This is book 25 in a very good series but easily read as a stand alone. DS Christie has retired but is persuaded to return to work to investigate two unsolved murders. I like the plotting and the characterisation as Henry teams up with Diane, they make a good double act. The book did keep me interested until the end with sufficient pacing and twists. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I got this as a review copy from NetGalley, so many thanks to them and the publisher Severn House for granting my request to review. I have read many of the Henry Christie books and they are all excellent reads, with this book being no exception. Basically Henry against the bad guys backed up by DS Daniels. The plot is fairly straight forward but the key is how Henry untangles everything in his unique manner. Could be read as a stand alone or following from the start of the Henry Christie catalogue, either way the reader will not be disappointed. Although I knew who the bad guys were, the book was still "unputdownable".

Didn’t know where this was going and as with the book didn’t see the link between the two victims. Gradually began to make sense and loved the way it was all worked out through the story so it kept you involved. I would read more books like this in the future.

A British Police Procedural With A Few Issues

The novel starts with the arrival of a murder and part of the last hours of the victim’s life. The storyline then jumps ahead six months. Henry Christie, a detective superintendent, is recovering from being shot. He is visited by his longtime friend and Chief Constable Fanshaw-Bayley, known as FB. FB asked Christie if he would like to return to duty early. He was less than happy with the prospect. FB introduces John Burnham, another Chief Constable who has two lingering murder investigations that he is asking for an outside review to try to achieve some traction. Christie is giving copies of the murder books.

The title of this novel strongly suggests that it is not a mystery but a thriller. The action of the novel switches to the “bad cops” and a death at their hands of a person in their custody. They are working on how to cover up this death. The novel proceeds with two views of the action. First is Christie’s and a little later from DC Daniels, assigned to assist Christie, and second from the various “bad cops.” This back and forth cat and mouse approach gives the reader an interesting view into the actions each side takes or reacts to each other. This kept my interest and kept me reading.

This is the 25th novel in the Henry Christie series, but I did not feel any that anything was unclear or missing because I had not read the previous novels. Christie’s character was developed in his interactions with his fiancé, DC Daniels, other police officers and witnesses. I didn’t see that with many of the other characters. There is appropriate development of DC Daniels’ character for her role in the novel. It is the other side, the “bad cops,” that character development was lacking or inconsistent with their characters. This is particularly true for the two police officers that provided the muscle for the operation. Their actions most of the time were childish.

Vulgar terms occur on average two times every three pages. Mostly, the language is used by the bad cops. All of such usage appeared to be consistent with the character and situation. There are a few implied sex scenes and scenes involving nudity. In my opinion, these were not excessive to affect my opinion of this novel. Lastly, this is a British police procedural so there were terms, British words and police terms, which may not be familiar to American readers. Reading on a Kindle with a dictionary that has a good selection of British terms and access to the Internet was helpful.

Overall, the novel did keep my interest but did not captivate me. I never wanted to stop reading the novel though. I rate this novel with three stars, may be three and a half. I have not read any other novels in this series, so I cannot compare it to previous works. I just cannot give it a strong recommendation. This may not be the book to start this series.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Severn House Publishers with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Severn House Publishers for the opportunity to read this novel.

A solid police procedural thriller which is a comfortable and easy read.
The novel has good, strong characters and a thrilling plot. If I'm honest, it didn't grab me quite as much as I expected but I'd happily recommend it.

It is fair to say that Nick Oldham's Lancashire copper Henry Christie has been around the block a few times. Twenty-four times, to be precise. Bad Cops is his twenty-fifth trip and Detective Superintendent Christie is off work, recovering from a gunshot wound. He has been making vague promises to his pub landlady girlfriend Alison that his days at the sharp end of British law enforcement are over, and he is going to spend his last days on the force sitting safely behind his desk until his pension pot matures and he can retire to The Tawny Owl and concentrate on pulling pints and working the restaurant's elaborate coffee machine.

His resolve weakens, however, when he is visited by two of his more senior officers, his own Chief Constable and the newly appointed boss of the Central Yorkshire force, John Burnham. The Yorkshire police has suffered a disastrous inspection, and Burnham has been appointed to cleanse the Augean Stables.

Christie is assured that he will only be required to cast his experienced eye over the murder books pertaining to two unsolved killings look for omissions and inconsistencies, and report back to Burnham. What follows is a journey into a nightmarish world of police corruption, people trafficking, financial fraud - and contract killing.

