John Harvey

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BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR


Title: Flesh And Blood: Description:
A gripping and powerfully atmospheric thriller from a writer at the very top of his game. Not your typical detective thriller...this story worked because it really takes you into the mind of its wholly convincing characters, not least Detective Frank Elder, a middle aged, somewhat manic depressive, miserable old git determined to close the door on the past. There is no sentimentality in this tale, exemplified by the brutal, nasty finale - life's a bitch and Elder knows it.

Title: Men From Boys: Description:
What does it mean to be a father? What does it mean to be a son? What does it mean to be a man? Gathered together in this anthology are sixteen short stories and a novella from some of the masters of crime fiction who answer these questions in myriad ways. These are worlds that are instantly recognisable and believable yet as widely apart as a deprived London housing estate and the trenches of the First World War, the claustrophobia of a late-night back room poker game or a rundown jazz joint in Manhattan and the slow but irrevocable decay of the small New England town. Again and again - but never two ways the same - the people who inhabit these stories are having to determine what is right, what will give them dignity, what will earn them self-respect.

Title: Easy Meat (a Resnick Novel): Description:
A Charlie Resnick crime novel.

Title: Cutting Edge (a Resnick Novel): Description:
A savage assault with a scalpel leaves Dr Tim Fletcher's body badly slashed in a deserted walkway. The first victim in a series of brutal assaults on hospital staff. As panic grips the city, it's up to Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick to find the killer. Faced with a mass of clues that lead nowhere and a past he cannot forget, it's not long before he's pushed close to breaking point

Title: Darkness And Light: Description:
Retired DI Frank Elder's estranged wife needs a favour...a friend's sister, unassumng, mid-fifties has gone missing. A she investigates, he begins to draw parallels with his first (and unsolved) case with the Serious Crime Unit.....

Title: Wasted Years (a Resnick Novel): Description:
A series of brutal robberies takes Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick back ten years. To a time when a rash of very similar incidents left him face to face with a frenzied sociopath who nearly brought his life to a premature end - and to a time when his wife ran off with her lover, putting paid to their marriage and leaving him with a emotional wound that still hasn't healed. Now with the look-alike robberies escalating in violence, Resnick fights to track the men down before they kill, just as he fights to stem the poignant memories that threaten to overwhelm him... From the Publisher Reissued 1st December 2005 From the Back Cover ‘A densely textured procedural, reverberating with the sounds and side effects of broken wedlock …How Harvey makes these breakages count in the final solutions is his magic and triumph. Another winner.’Sunday Times A series of brutal robberies takes Detective Inspector Resnick back ten years. To a time when a rash of very similar incidents left him face to face with a frenzied sociopath who nearly brought his life to a premature end…and to a time when his wife ran off with her lover, putting paid to their marriage and leaving him with a psychic wound that still hasn’t healed. Now with the look-alike robberies escalating in violence, Resnick fights to track the men down before they kill, just as he fights to stem the poignant memories that threaten to overwhelm him. ‘From Resnick’s bruised marriage to his flamboyant sandwiches, from the precisely drawn characters to the surprising (yet strangely inevitable) climax, from the wonderfully telling details…to the desolation of a decaying city, Wasted Years is a novel without one false note’ San Francisco Chronicle About the Author John Harvey:JOHN HARVEY is the author of the richly praised sequence of ten Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times as one of the '100 Best Crime Novels of the Century'. Flesh and Blood, his first novel featuring retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder, won the CWA Silver Dagger Award in 2004. He is also a poet, dramatist and occasional broadcaster.

Title: Off Minor (a Resnick Novel): Description:
Little Gloria Summers' body has been found, hidden inside two plastic bin bags in a disused warehouse. Somewhere in the city, a child killer is on the loose, free to strike again. Then Emily Morrison vanishes on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A week later there are still no clues. Inspector Charlie Resnick is as appalled as the media. But years of patient police work have taught him a thing or two - including his conviction that those who jump to easy conclusions are often the last ones to solve a crime. From the Publisher Reissued 1st December 2005 From the Back Cover ‘Charlie Resnick is one of the most fully realized characters in modern crime fiction; complex and capable, a man who not only love justice, jazz and cats, but one who can turn the construction of a sandwich into a work of art’ Sue Grafton Little Gloria Summers’ body has been found, hidden inside two plastic bin bags in a disused warehouse.Somewhere in the city, a child killer is on the loose, free to strike again. Then Emily Morrison vanishes on a sunny Sunday afternoon.A week later there are still no clues.Inspector Charlie Resnick is as appalled as the media.But years of patient police work have taught him a thing or two – including his conviction that those who jump to easy conclusions are often the last ones to solve a crime. ‘If the title – King of Crime – is to go to the male writer who is at the summit of his form and writing some of the best crime fiction…the crown is John Harvey’s’The Times About the Author John Harvey:John Harvey is the author of the richly praised Charlie Resnick novels, a poet, dramatist and broadcaster. His most recent novel Flesh & Blood is an Arrow Lead in February 2005.

