Quite often when I see that a book is 23rd in a series, I start looking around for sharks being jumped and characters looking as tired as the cheese sarnies on a train. So let’s strew flowers at Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ shapely feet for keeping DCI Bill Slider and his team steaming on serenely.

It’s only fair to point out that you know exactly what you’re going to get with a book in the Slider series: some of the best and funniest dialogue around and a slice of life in west London where class differences still hang around like the crusts of yesterday’s bacon sandwich. The police team do genuinely seem to like each other, even if they do moan about DS Atherton, Slider’s bagman, shagging around (yep, I know how they feel).

Atherton ranks high up on the smart-arse scale with his word play and constant witty ripostes. But he and Slider, who’s one of life’s pragmatists, work well in tandem. And on the subject of words, I’m very fond of Detective Superintendent Porson and his constant mangling of phrases. In the wrong hands we’d be encouraged to see him as a figure of fun. In Harrod-Eagles’ tender care, yes, we do laugh at his eccentric language – but also click that he’s a no-nonsense, old-fashioned cop who’s got his team’s backs.

Previous books in the series capture the two extremes of Slider’s west London patch, with both council estates and posh villa-style houses. Dying Fall has the assiduous PC D’Arblay investigating one of the latter following an anonymous tip-off. He finds a young woman dead at the foot of the stairs. It all seems blindingly obvious – she fell down the stairs and hit her head. Except, even though there’s a deep wound on her head, there’s no blood trail down the stairs …

Dying Fall is a slow burner where Slider and Co have to find out who the woman is, hampered by no murder weapon or clear motive. There’s lots of plodding (so to speak) around London interviewing posh sorts and those less so. And rarely for me, given I tend to get more hooked by characterisation rather than plot mechanics, I guessed whodunit and whydunit quite some way from the end. Expect, as well, the usual snapshots from Slider’s amiable but faintly chaotic home life.

It’s not one of the standout books in this series, as the plot is a touch underwhelming and the pace might politely be described as sedate. But its strength is the supporting cast, where Harrod-Eagles inks in cameos of the likes of D’Arblay, Elsie and the wonderfully named Rancid Ron with an affectionate hand. And as always, there’s a deceptive layer of steel under the frothy dialogue.

First Sentence: 'I thought after all this time I'd know everywhere in Shepherd's Bush,' said Slider.

An anonymous call leads the police to a house where a woman lays dead at the bottom of the stairs. First glace indicates a suicide. Police Constable (PC) D'Arblay disagrees, and Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Bill Slider agrees. Without an initial identity of the victim, witnesses, or motive, it's a hard case for the Shephard's Bush homicide team to solve. The more they learn, the more complex the case becomes and the harder it is to prove.

From the first chapter heading, one is treated to Harrod-Eagles' skill with words. Her unique descriptions—"Shepherd's Bush Green was littered with sun worshippers, the men stripped to the waist – the glare off their blue-white bodies could have brought a plane down."—and her humor. The description of characters is unique yet brings a visual image immediately to mind. Phrases such as--"Atherton moved like a cat, except that he did not spray the furniture as he passed."—make her writing is such a pleasure to read. And who but Bill Slider would quote Tennyson at a murder scene.

Bill Slider's family is an element in the series. Their involvement is realistic without overshadowing the plot. Slider's wife, Joanna, is in a position common to many women, a mother with her own career. The family adds dimension to Slider and contrast to his second in command, confirmed bachelor and ladies' man, Detective Sergeant Inspector(DSI) Atherton.

One of the best things about the book is that it is a true mystery with an ensemble cast. Each member of Slider's team is fully developed and plays an important role. Also appreciated is the loyalty Slider's boss, Detective Superintendent (DS) shows for his men.

The case is unusual and interesting. Clues are tracked down from learning the victim's identity, piecing together her associates, bit-by-bit learning the motive, eliminating suspect, and to finally identifying the killer. A young man plays a significant role in the plotline and Slider's interactions with him are both sensitive and extremely well done. There are excellent twists when the team uncovers a second, and possibly a third death, which were also thought to be suicides. This forces the team to go back and investigate the past.

DYING FALL is a first-rate police procedural/mystery based on a murder and what is needed to solve the crime. There are no car chases or gun fights, just a hard, nose-down investigation with twists, humor, and an excellent cast of characters.

DYING FALL (PolProc-DCI Bill Slider-London-Contemp) – VG+
Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - 23rd in series
Severn House, Feb 2022, 256 pp.

Of all the British mystery series that I read (and I read a lot of them), the Bill Slider books are my favorite. It's been a year since the last installment, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this series. But the second I saw the first chapter title, I was pulled right back into the world of Bill Slider and his creative wordplay.

Slider and his wife have recently given birth to a daughter. His sidekick Atherton is single once again and back to his womanizing ways. Another thing I enjoy about this series is the characterization. All the characters, from minor to major, feel like real people to me.