Nick Oldham gives us a fascinating cast of characters. Readers new to Henry Christie will discover a bruised and (frequently) battered old style officer who, like Tennyson's Ulysses, is "not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven." Even he accepts that his philandering days are over, much as he is attracted to his investigating partner Detective Sergeant Diane Daniels. Those of us who have followed breathlessly in Christie's turbulent wake in previous novels will know that Nick Oldham doesn't mess about when creating villains, but he has certainly outdone himself here with Detective Chief Inspector Jane Runcie, who is as corrupt, foul-mouthed, sexually predatory and downright malevolent as anyone he has previously brought to the page.

Oldham is a retired copper himself, so readers are guaranteed procedural details which are described with total authenticity, whether they be the smelly reality of unmarked police cars used for observation, complete with the detritus of discarded fast food wrappers and the inevitable flatulent consequences, and an intriguing - and quite scary - use for Blutac and two pence pieces.

Like the previous Henry Christie novels, Bad Cops is short, sharp, and sometimes shocking. You will get through it in a couple of sessions at the most and if ever a novel deserved the old latin adage multum in parvo it is this. Oh, yes, one last thing. If you can find a more powerful and gut-wrenching final paragraph this year, I'll buy you a pint. Or six. Bad Cops is published by Severn House and is out now.

It took a while to get into this book but once I did, it was scary. I could not stop reading.

The very people who are supposed to protect you are killing people, including cops, for greed. Corruption is a global disease and when it spreads to a county police force, it gets very deadly.

Please note this is a British thriller - I'm saying this because it irritates me when people say a book has “bad grammar” if it wasn't written in American….

I would definitely read other books by this author. Absolutely!

Elsa

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

3.5 Stars

DS Henry Christie makes his 25th appearance in this British police procedural. Christie is preparing for retirement. A visit from a Chief Constable tables those plans.

Two murders that were committed 6 months earlier have never been solved. Christie is pressured into coming back to work to investigate. His investigation leads to a large society of corruption and murder. And being cops... they seem to know his every move.

This is well written, with lots of action ... and falling bodies. The cops seem to think they can get away with anything against anyone at anytime.. and so far they have. There is such disdain for those that they swore to serve and protect.

Although 25th in a series, this one does well as a stand alone. This is my first go around with this author and I'm seriously considering starting with Book 1 and working my way through. I really enjoyed the character of Christie. He's a mix of stubborn, humor, with a lot of dedication to those he loves ... and his job. There are twists and turns and even with a cliffhanger, a surprise ending.

Many thanks to the author / Severn House / #BadCops #NetGalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Thanks very much for the opportunity to preview.

I struggled to maintain focus on this storyline and found myself flicking through, so, not one for me. Not badly written, just, couldn't hold my attention.

Wow. How could I have missed this series until now? I read this as a standalone and while I'm sure I missed some nuance, I still very much enjoyed it. It's a classic in its way- a damaged DS asked to look into something with a new partner and they discover a big conspiracy which puts them in danger. What made this unique for me was that its set in the UK and crosses departments there. I liked Henry, who has some very good dialogue with Diane. There's also good interaction between Henry and his lover Allison, who is rightly annoyed with him for going back to work so shortly after being shot. There are good guys and bad guys and enough twists to keep you entertained. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I hope to read more of these in the future.

This was apparently not the first (but the 25th or so) outing for D Supt Henry Christie but it seems I have been missing out on his escapades since the mid 90s. Rats! That's another back catalogue of titles I am going to have to get hold of - this was brilliant! I could not put it down. Great central character and the fact that it was a 'first encounter' did not lessen the experience, nor did I feel that any part of the prior stories was necessary in order to understand this. It was just another indication that I had been missing out on a great series. can't wait to get reading further.

This is the 25th book in this series by Nick Oldham. 

With Henry still recuperating from a gunshot to the shoulder in his last adventure, he's not sure he is up to the job being dumped in his lap. Against his girlfriends wishes and his own groaning shoulder, he accepts anyway.

This time he is up against more than just random murders. This is not being able to trust anyone in the department while he investigates not only the murders, but the cops themselves, who see him as something they need to get rid of before their entire sordid plans and corruption are found out. Will he even make it out of the police station?

Nick Oldham is a solid crime thriller author. The plots are always good, the characters are interesting. I can't wait to see what's next for Henry!

NetGalley/Severn House   April 01,2018

An author new to me and this is the 25th Henry Christie police procedural in what is a long lasting g and established series.

The main character is well drawn, memorable and credible. An experienc d, cynical and long in the tooth copper who’s seen it all but is still driven to do his job and solve crimes.

