Blood Sinister

Phoebe Agnew, hack journalist and no great fan of the police, is found dead. The army of suspects includes a plethora of police and politicians. Just what was Phoebe researching when she died and why were there no notes left in her pigsty of a flat? The writing is often atmospheric, entertaining us with keen character studies.

SHOTS ON THE PAGE

BLOOD SINISTER is stuffed with clues into the psychology of characters who think they are being oh-so-clever about guarding their secrets. Even so, the events leadings up to the murder of Phoebe Agnew, a beautiful, wild and untidy left-wing journalist with friends and lovers in London’s highest political places, are a true puzzlement right to the end.

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Her characters are deliciously droll, and she writes with all her customary biting wit and a complexity all too rare in mystery fiction.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

The ebullient Detective Inspector Bill Slider is in good form in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’s new mystery. It’s a good puzzle, with well-rounded characters and, fans will be happy to hear, plenty of the usual dreadful puns.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Harrod-Eagles is a master of the telling phrase or the catchy put-down. Reading her is a joy.

IRISH TIMES

Sharp, witty and well-plotted.

THE TIMES