Following "The Founding" and "The Dark Rose", this is the third book in the MORLAND DYNASTY series.

A few years have passed and Nanette, having suffered a tragic personal loss, once again returns to court where she witnesses the turbulent years of Elizabeth I.'s reign as the young Queen's confidante and lady-in-waiting.

Meanwhile, in order to increase the Morland family's wealth and influence through an advantageous marriage, John, heir to Morland Place, is sent by his domineering father to the wild Northern Border. In order to prove himself among the savage Northerners and to win the love of the woman he desires, John has to live through hardship and bloody battle.

At the same time, John's gentle sister Lettice is sent to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. When she is ravished by and marries a ruthless Scottish nobleman, Lettice soon becomes embroiled in court intrigues. Having heard rumours about the mysterious deaths of her husband's first two wives and being unable to give her husband the desired heir, fear becomes her daily fare.

I found this powerful and beautifully written novel thoroughly enjoyable. The characters are believable and it becomes obvious that the author did much research on the subject. Currently, I am reading the sixth book in the series and I have not yet tired of the Morlands.

I must confess I haven't read her mysteries, but I can say that her Kirov Saga and Morland Dynasty series are the creme dela creme of all historical fiction. Right up there with H. Turtledove, master of alternate history. A masterpiece of historical events excellently captured aswell as the best characters in imagination.

I don't know why, but when the book opens upon Slider checking out the corpse in the ditch, talking with Mrs. Hammond, I thought it might be her, but then immediately was taken on the road that lead to Eddie Andrews. Now this seemed just too easy to me, and I then thought it was the slimy David Meacher, but that also seemed too easy. For a nanosecond I thought it might be "Lady Diana", the long-suffering wife but it didn't seem likely so I went back to my first instinct: Mrs. Hammond. Then when it was briefly mentioned that Cyril Dacre could get about without his wheelchair..............you get the picture!

This is what I enjoy about Ms Harrod-Eagles' mysteries. They really are a mystery! The characters have become "friends" of mine as our writer makes them so real, human. I especially enjoyed Mr. Whitton, the neighbor who had so much insight to share with Slider. The fact that he exists without a telephone endeared him to me. And I am in the middle of a nightmare with car troubles so it was almost comforting to see that Joanna and Bill have them as well. (Misery loves company!) But again, it made them real people who could jump off the pages and really exist. I like that!

I would really love to see these books made into movies in Britain. (Hollywood would ruin them!) You know how you get a certain picture in mind of what these characters would look like? I see Ed Norton as Slider, Cameron Diaz as Joanna, Rob Lowe as Atherton.....not sure about the rest. Looking forward to my next read.

Ms Harrod-Eagles' series on Bill Slider continues to delight. Her writing is wickedly humorous and her characters "breathe". This is an excellent edition to the series. We see Bill Slider at his best in this one. He is the most likeable detective out there right now, I think. In this book a woman is found dead in a construction hole at the Old Rectory. How did she get there? Was she even murdered? Bill and Jim Atherton set out to track the killer. It appears like a straightforward case at first since they discover her husband was terribly jealous, and he really had no alibi for the time of the murder, but as they delve deeper, they find a woman who has been leading a rather unsavoury life, and has been upsetting and making people angry for some time. As always, Ms. Harrod-Eagles characterizations are great. Cheif Inspector Porson is an absolute gem. I caught myself chuckling more than once at his Porsonisms. Read this series if you like intelligent writing with a diamond hard wit laced right through the whole story.

Slider and Atherton investigate the death of Jennifer Andrews, a contractor's adulterous wife. Her body is found in a trench the man was about to permanently fill. The construction was taking place on a fancy estate occupied by an ailing historian and the wimpy daughter he browbeats. Both knew the dead woman, and neither liked her. In fact, no one seems to have liked her much -not the (married) boss she was having an affair with, or the co-worker whose place she took in doing so, or her notoriously jealous husband. Even her priest despised her. As Slider and Atherton investigate the murder, they each struggle with their own relationship issues. Atherton's wondering whether the bachelor life he's raised to an art form is really all that wonderful. Slider's still living with one woman, and married to another woman who is living with another man. His estranged wife, Irene, wants to divorce and financially destroy him, or maybe reconcile with him instead; she's not sure.

