This autobiography is not to be compared with Rosalind Miles "I, Elizabeth" or any of the novels by Margartet Georges ("The Memoirs of Cleopatra" "Mary Queen of Scots" and "Henry VIII") or Robert K. Massie's "Peter the Great"(non fiction). I was under the impresion that I was going to read a well organized story like the ones I mentioned. I was wrong. Suddenly she talks about her looks, then about some relatives that does not like pictures, then she talks about some relatives, about her husband etc. etc.etc. Why can't the book start with something like "I was born in ...." and then keep a chronological sequence of events, and introduce all the characters in that order? Very poor literature.

Harrod-Eagles is the best Hist.-Fict. novelist I have ever read. Her Morland Dynasty is the best. Her Kirov Saga is a must and the Bill Slider Mysteries I still have to explore.

This is the loveliest love story I have ever read. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is the master of the historical novel. Her Dynasty books are a MUST READ. I, Victoria, is a wonderfully rich account of what we wished Queen Victoria's life with Prince Albert was like. My favourite author without a doubt

This book starts quite naturally and appears to be the story of the relationships of two couples who are very good friends. We quickly become aware that the mosaic maze pattern on the kitchen floor is not as innocent as it appears. Things start to happen to Bee, who with husband Paul are the owners of the house with the mystical floor. Their friends Louise and Cliff are less involved but have a part to play, especially Cliff. Although I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of intricate plotting which this story could so easily have supported I will read more of this authors work.

A young woman's naked body is found in a seedy, abandoned flat and Bill Slider is called in to investigate the death. No identifying items are found with the body and no one has reported her missing. It is only by a fluke that her identification is made quickly - an identification that takes Bill Slider into the world of London's orchestra's and smuggling.

This is the first of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles novels of Bill Slider - a Detective from Shepherd's Bush station in London. She writes a convincing and complex detective story but I was less impressed with the personal details of her characters. Bill Slider is unhappily married to Irene yet he immediately meets Joanna through his investigation - a friend of the deceased - and starts an affair with her. It seems a little too idealist - and Slider seems a bit too wishy-washy. Atherton, as Slider's side-kick, provides a bit of comic relief but mostly in the form of clever puns which I found wore a bit thin at times.

The mysterery is very satisfying to figure out. The clues are all laid out for us slowly and I really enjoyed the process of following Slider and Atherton on their slow investigation - peeling back layer upon layer of the mystery - the olive oil cans, the girl's rich background, why she constantly disappeared to Manchester to play in the orchestra there, what on earth a Stradivarius violin was doing in her seedy flat and why did she suddenly start demanding an ex-lover marry her. There are suspects a plenty and lies and alibis. The only thing is the ending was disappointing - kind of a cop out. You know who and why but there is no justice in it. Still a good read overall.

A body is found in a hole dug at the back of an old Rectory in a highly respectable London Neighbourhood and Detective Bill Slider of the Shepherd's Bush Police Station is called in to investigate. In fact the case at first sight seems astonishingly simple. Jennifer Andrews, the deceased, has been placed in a hole dug by her husband, a builder, to shore up an old terrace. Had Frances Hammond not been out walking her dog in her backyard, no one might have seen the body before Andrews had a chance to fill in the hole and bury his wife for ever. After all, he had been following her around all night - even threatening to kill her.

However there are things that just don't add up - why was Jennifer's handbag left in his car?, Why did Frances Hammond's dog not bark in the night when it heard the intruder dump the body and why did no one hear his footsteps on the gravel path?

Jennifer Andrews was no saint either - she had been having affairs, and who had she gone to meet the night before? - it certainly wasn't her husband. And what does the real-estate agent Donald Meacher have to do with this all?

I do like Harrod-Eagles mysteries but her characters of Bill Slider, his lover Joanna, Ex-wife Irene and his side-kick, Atherton just seem a bit cardboard to me. They don't seem to have real emotions - just reactions handy to creating a bit of personal angst. I found that side a real let down.

This is Harrod Eagles 7th book in the Bill Slider series (there are 8 of them so far to April 2001) and I'm not sure how many more there are to come. She does write a great and enjoyable mystery. The personal life doesn't intrude too much into the real story of the mystery.