Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - One Under

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A very decent police procedural

I was offered a free ARC of this book via Netgalley and tried it because it is set in Shepherds Bush – an area of London I know well.  It turned out to be a solid, well-written police procedural which was very good for the first three-quarters of its length, although I thought it did get a little silly toward the end.

This is The eighteenth in the series featuring these characters, but I found that I could enjoy it perfectly well without knowing what had gone before.  It begins with a suicide at Shepherds Bush Station as a man jumps under a train and then an apparent hit-and-run miles away on the outskirts of London.  Diligent, solid police work eventually leads to the two seeming to be linked, and the case develops into an investigation into high-level malfeasance.  It's generally very well done.  Cynthia Harrod-Eagles writes good, readable prose and creates believable characters who, by and large, behave believably.  Her police officers are a varied but pretty normal, well-balanced bunch who do actually follow procedure (yes, really!) and the main protagonist DCI Bill Slider is sane, happily married to a professional violinist and a good, diligent, honest copper who is trying to do a decent job while beset by budgets and managerial bull-excrement.  It feels realistic and plausible, and I enjoyed the varied cast of characters.

Sadly, Harrod-Eagles isn't wholly immune from the clichés of the genre, and things do get a little silly toward the end – especially one scene in which a suspect confesses and explains everything to Slider, thinking himself too well-protected to be prosecuted.  It just seemed absurd to me – which is a pity, because most of the rest of the book rang pretty true.  Nonetheless, it's a very decent book overall.

I have somehow managed to miss Cynthia Harrod-Eagles until now, but I am glad to have discovered her.  I won't be dashing out instantly to find more, but if one comes my way I will certainly read it with pleasure.  I can recommend One Under as an enjoyable read.