Title: Last Rites: Description:
Lorraine Preston's brother, Michael, was sent down for life for the murder of their father - and now he's being allowed out for their mother's funeral. A hardened criminal, Michael Preston is the last person Resnick wants back on his patch, even is it's only for a matter of hours. Heartsore and world-weary, Resnick is struggling to contain an explosive situation on the streets, where the spread of guns has led to a frightening escalation in drug-related crime. The local force, meanwhile, is riven by internal rivalries and rumours of corruption. With his previously stable relationship with Hannah Campbell wavering, Resnick is forced back on his self-belief, his understanding of people. Why - himself included - they do the things they do. About the Author John Harvey is the author of the richly praised sequence of ten Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times as one of the '100 Best Crime Novels of the Century'. In 2004 William Heinemann published Flesh and Blood, the first novel featuring retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder. He is also a poet, dramatist and occasional broadcaster.

Title: Rough Treatment: Description:
A kilo of cocaine was hardly what two small-time crooks were expecting to find when they broke into TV director Harold Roy's shabby mansion. But nor was Harold's frustrated wife expecting to fall in love with one of the intruders.

Title: Cutting Edge (a Resnick Novel): Description:
A savage assault with a scalpel leaves Dr Tim Fletcher lying, badly slashed, in a deserted walkway. He is the first victim in a series of assaults on hospital staff, and as panic grips the city, Charlie Resnick has to unravel a mass of clues and find the killer. About the Author JOHN HARVEY is the author of the richly praised sequence of ten Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times as one of the '100 Best Crime Novels of the Century'. In 2004 William Heinemann published Flesh and Blood, the first novel featuring retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder which won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2004. He is also a poet, dramatist and occasional broadcaster. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Title: Living Proof (a Resnick Novel): Description:
When a man is found in the middle of Alfreton Road in the early hours of a Sunday morning, stark naked and bleeding heavily from a chest wound, he is the latest victim in a series of vicious attacks on men. But enquiries in the mean streets of Nottingham's red-light district have brought the investigations to a dead end. Charlie Resnick is the man for the job. And as if he hasn't had enough to deal with, he now has to provide police protection for a celebrity at the annual crime convention - an author with the some very unpleasant 'fan' mail. Chronically short-staffed as he is, it's a guessing game as to when Resnick's lack of manpower will have fatal consequences... About the Author JOHN HARVEY is the author of the richly praised sequence of ten Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times as one of the '100 Best Crime Novels of the Century'. In 2004 William Heinemann published Flesh and Blood, the first novel featuring retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder which won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2004. He is also a poet, dramatist and occasional broadcaster.

Title: Lonely Hearts (a Resnick Novel): Description:
Shirley Peters is dead. Murdered. Her body is found twelve hours later in her own home. Just one of the many sordid domestic crimes hitting the city. Tony Macliesh, her rejected boyfriend, is the obvious prime suspect and he's just been picked off the Aberdeen train and put straight into custody. But then, another women is sexually abused and throttled to death. And suddenly there appears to be one too many connections between these seemingly unrelated crimes. Detective Inspector Resnick is sure that the two murders are the work of one sadistic killer - two lonely hearts broken by one maniac. And it's up to Resnick to put the record straight - and put the bastard where he belongs. About the Author JOHN HARVEY is the author of the richly praised sequence of ten Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times as one of the '100 Best Crime Novels of the Century'. In 2004 William Heinemann published Flesh and Blood, the first novel featuring retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder which won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2004. He is also a poet, dramatist and occasional broadcaster.

