Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

Synopsis/blurb.....

Assistant Chief Constable Iles finds himself suspected of murder in the fast-paced 35th installment of the popular Harpur and Iles police procedural series.

Tensions in the community are mounting following the gruesome deaths of two men, both of whom were accused yet acquitted of the murder of an undercover police officer. It looks like vigilante justice, but who is responsible? Alarmingly, suspicion falls on Assistant Chief Constable Iles.

Matters escalate when a TV show investigating the murders is aired, further implicating Iles. Iles seems at ease with the accusations, as are his superiors in the police force. But others are not feeling so secure.

Local crime bosses Ralph Ember and Mansel Shale fear reprisals against Iles will result in their own businesses suffering. And so they begin to plan how to remove potential troublemakers from their path . . .
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My take....

I'm pretty sure I have read the first in this series a fair few years ago and at one time I harboured delusions of reading the whole series, probably when he was on about number 20, maybe 15 years ago. Since then at a pace of about one a year, this 90 year old author (or thereabouts) has sped further away from me.

Here we have our long-running double act, Harpur and Iles pondering an upcoming TV documentary-cum-dramatisation where a thinly veiled accusation of murder will be aimed at Iles.

Our book concerns the fall-out from that and the effect it has on Harpur; his daughter's - one of whom, Hazel seems to have an infatuation with ACC Iles, which may have been inappropriately reciprocated at one time; Iles's pregnant wife, Sarah - who Harpur had an affair with previously and also a couple of local villains who's day to day activities are tolerated by Iles in a tacit policy of laissez-faire, Iles's overview being - better the devil you know in respect of criminality in the community.

I took a while to warm to the book, mainly because of the author's narrative style which is fairly distinctive and instantly recognisable - it is if you've read him before of course. I wouldn't say he talks in riddles, but he demands that you pay careful attention to his words.

There's a fair bit of humour in the book and I get the impression the author had some fun writing it. At one point, Harpur meets a confidential informant at a secluded location and almost gets more than information. The back door of their car opens and a hopeful, randy stranger hops in full of anticipation for the three way tryst that is sure to follow. The fellow departs, nursing hurt feelings and wounded pride before getting reinvigorated by the stranger who drops into his own car.

There's some fun with the villains too. One of whom, Mansel Shale is rather rashly contemplating shooting the TV crew as a means of removing the threat to Iles. The other, Ralph Ember a nightclub owner and more, fancies himself as a Charlton Heston lookalike, back from the days when Charlton was a good looking chap (and not overly obsessed with polishing his gun collection). Self-obsessed and vain, Ralph lives in a cocoon, imagining that everyone he meets has the same regard and high opinion of him, that he holds for himself. He is slightly more rational than Shale, but it's a close run thing.

Family conferences, nightclub visits, Bastille Day, a TV programme, bad publicity, Home Office concern and involvement, a dead undercover officer, two dead acquitted suspects,a shooting, a garroting, an agitating brother, a nightclub riot, a concerned wife, some anxious villains, Charlton Heston, a concocted plan, a temporarily missing daughter, a trip to London, a decorating contract, a surveillance operation, an unexpected occurrence and a return to normality.

Once I got into this, I really enjoyed it. There's an ambiguity about the conclusion that worked well for me, a sort of did he, didn't he that's unresolved. It's not something I usually enjoy but here it makes sense.

I liked the participants, the premise, the humour and the pace. I really need to cut down on the new books and concentrate on reading more from the existing stockpile, including Bill James. Maybe I'll get a couple of these read before number 36 drops.

4.5 from 5

Noose, a standalone from Bill James was enjoyed back in September, 2013. I hadn't realised it was quite so long since I read him.

Read - March, 2019
Published - 2019
Page count - 188
Source - Net Galley, courtesy of Severn House publisher
Format - ePub read on laptop

http://col2910.blogspot.com/2019/03/bill-james-hitmen-i-have-known-2019.html

Is there a more distinctive voice in contemporary writing than Bill James? He really does knock spots off the opposition. Many years ago I was given a novel by a friend. “Bill James, who’s he?” I said. I was hooked on page one, and gobbled it up. I read a dozen more Harpur & Iles novels in a couple of weeks. Then I went back and read them all again. Thus, I am very pleased to announce that we have another winner. Harper and Iles are back, and so are Denise, the girls, Jill and Hazel, Panicking Ralph and Mansel Shale, and all as fresh as if they had been invented yesterday. “Hit Men I have Known” is a rollicking tale which gravitates around a nasty unresolved double murder and the suspicions and tensions a tv re-enactment raises. If this sounds too deadly serious, it’s worth remembering that James’s wry sense of humour bubbles up on every page.
A five-star performance by the King of Crime. I am eagerly awaiting the next one. It will be number thirty-six in the series, I think, though I stopped counting a long time ago.
Thanks to Net Galley and Severn House for the opportunity to read the ebook!

4 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

ACC Desmond Iles has been accused of murder. While no one else seems worried about it, even Iles, the television shows want to do a documentary about the non-case. Both men, acquitted of killing an undercover police officer, were killed in a dramatic fashion which makes for splashy headlines.

Col Harpur turns to his “snouts” or informers for assistance in ferreting out the truth of the matter. Meanwhile two local crime bosses are worried about their business losses in the wake of the killings. They decide to take the offensive – to head off trouble by starting their own.

They plan a series of “hits” to steer the focus away from Iles and to protect themselves.

I like the way the criminals in this story talk about stuff, but they are really saying something else. It is like a while new language – in code. I had to chuckle at some of the phrases they used: “Personal service, rare high skill” and so on. They philosophize on the psychology of the hitman. I like Iles. His musing about a variety of subjects at the same time is amusing. Harpur is no slouch either. This book is very well written and very entertaining. I like the way the story flows along almost seamlessly.

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this fine book for me to read, enjoy and review.