The mystery revolves around the corpse of a woman who has fallen to the bottom of the stairs. The death doesn't seem all that mysterious at first--but soon new details emerge about a similar crime that occurred twenty years earlier. And the more Slider and his team investigate, the more intricate the crime becomes. The story revolves around a tragic and dysfunctional family. I got wrapped up in the unfolding saga and felt like the victim was as alive as the flesh and blood characters.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles also writes historical novels that are just as good (maybe better) than her mysteries. For anyone interested in British history, I highly recommend her series of novels about the Morland family.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free copy of the book one exchange for my opinions.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles's mysteries are always well written and gripping. This one is no exception and met all my high expectations as I read it as fast as I could.
Dark, twisty, and complex. It's a sometime sad and riveting story.
Good storytelling and character development.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The latest DCI Bill Slider police procedural maintains the high quality of its predecessors in the series. The investigation proceeds in a professional manner, with the detectives pursuing leads against the background of departmental pressure to wrap things up. There’s just enough personal and family detail about Slider and colleagues to keep things interesting without diminishing the pace of the story. Porson’s malapropisms are more off the rails than ever, and the puns scattered liberally throughout the book are deliciously awful. I haven’t quite gotten the hang of who’s who in Slider's department, with the exception of key colleagues like Atherton and Porson; the detectives seem to be more numerous with every outing. Fans of the series will enjoy this entry.

Thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for a digital advance review copy.

Bill Slider and his team have another strange case to solve. A woman is found lying at the foot of the stairs after an anonymous phone call. A policeman's suspicions are validated when the postmortem examination proved that it was not the fall that killed her. But now the body needed to be identified, motives found, and culprits bagged. The team had to work hard to find clues, but their hard work paid off in the end when a very nasty person is jugged for multiple crimes. A very twisty addition to this series.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title.

Dying fall by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.
A Bill Slider Mystery Book 23.
The woman lies dead at the foot of the stairs. It's obvious what happened: she tripped and fell. But PC D'Arblay, called to the dilapidated West London villa by an anonymous tip-off, can't shake the feeling that's exactly what someone wants him to think.It was the deep head wound that killed her - but her dying fall left no blood trail, so what was it she hit her head on?DCI Slider, of the Shepherd's Bush murder squad, is soon convinced D'Arblay's right. But with no motive, no murder weapon and no idea even who the victim is, Slider faces steep odds to get a result . . . while each painstaking step towards the truth brings him closer to a ruthless, evil killer.
A good read with good characters. Slow but readable. 3*.

Bill Slider and Jim Atherton are called to the scene when a woman’s body is found at the foot of her stairs, but seems to be posed to make it look like an accident. The top brass are frustrated when Slider insists on finding out who killed Prue Chadacre, especially when he learns there was another suspicious death in the same house twenty years earlier.

Dying Fall is part of the long-running Bill Slider Mystery Series and I have enjoyed many of the prior books in the series. Bill Slider is a good boss, husband, and father and the author does a great job of showing him at home as well as on the job, without detracting from the main plot of the book. There is just enough information about his personal life that you get to know him as both a detective and a person.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a master with words. The dialogue throughout the book is very realistic, and the clever, “punny” chapter titles added to my enjoyment of the book. There is plenty of the expected banter between Bill and his colleague and friend, Jim Atherton. I really liked the new team member DS Leanne Jenrich who is temporarily filling in on the case and hope she can become a permanent member of Slider’s team. This is a well-written book, and I love the details of the case, which turns out to be heartbreaking. I like the way it takes hard work on the part of the whole team to solve the case.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

This is one of the best books in the series, and it was a very sad story about corruption and betrayal and greed.

An elderly woman makes an anonymous call to 911 to report a dead body at Dunkirk House in Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush. When DCI Bill Slider and his sidekick DS Jim Atherton arrive they do indeed find a dead woman at the bottom of the stairs. She is well dressed and looks fit. But there are some inconsistencies which give them pause for thought - the house does not look lived in, the woman’s handbag is nowhere to be found and a hole in the carpet at the top of the stairs where one might trip looks suspiciously recent. The pathologist confirms that the woman’s head injuries are not consistent with a fall down stairs so now it is a murder investigation.

The woman’s identity is eventually confirmed as Prue Chadacre and, although she had the keys to the house the listed owners are a Phillip and Kate Armstrong. Where are Phillip and Kate? And who are Prue’s next-of-kin? Eventually they learn that Kate Armstrong changed her name to Prudence (her original middle name) Chadacre (her mother’s maiden name) but the woman is still a mystery. People she has worked with describe her as pleasant but very reserved. No one really knows her.