My favorite parts of Harrod-Eagles' books are the witty banter among the coppers, and their brainstorming sessions about their cases. As always, the police officers trade funny quips, puns, and put-downs as they share theories and speculation about a murder. The relationship between Slider and Atherton is the deepest and most complex in the series, and there's some reflection on that in SHALLOW GRAVE. The plot is somewhat predictable and the resolution not particularly surprising. Those shortcomings might bother me in another book, but not in this one. If a less-than-compelling plot can bring together such imperfect but utterly likable characters as populate this series, and inspire writing as good as Harrod-Eagles', that's fine by me. This is one of the best books in the series.

This book was moving and interesting, with a cast of rich, well drawn characters that kept me involved in the story. It is the story of passionate, vital people who are caught in the sweep of history and must either endure it or rise above it. If Gone With the Wind had been set in Russia, this would have been it. I truly enjoyed it.

I loved this book! I found it two years ago on an obscure back shelf at the local library during the summer, when I was looking for a good book to read. I brought it home after reading the dust jacket, and the first time I read it I was completely engrossed. I couldn't put it down and read the whole 500-something page book in one sitting. I have since gone on to read the other two books in the Kirov Trilogy, but I would have to say that Anna is by far my favorite. For me Cynthia Harrod-Eagles does a wonderful job at bringing the characters to life, weaving their personal struggles with the historical events of the time. As much as I love this book, I would never call Anna a literary masterpiece. Anna is the type of book that you read for pleasure, for the experience that the story gives you, and I must say that the experience is most definitely pleasurable.

This is my first time reading a book with Inspector Bill Slider, and this is the first in the series. I will certainly be reading the rest. This is a great detective story. Tight plot, great characters, and enough human interest to keep your attention. Slider is an endearing hero, a good cop, a sweet man, and enough humbleness to make you like him a lot. I definitely recommend this series.

This is the first in Ms. Harrod-Eagles' engaging police-procedural series featuring the likable and very human policeman Bill Slider. While he's content with his rank of inspector, his socially ambitious wife constantly nags him to go after promotion. The intricately plotted story involves a murdered female violinist, an extremely valuable Stradivarius, some large tins of olive oil from Italy, the mob, a key witness whom Slider finds very attractive, and a veterinarian who isn't exactly James Herriot. There's a good chance that readers who like Ruth Rendell's Wexford novels or Reginald Hill's Dalziel/Pascoe mysteries will enjoy this book.

This is an excellent story. I love Ms. Harrod-Eagles' characterizations, both of her key players as well as the secondary ones that appear in each novel. This particular book has some wonderful secondary charcters - Busty Parnell and Jay Paloma and Slider's new partner - (while Atherton is recovering in hospital) Hart are wonderful! We see more of Ms. Harrod-Eagles cracking wit in this book. Her puns in the chapter headings are still wonderful. In this book we see the murder of a homosexual dancer, and Slider sets out to find out who killed him and why. Slider enters the netherworld that all police officers are exposed to - notorious nightclubs, table-top dancers, drugs, etc. etc. in order to track down the killer. I love this series!

When exotic dancer Jay Paloma has been receiving poison pen letters for months so he tells London detective Inspector Bill Slider, but it is not until now that he decides to do something. He is getting worried he is going to leave town and settle back in Ireland - so he says. But he wants protection. Unfortunately he failed to keep any of the letters and Slider can't do anything. So when he is found murdered Slider feels some guilt and responsibility to track down his killer - but he has little to go on.

Killing time is the 6th book in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles series of Shepherd's Bush Inspector Bill Slider. Slider's normal Side-kick is still in hospital recovering from a stab wound got in the course of the investigation of the previous murder Mystery - "Blood lines" so Slider is pared with a sassy young Black woman - detective Hart.

There is also a clash of personalities in Slider's own Police station with a colleague not wishing to share information on another investigation which might cross with his own - and then there is one of Slider's own colleagues - PC Cosgrove in the thick of the investigation with everything pointing to his possible involvement in the crime.

The mystery is very good - the personal side of things tends not to be - luckily there is very little delving into the personal life of Slider, his soon to be ex-wife Irene and his lover Joanna to distract from the real focus of this book - the solving of the murder. I do like the way Harrod-Eagles slowly reveals each level of clues so you follow with Slider the whole way to the solving of the crime. Harrod Eagles also has the tendency to be a bit smart with the puns - each chapter has a sort of pun title which I find alternatively mildly witty or not so witty. And the characters tend to pun with one another a lot. Perhaps I just don't appreciate that too much as funny and find it at times a bit distracting more than anything. I wish Harrod-Eagles would stick to her amazing mysteries.

I love this series because it is different. Funny, witty, streetwise. I'm always looking forward to the next instalment. The only disappointment for me was that some of the characters were a tad too quirky.

