A Harpur & Iles Mystery
24 primary works • 28 total works
Book 30
Book 31
Panicking Ralph is a big-time villain - but he's a local villain - and when his life is threatened, policemen Harpur and Iles are straight on the case
Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, worry about the safety of one of the big-time crooks on their ground, Ralph Ember, sometimes known as Panicking Ralph. Yes, Ralph is a villain, but he's a local villain, and Harpur and Iles feel a kind of bizarre affection for him. And in any case, Ralph helps Iles keep the city reasonably peaceful. But now some awkward repercussions from Ralph's lawless past seem to bring danger.
Ralph is aware of this new peril and has installed a bulletproof steel barrier to protect himself in the club he owns - but will this be enough to keep him safe? Harpur thinks not. Surely the upcoming party at the club will provide the perfect moment for a gunman to do for Ralph? The only way Harpur can be sure of protecting Ralph is to attend the party himself . . .
Book 32
Policemen Harpur and Iles get mixed up in the criminal world of fine art dealing
Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur feels a sort of warmth towards Jack Lamb, a brilliantly prosperous but profoundly dodgy fine arts dealer. Lamb is the greatest informant Harpur has ever dealt with - might be the greatest informant any police officer has ever dealt with - and although Jack ended this arrangement some time ago, Harpur still feels indebted to him.
Lamb's posh manor house is stuffed with expensive paintings, ripe for the pinching . . . and small-time thief George Dinnick and his crew intend to relieve him of a few. But their plans are complicated by local big-time crook Ralph Ember, who is on the lookout for some art to elevate his gentleman's club, The Monty; and who else would he visit to procure this art but Jack Lamb? Add to the mix odd-job man and stolen-art procurer Basil Gordon Loam - aka Enzyme - who Harpur and Iles would very much like to see locked up, and things start to get complicated indeed.
Book 33
When a major drugs dealer seeks vengeance for the death of his family, policemen Harpur and Iles must do all they can to prevent a bloodbath
Following the murder of his wife and son, tycoon drugs dealer Mansel Shale is determined to get vengeance - and he wants another drugs baron, Ralph Ember, to help him. Having heard of the movie Strangers on a Train, in which two men agree to undertake each other's murders as a way of preventing detection, Shale suggests he and Ralph should have a similar arrangement - and Ralph is in no position to refuse.
When he learns of the plan, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles fears that if things go wrong, the hard-won peace he and Harpur have established in the city will be seriously threatened. The two top policemen find they have their work cut out to limit the damage and restore tranquillity.
"I found I had a flair for tag-along, street level stealth. It thrilled me. It killed me. Do you mind if I tell you how?"
Thomas Wells Hart drifted into a dodgy career as a private investigator and grew clever at tailing suspects and all the other tricks of the game. Not quite clever enough, however. Coming across Hart's shot-up body, Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and Assistant Chief Constable Des Iles have to work out their own explanation as to how he came to be executed behind the wheel of a Ford Focus in a quiet suburban street.
The trail will lead them through illegal art trading, big-bucks money laundering - and more murder. As ever, Iles suspects Harpur is hiding essential facts from him. As ever, Harpur is hiding essential facts from his boss. Will the mismatched pair manage to close the case?
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 . . .
Ralph is aware of this new peril and has installed a bulletproof steel barrier to protect himself in the club he owns - but will this be enough to keep him safe? Harpur thinks not. Surely the upcoming party at the club will provide the perfect moment for a gunman to do for Ralph? The only way Harpur can be sure of protecting Ralph is to attend the party himself . . .
A well-dressed corpse found shot in the sand and gravel wharf sparks trouble for Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his unpredictable boss, Assistant Chief Constable Iles.
"A must-read for devotees of British procedurals" - Booklist Starred Review
The man is found dead in the local dockyard, shot from behind. Colin Harpur, examining the impeccably dressed corpse on his hands and knees, predicts the execution spells imminent trouble - and not just the unexpected arrival of his spiteful, brilliant boss, ACC Iles, at the two a.m. slaughter scene.
Iles's progressive attitude towards the local drugs trade has kept gang warfare off the streets, but now it seems jealous outsiders may be coveting the safe, ordered community he has so brilliantly created. Coveting, too, the local property - for instance, drug lord Ralph Ember's luxurious mansion, Low Pastures, home to his unparalleled collection of china and porcelain.
Harpur and Iles are determined to protect their set-up at all costs - which includes protecting 'Panicking' Ralph. But Ralph has his own plans, and there are dark rumours about Iles on the wind . . .
Blackly humorous, delightfully eccentric and packed with sharp-tongued wit, this gritty British police procedural is a must-read for fans of Bill James' critically acclaimed long-running Harpur and Iles series.