Police learn that Kate and Phillip grew up in the house and their mother died in the house by accident or suicide when they were teenagers. The death was never investigated properly but there was some suspicion attached to Phillip. It was never proven and Phillip is now almost a ghost, very hard to pin down.

Still, nothing is as it seems. And who is the man, using the name of a dead person, who befriended Prue recently through her work? There are still many secrets to uncover but this is where I must leave it. The ending was so very tragic and sad when you learn the lengths some people will go to for their own advancement. Many thanks to Netgalley and Severn House for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

An anonymous call has come in that there is a dead woman at Dunkirk house in a high end London neighborhood. PC D'Arblay is waiting at the door when Atherton and Slider arrive. The woman is artfully laid out at the foot of the stairs, and there is a hole in the rug at the top, but the wound on her head couldn't have been received from the stairs. Two of the keys in her pocket with a tag from the Historic Buildings National Drawings Archive are for doors in Dunkirk house. There is no ID, no purse, and little furniture in the house. However, there is traces of blood in the stocked kitchen.

Slider goes to the Historic Buildings National Drawings Archive, is shown a picture of their secretary, Prue Chadacre, who he recognizes as the dead woman. He gets her address, and since he has the keys, he goes there. She lived very simply, but he finally finds a drawer in the living room with birth certificates and family pictures. She was born Kate Prudence Armstrong, daughter of Sandra May Chadacre and Magnus Armstrong, a well known milionaire philanthropist (she must have changed her name). She also has the birth certificate of her brother Philip Armstrong, Dunkirk house was owned by the two of them. Prue's mother had died of drowning in the bathtub at Dunkirk house 20 years before after divorcing Magnus.

There isn't a lot to go on for Slider and his team, and he continues to get requests from his bosses to declare the case an accident and close it. However, Slider continues to try to find justice for Prue. He looks into the brother Philip, the father Magnus, and Tony Scrimgeour, who she met at the Archive and others there think they have been seeing each other. However, he can't find Philip or Tony, can't figure out a motive, and can't find the murder weapon. Magnus lies to him and has too many important, powerful friends. However, that doesn't stop Slider who keeps plugging away along with the rest of his team and slowly he learns more and eventually solves the case.

This is a great story with believable characters and a great plot!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the opportunity to review “Dying Fall.” All opinions and comments are my own.

“Dying Fall” is the latest entry in the long-running Slider and Atherton series, and a good ‘un it is, too. You have to enjoy a book that describes one of its policemen as looking like the man was “built by the same firm that did Stonehenge.” That’s what you get when you read a Cynthia Harold-Eagles/Bill Slider novel, that and solid police work, and plotting that doesn’t waste any time. Slider and Atherton wouldn’t hear of it. Add to that the usual, creative chapter headings and the glimpses of family life; this is book 23 after all. Long-time readers need to be kept up to speed on Joanna, and Atherton’s love life, of course. “Dying Fall” fits the bill on all points.

This time it’s a woman found dead in a house at the foot of the interior stairway. Slider pegs it as a homicide from the beginning. No ID, so they have to spend a little time figuring that out. They finally get an identification; turns out the dead woman had changed her name, and led a very reclusive life. She has a brother, who has “issues.” He’s a suspect, of course, but Slider’s not buying it. They also determine the brother and sister have a very rich father.

Step by step, our author creates a scenario for us to ponder, while throwing in the zingers we’ve come to love, and including the private life moments readers expect. Nothing is overlooked. One gets a complete reading experience – full police and forensic investigation, description of the characters and the environment, and a following along of how Slider, Joanna, Atherton and everyone is actually “doing,” living, thinking, even. And keeping a sense of humor throughout.

Our plot starts to thicken as more people turn shady. And little by little, Slider gets a motive for murder. But will he be able to make it stick? Before you can say knife, he does. The sad part is that it can’t fix the past, can’t make up for the damage. But Slider and Atherton get their murderer, and that’s what they’re there for.

“Headlong:Bill Slider Mystery 23”, written by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and published in hardcover by Severn House Publishers Ltd on 25 November 2021. 256 pages ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0727850188

This is the 21st book in this series and the first that I’ve read for review although I have read many in the past privately as I find them extremely true to life and much more exciting than the usual police procedurals that one comes across.

In this latest one DCI Bill Slider and his team are called to the scene of the death of a woman at the foot of the stairs. It's obvious what happened: she tripped and fell. But PC D'Arblay, called to the dilapidated West London villa by an anonymous tip-off, can't shake the feeling that's exactly what someone wants him to think.

It was the deep head wound that killed her - but her dying fall left no blood trail, so what was it she hit her head on?

DCI Slider, of the Shepherd's Bush murder squad, is soon convinced D'Arblay's right. But with no motive, no murder weapon and no idea even who the victim is, Slider faces steep odds to get a result . . . while each painstaking step towards the truth brings him closer to a ruthless, evil killer.All of this very gripping investigation and the strong bonds between the various detectives on Bill Slider’s team provide a very engaging back story particularly with all the details relating to Bill Sliders marriage to a violinist in an orchestra and the problems of childcare when she is away on concerts.