Title: Darkness And Light: Description:
A phone call intrudes on retired Detective Inspective Frank Elder's solitary life in Cornwall. It's his estranged wife and she needs a favour. A friend's sister, Claire Meecham, an unassuming widow in her fifties, has gone missing. Elder agrees to return to Nottingham to try and track her down. Then, Claire is found, dead. The killer has arranged her body meticulously, almost lovingly, forcing Elder to remember another dead woman, arranged in an almost identical way. It was his first case with the Serious Crimes Unit. His first case and never solved. It's clear to Elder that this is the work of the same unbalanced individual and, to find the killer, Elder must shine a light into the darkest recesses of human behaviour, the dark and twisted recesses of a disturbed human mind... From the Publisher 'John Harvey is one of my favourite authors. Whenever he has a new book out it goes straight to the top of my reading list.' - Peter Robinson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From the Inside Flap She wore a gold dress, short-sleeved, its skirt full-length and slightly flared. He could see the faint indentation on her left hand, a pale circle of skin giving away the fact that, until recently, a wedding ring had been there. She looked peaceful, lying there on the bed, her arms resting easily together, the left hand on the right, a slender silver cross and chain encircling her neck, and not a wrinkle, not a fold of her dress out of place. And, perhaps, she truly was at peace. For she was dead. This was the sight that greeted Detective Inspector Frank Elder on his first case with the Serious Crimes Unit. His first case and never solved; no one was ever charged; the murderer never found. At liberty to walk the streets, and to kill again. Eight years later, Elder’s estranged wife contacts him in his Cornish hideaway. Her friend’s sister Claire - a quiet and withdrawn widow in her fifties - has mysteriously disappeared. Elder, reluctantly, agrees to dig around and see what he can find. Then Claire is found, dead, arranged with meticulous detail on her bed, and it doesn’t take long for Elder to make the connection. It's obviously the work of the same unbalanced individual and, to find the killer, Elder must shine a light into the darkest recesses of human behaviour, the dark and twisted recesses of a disturbed human mind... £12.99 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From the Back Cover Praise for Ash and Bone ‘Ash and Bone starts where Flesh and Blood left off, in every sense. Harvey once again gets everything right, jangling the nerves and plucking the heart-strings as he leads us sure-footedly through a complex plot whose disparate elements he holds in perfect balance. Another marvellous read.’Reginald Hill ‘John Harvey is one of my favourite writers. Whenever he has a new book out it goes to the top of my reading list. And I haven’t been disappointed yet.’ Peter Robinson ‘Immaculately engineered thriller...Harvey’s book is fast, fluent and exciting, with a pace and assurance that never lets up’Literary Review Praise for Flesh and Blood ‘Flesh and Blood is a gripping and powerfully atmospheric thriller from a writer at the very top of his game.It’s quite simply the best thing Harvey’s written yet, and from a writer as good as he is, that’s really saying something.’Mark Billingham ‘Flesh and Blood is one more vindication for those of us who have long known we’ve been riding with a master of the craft.John Harvey is lights out one of the best and with this book the word is going to spread far and wide.’Michael Connelly ‘Drenched in memory and twisted desire…Flesh and Blood is a superb mystery – excruciatingly suspenseful, rich in character and all too real in its depiction of the horrific possibilities lurking in the margins of the mundane.Washington Post --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. About the Author John Harvey:John Harvey is the author of the richly praised Charlie Resnick novels, a poet, dramatist and broadcaster. His most recent novel Flesh & Blood is an Arrow Lead in February 2005. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Title: In A True Light: Description:
Sloane walks free from prison after taking the rap for a high-profile art scam. A failed painter, he is now a failed forger. Awaiting him are two policemen anxious to remind him of his sins, and a letter from a woman with whom he had a passionate affair in his youth. Now dying, she summons him to tell him that he has a daughter, Connie. Sloane agrees to return to New York, a city of potent memories, to look for his daughter. But Connie is locked in a relationship with a man the police believe has killed once and who will not hesitate to kill again. Sloane has to decide whether to walk away or stay and fight for her. And the deeper the police dig into Vincent Delaney's business affairs, uncovering underworld associations, the more Delaney feels cornered, and the more unpredictable and dangerous he becomes... From the Publisher Reissued 1st December 2005 From the Back Cover Sloane walks free from prison after taking the rap for a high-profile art scam. A failed painter, he is now a failed forger. Awaiting him are two policemen anxious to remind him of his sins, and a letter from a woman with whom he had a passionate affair in his youth. Dying now, she summons him, to tell him that he has a daughter, Connie. Sloane agrees to return to New York, a city of potent memories, and look for his daughter. But Connie is locked into a relationship with a man the police believe has killed once and will not hesitate to kill again. Sloane has to decide whether to walk away or stay and fight for her. And the deeper the police dig into Vincent Delaney's business affairs, uncovering underworld associations, the more Delaney feels cornered, and the more unpredictable and dangerous he becomes... ‘All of (his) rich talent is in evidence on Harvey’s welcome return to crime with In a True Light’ The Times 'In a True Light is a pitch-perfect, pulp-noir cocktail from a true master' George P. Pelecanow About the Author John Harvey:John Harvey is the author of the richly praised Charlie Resnick novels, a poet, dramatist and broadcaster. His most recent novel Flesh & Blood is an Arrow Lead in February 2005.

Title: Rough Treatment (a Resnick Novel): Description:
A kilo of cocaine. Hardly what two small-time crooks were expecting to find when they broke into TV director Harold Roy's shabby mansion. But, nor was Harold's frustrated wife expecting to fall in love with one of the intruders. Now she's going to make a deal with him - for both her husband and the drugs. But the precious powder belongs to someone else. And he wants it back. So if he feels he's been double-crossed, there's no telling what might happen. Detective Inspector, Resnick has a hunch that there's more to this story than meets the eye. And as his investigations lead him down the mean streets of the TV industry and an inner city drugs ring, it's obvious that more than one person is dancing on thin ice. About the Author JOHN HARVEY is the author of the richly praised sequence of ten Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times as one of the '100 Best Crime Novels of the Century'. In 2004 William Heinemann published Flesh and Blood, the first novel featuring retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder which won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2004. He is also a poet, dramatist and occasional broadcaster.