You want him to succeed as he strives to untangle a labyrinthine plot involving murder and police corruption on a grand scale.

The book drew me in from the beginning and had me guessing to the end.

Recommended and I now have an extensive backlist to work through.

Despite this being the 25th novel in the series, this was my introduction to Detective Superintendent Henry Chistie of the MIT of Lancashire Constabulary. What resonates, for me, is that I didn’t know it was the latest in a series. As I got more involved it was clear that there was a history but it didn’t impact too drastically. The back story was fed fairly lightly and it didn’t take me to long to settle down and get to grips with it.

Recovering from a shot, Henry receives a vist from his Chief Constable (FB) and the newly appointed Chief Constable of Central Yorkshire Police (John Burnham). They are there to invite him to ‘just take a look’ at two unsolved murders in Central Yorkshire and see if all avenues have been investigated correctly. Henry tries to reject the task knowing that his lover, Alison, will be furious with him as he is not yet signed-off by the doctor. Nevertheless, he accepts the assignment and is assigned DC Diane Daniels (ex Child Protection) as his assistant.

I want to say, murder and mayhem follows – but that is too trite. The pace of the book is much more ponderous; more the Bill than Dirty Harry. That is not to denigrate the book, far from it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, one must suspend belief – it is impossible to accept that an aging police man can suffer so many physical attacks and keep going, which he does. His inappropriate thoughts regarding Daniels made me uncomfortable, but then so did she at times. That said, I did like their characters. It is what we want, isn’t it? Good, dependable, honest coppers!

Speaking of which – now the baddies (corrupt police) were unbelievable in their badness. All I could think was ‘how can they think they will get away with this?’

All in all, a really good read. I want to say a gentle read but with all the violence it is impossible, but it is not Val McDermid either. So if you like a detective story, treat yourself.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Nick Oldham is probably one of those authors who does not attract the attention he deserves. He is a very reliable crime writer and his books are always engaging with good plots and interesting characters. His latest is the twenty-fifth in his series about Lancashire Detective Superintendent Henry Christie and is another strong entry. The book opens with Christie recuperating from a gunshot wound and thinking of retiring. He changes his mind when he is visited at home by his Chief Constable and the newly appointed Chief Constable of Central Yorkshire Police. They want him to review two unsolved murders in Yorkshire. The local police force does not seem to making any progress, especially since the death of the last reviewing detective. Christie is intrigued and with the assistance of DC Diane Daniels he agrees to undertake the investigation.. It ends up being far more complicated and dangerous than he expects.

This is a well-constructed crime novel with an unexpected surprise early in the story and some neat twists as it progresses. The reader knows early on who is behind the killings, but the reasons and the extent of the conspiracy only gradually emerge. Oldham does a good job of maintaining the suspense by shifting the view point between Christie and the eponymous 'Bad Cops' and the book builds to a suspenseful conclusion. In these days of bloated novels, 'Bad Cops' is comparatively trim and lean read and Oldham has a good easy flowing style. The characters are complex and interesting and Christie is a very engaging and credible hero. Some co-incidences detract from the story towards the end, but overall this is a very good crime novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for advanced copy of this book to review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of Bad Cops, the twenty fifth novel to feature DSupt Henry Christie of the Lancashire Constabulary's Force Major Investigation Team.

Henry is recuperating from being shot when he is visited at home by his Chief Constable, Robert Fanshaw-Bayley and his friend John Burnham, newly appointed Chief Constable of Central Yorkshire Police. They want him to review two unsolved murders and suggest other avenues of investigation. Although initially reluctant Henry can feel his juices flowing and accepts the task, assisted by DC Diane Daniels. What they uncover is worse than they could have imagined.

Wow, what a great, high octane read Bad Cops is. I have not read Mr Oldham's work before so I didn't know what to expect but I will now be looking at the back catalogue. The novel opens with a bang when an unidentified woman picks up a hitman and gives him a gun and doesn't let up until the end. It is full of action, tension, violence and bad language so I couldn't put it down and stayed up too late to read it in one sitting. The plot probably isn't too realistic and relies somewhat on coincidence but it's exciting and enthralling.

Henry and Diane make a great double act, being smart and slightly flirty. Their relationship seems natural and unforced for newly acquainted work partners. Henry is a bit of a larger than life character as he seems to bounce back both mentally and physically from any attack with a strengthened resolve to catch the bad guys. Now in his fifties I guess, thinking about retirement and settling down to monogamy he is no no longer the player he once was but he still has the odd inappropriate flash of youth.

Bad Cops is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.