Shadow Play
Shadow Play A British police procedural by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles Severn House Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 01 Feb 2018
Review
Everyone lies to police. For what reason - now that is the kicker. When the body of a businessman is discovered in the yard of Eli Simpson’s car workshop, Bill Slider and his team have little to build an investigation on - until a girlfriend identifies his body and offers the team their first clue. Mr King was someone’s right hand man, and someone was determined to find what he had hidden. As they pull at the threads they discover an mp on the cusp of being blackmailed and links between Mr King and a few building projects in the works, projects that stand to make a lot of people a lot of money but is it a motive for murder?
One thing I like about Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’s procedurals is how she clearly characterizes the various members of Slider’s team and how those individuals each have their own approach to questioning suspects and gathering background information. It makes the situation far more realistic. I also liked the way the plot was developed, each witness giving away more than they know as they lie. But between knowing and proving lies a lot of evidence and getting it is far from easy. The case is a complex and fascinating one.
If you like solid, realistic British police procedurals, you will definitely enjoy Shadow Play, as well as Cynthia Harrod-Eagles other novels.
5 / 5
I received a copy of Shadow Play from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
Description
Bill Slider and his team investigate the murder of a victim with a decidedly shady past in this gripping contemporary mystery. The body of a smartly-dressed businessman turns up in the yard of Eli Simpson’s car workshop. But there’s no ID in the pockets and Eli swears he’s never seen the man before. Then a girlfriend turns up with a name, and claims the victim told her he was someone’s right hand man. But old fractures and scars, discovered at the autopsy, suggest a more colourful past. For right hand man, DCI Bill Slider and his team read “enforcer”. So who was Mr King? Who was he the muscle for? What did he have to do with the Davy Lane project, and the blackmailing of an MP? And, most crucially, what did he know that made someone decide to terminally muscle the muscle?
