Death Watch, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Second in the "Bill Slider" detective series, following Orchestrated Death. In this one, a body is found in a burned out building, and the indications are that it was either accident or suicide. Against opposition from his superiors, who just want the case closed with no fuss, Slider sets his team to work on it, but all he seems to have to show for his work is an increasing number of leads that don't end up going anywhere.

I took a couple of weeks to read this, not because it was poor but because I didn't find time to get a sustained bit of reading in. And the book suffered as a result: there were quite a lot of characters and sub-plots to keep hold of, and I would have got more out of it if I'd dedicated a few hours to it, which is what it deserved.

I'm not sure it was as good as the first book, but it was a worthwhile read, and the writing was of a similar high standard. I'd wondered, after reading the first book, whether it would be possible to sustain Bill's extra-marital relationship with Joanna. It was, but I can't see how they're going to get through the third book without some crisis being confronted. I hope they get together, and that Bill doesn't end up choosing to stay with his wife.

It's a measure of how much I liked the book that I wanted to get this written as soon as possible, so that I could start the next one.

Completed : 25-Feb-2012

[nickoh] [2012 books] [books homepage]