It's been awhile since I read "Orchestrated Death" the first book in Ms. Harrod-Eagles Bill Slider series, but I decided to get back in the series. This is the second book in the series, and it's a good one. If you're a fan of English cozies, then give this series a try. Bill Slider is a real doll and his adventures in the fight against crime are good. I really enjoy Ms. Harrod-Eagles writing, and I'm starting to really like her characters - Bill and his sidekick Ahterton (Mr. Perfect). Dixon is wonderful too.

This was a good book that made it hard to put down.

Finding a finger in a packet of chips leads Shepherd's Bush Inspector, Bill Slider, and his side Kick Atherton into the strangest of crimes - what is the significance of the Chinese angle? where do computers fit into it all? and why are all the people they try to interview about the crime suddenly dying? - they still don't even know the identity of the finger - or where the rest of the body is.

This is the third novel in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles series of Bill Slider mysteries and the story I thought was one of her best - although I found the ending a bit of a cop out - it was another unsatisfying end where - while the ending is known I found there to be no real resolution. Each time Slider and Atherton manage to peel back another layer in the crime it seems to take them deeper into confusion. Nothing seems to make sense and they still don't know who the finger belongs too.

Meanwhile things aren't too good for Slider- his home life is falling apart, his lover is not happy and is rejecting him and at work he has to deal with 'Mad Ivan" Barrington whose petty dictates are causing great disatisfaction at the station.

This novel was published in Britain as 'Necrochip' so the title might confuse those who think it is a new novel in the Bill Slider series. This is definitely a very readable mystery and well worth picking up and giving a try. She isn't as good at writing secondary characters, but her crime investigation is gripping stuff.

Bill Slider, the London Police Inspector from Shepherd's Bush is back - called to a investigate the death of a man found burned in a fire at a motel. One thing I'll say for Harrod-Eagles is she doesn't muck around before introducing the crimes in her novels and I do like that. The crime is done and you get the rest of the book to sift through the past with the detective.

The body might or might not have been suicide and Slider's superiors with the Police are pressuring him to call it suicide - thus saving valuable budget dollars. Slider isn't so keen to do that - there are too many anomalies in the case. The body proves to be that of a known lothario, Richard (Dick) Neal and as usual there are suspects aplenty to be interviewed and eliminated. However a stranger and more sinister pattern starts to show up - what is happening to the members of the Red Watch which manned Shaftesbury Street Fire Station in the 1970's?

Meanwhile Slider's marriage is coming apart and his affair with Joanna is deepening. This part I find hard to understand - Joanna's patience with him - Slider's vacillations. It doesn't convince me really. In fact I find Slider's personal life a bit of a jarring distraction to the main story.

I do like the way the story unfolds and things that are significant are often revealed early on but are only glaringly obvious in the last few pages. I do think Harrod-Eagles can write a great mystery. This is the second book in the Bill Slider mystery series, by the way - the first is Orchestrated Death.

This is the eight Bill Slider mystery that I have read. I have enjoyed all previous seven books, but this one I found utterly confusing and worse, utterly boring. I found myself not only starting to skim the pages, but actually flipping pages. There were too many characters to keep track of, let alone care about. Harrod-Eagles fared better with her series characters: Slider, Joanna, Atherton, and Sue. They had some relationship issues that were interesting, but since this is a mystery book, I would expect the mystery part to be better than the relationship part.
Only die hard Slider fans should read this one.

I love Ms. Harrod-Eagles' Bill Slider. He is one of my favourite Police Detectives out there right now. He's smart, funny and has a droll sense of humour, and he's a genuinely nice guy. But I was disappointed with this book. It was somewhat disjointed and had a loose plot. The reader figures out who the bad guy is practically right away and it's a matter of reading to find out how they manage to get him. And even there we are thwarted because the ending is rushed and we don't actually get the satisfaction of seeing the bad guy nailed with the evidence. Ms. Harrod-Eagles' dry wit and her puns are still excellent though, and I will continue to read this series.

Although not a complete washout, a disjointed narrative and an unsatisfying ending makes this one of the weakest entries in the DI Bill Slider series. Ironically, Slider and his fellow officers are often lamenting the lack of hard evidence to assist their inquiries. Perhaps Harrod-Eagles is telling us that she didn't adequately plot the story. In any event this entry may indicate that this series has run its course and that the author is ready to move on to a new police procedural. Unless you have read all previous entries in this series, I strongly recommend that you not waste your time on this inferior entry.