepping on sensitive toes.
Now living with his pregnant girlfriend Joanna, a musician he first met in the series’ debut Orchestrated Death -- while the blind-sided Slider was married to someone else, I might add. This chink in his armor does take some getting used to over the course of the first few books. Slider keeps the London riff-raff at bay while trying to squeeze in a little personal time. If only crime would take a holiday so he and Joanna can plan their wedding, all would be well.
When the murder of Chattie Cornfeld falls in his lap (on a rare day off), the often hapless Slider is called upon once again to navigate between home, office and crime scene with some finesse. Luckily, his integrity and dogged talent for finding the culprit are unquestioned. Though his superiors are not above using him in their nefarious plans to take the credit for dropping the net over a known bad guy, they also know that turned loose on a case, Slider, even burdened by a deaf ear for departmental politics, will likely prevail.
Slider is joined in his pursuit of the killer by his long-time partner, the admittedly handsome though jaded, skirt chaser Detective Sergeant Jim Atherton, and DC Kathleen Swilley, still eye-poppingly gorgeous and totally immune to station house blandishments. They’re aided and abetted by a couple of newcomers and one cop from the past (guaranteed to ruffle Slider’s feathers) who has been brought in on a temporary footing to bolster the short-handed staff. How Harrod-Eagles cleverly inter-weaves the personal lives of the officers throughout the case (without once make this feel like an obstruction) makes for a nice balancing act and shows the strength of a talented, experienced hand.
As events proceed at a quick pace to their inevitable end, the cops wade through the tangled personal life of Chattie Cornfeld and we learn from family and friends, the true nature of the victim, we come, as Slider does, to feel real affection and genuine regret.
Though police procedurals are an acquired taste, and some can, indeed, be a bit pedantic, Harrod-Eagles is the exception to the rule. Even if you’ve never tried one before, I urge you to take the plunge with Dear Departed. Hopefully it will lead you back to the beginning of the series and over time you will become, as I have, a devoted fan of Detective Inspector Bill Slider.
Posted by Yvette Banek in Book Reviews | Permalink
