Awards
Winner of the British Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award
Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the British Crime Writers Association Silver Dagger
Winner of the Best British Crime Novel Barry Award
IMPAC Award Finalist
"A superb mysteryexcruciatingly suspenseful, rich in character and all too real in its depiction of the horrific possibilities lurking in the margins of the mundane."The Washington Post Book World
Retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder has fled to the Cornish coast, but he cant escape the past. Susan Blacklock would be thirty now. But fourteen years ago she disappeared, and the case has gone unsolved. Not that Elder hadnt had his suspects. Now, with one of them out on parole, pretty Emma Harrison has gone missing. Just as Elders knowledge becomes crucial to the official investigation, he unwittingly becomes vital to the crimes on-going perpetration. For with cryptic messages on seaside postcards and a few planted clues, the killer is drawing Elder into the very heart of the matter. Elders teenage daughter is already there. In the first of the Frank Elder mysteries, before Ash & Bone and Darkness & Light, John Harvey sets in motion the events from which Elders family will never recover.
"Even grittier that the Resnick novelsbut just as thoughtful and emotionally gratifying. It seems past time for Mr. Harvey to be recognizedalongside Ian Rankin and Peter Robinsonas a modern master of the smart, hard-edged British police-procedural."Wall Street Journal
"A major novel: thrilling, urgent, important."Literary Review (London)
John Harvey is the author of ten critically acclaimed Charlie Resnick novels and three Frank Elder mysteries. He lives in Great Britain.
Review
"Flesh and Blood is a superb mystery excruciatingly suspenseful, rich in character and all too real in its depiction of the horrific possibilities lurking at the margins of the mundane." Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post Book World
Review
"Fans who thought they'd never forgive Harvey for abandoning series character Charlie Resnick may be placated by his cameo appearance here. More important, they'll find the lovelorn Elder a hero to root for." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Tight plotting, gritty dialog, sympathetic characters and a lot of gray areas are the trademarks of a master still in great form. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"[C]ompetent if plodding....While the dogged Elder shares many habits with Resnick, from a prodigious appetite for common food to a difficulty with maintaining relationships, he lacks his predecessor's zest for life." Publishers Weekly
Review
"If anyone could make you feel sorry for a serial killer, it's John Harvey, who always writes with tender feeling about commonplace people killers among them damaged by criminal violence." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
Fifteen years ago Susan Blacklock disappeared. Although Detective Inspector Frank Elder has taken early retirement, the case still plagues his mind. Prime suspects Shane Donald and Alan McKiernan were convicted a year later of the brutal rape and murder of a young girl, and now that Shane has been granted parole, Elder feels compelled to revisit his past.
Then Shane disappears and another young girl is murdered. Elder's involvement is now crucial. Taunted by postcards from the killer, an increasingly desperate Elder battles to keep his estranged family from being drawn into the very heart of the crime.
Synopsis
Retirement has not come easy for Detective Inspector Frank Elder. He's fled to a solitary existence on the Cornish coast, but he can't escape the past. Susan Blacklock would be thirty now. But fourteen years ago she disappeared, and the case has gone unsolved. Not that Elder hadn't had his suspects. And now, with one of them out on parole, Elder is compelled to return to the seaside scene of the crime. Shortly thereafter, pretty Emma Harrison goes missing.
Just as Elder's knowledge becomes crucial to the official investigation of this disquieting case, he unwittingly becomes vital to its perpetration. For with cryptic messages on seaside postcards and a few purposefully planted clues, the killer is drawing Elder inexorably into the very heart of the criminal matter. Elder's teenage daughter is already there.
In the first in the Frank Elder series, before Ash and Bone and Darkness and Light, John Harvey sets in motion the events from which Elder's family will never recover.
About the Author
John Harvey is the author of the richly praised Charlie Resnick novels, the first of which, Lonely Hearts, was named by The Times (London) as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Century. His other novels featuring Frank Elder are Ash and Bone and Darkness and Light. Harvey lives in Great Britain.