The mysteries are always extremely well plotted with highly atmospheric story with a rich cast of authentic layered characters and the usual odd red herring before the ultimate murderer is revealed in the final few paragraphs

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is a very prolific author with several series ongoing including the very famous historical Morland Dynasty which was originally intended to be 12 books but was so popular it was extended to 34. She also wrote the Kirov Saga a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia for which she won the 1995 RNA Novel of the Year Award and of course she writes other romantic novels and the Bill Slider police procedural mystery series.

This book was absolutely a delight to read and I always look forward to reading her books. Very strongly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Severn House for an eARC of this book.

This is another great instalment of the Bill Slider police procedurals. Not only a solid mystery with a good denouement, but the usual humour woven through. The chapter titles are brilliant.

Packed With Puns, Bursting With Banter…
Another dubious case gives the empathetic and level headed Slider and his firm much cause for consternation in this twenty third outing in this superlative series. An intriguing plotline, a credible cast and some excellent use of language makes this a wholly enjoyable read and a very worthy addition to the series and whilst it can happily be read as a standalone the series as a whole is well worth the read for absolute sheer entertainment factor. Bravo!

I'm not sure if I've read any of the previous books in this series but won't be reading any than and very nearly didn't finish this one several times..
While the storyline is decent I found the constant misogyny from all of the male characters difficult to swallow, the attitude towards female colleagues and characters was at times sickening.
The additional, personal bugbear of ridiculously superfluous language made for a book that is uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons.
What is particularly disheartening is that the author is a woman

I absolutely love Bill Slider he is such a vivid but well rounded character (we all know a Bill Slider!!!) I so was desperate to read the next instalment. It does not disappoint. A woman is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Is it murder, no she just tripped and fell.....that is what we are meant to think but PC D'Arblay has other ideas and so does DCI Slider. As ever Bill Slider must try and work out who is she as she has no ID. The story moves at a good pace....I couldn't put it down, as ever Harrod-Eagles gives another thrilling read with a good plot and well written....Bravo!!!!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of Dying Fall, the twenty third novel to feature DCI Bill Slider of the Met.

PC D’Arblay calls in the murder team when he sees a woman dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Did she trip? He doesn’t think so as there’s nothing to cause her head wound and her body looks posed. Slider agrees and opens an investigation, but with no identification and precious few clues it might go nowhere.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dying Fall, which is an absorbing read with some sly humour. I was late to the Slider party, having only read a few novels in the series, but it is now a firm favourite with me and I keep vowing to find the time to read the back catalogue.

I like a good police procedural, especially one that makes me laugh, and this is excellent example. The author takes the time to build the case, brick by brick. Identification comes first and then they can start investigating her life to find a motive. Fortunately for them she led a very quiet life, so there are only two main suspects. I found the nitty gritty of checking alibis and the discussion of motive absolutely riveting, but then I don’t get out much myself. The author saves the bombshell revelations for late on in the novel and they come as quite a contrast to the rather sedate story told up till then.

Bill Slider is a very likeable protagonist. He’s a pleasant, fairly unremarkable man with a sly sense of humour, but give him an investigation and he’s remorseless. He refuses to be intimidated and follows every thread until he has a solution. He’s also a pragmatist and that’s what I like most about him. He knows that not every solved case results in a guilty verdict, but he’ll do his best to provide enough ammunition.

Dying Fall is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Having discovered and devoured this series fairly recently, I'm now at the point of waiting avidly for the next book. And Dying Fall did not disappoint me. I enjoyed the fairly straightforward - not simple - nature of the plot. It's a standard police procedural without political ramifications and felt less high-octane than some of the series. Not that I dislike those but it's good to have a change of tone. But it's the characters that make the Bill Slider books so engaging with their quirks, failings and virtues and I was glad to enjoy the company of Bill, Atherton, Joanna and the rest.

There's a new Bill Slider.

That's all you need to say.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles proved long ago that a new Bill Slider means a police procedural filled with intrigue, pathos, humor, music wordplay. Slider is Morse without the crossword, Sherlock without the attitude Vera but with a loving family.

It always starts with a body. In "Dying Fall" the body is that of a well-dressed middle-aged woman lying at the foot of the stairs in a grand old mansion. Accident,, right? Not hardly!

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles continuously draws her readers into her Slider novels with her use of imaginative and innovative plots. Her police procedures do not bog down the reader with endless recaps of the crime. I think her real talent lies in her ability to infuse her characters with viability. She captures their feelings and desires with her intense descriptions. I like how she incorporates unexpected humor in all her characters.

This book stresses the fact that Slider is a policeman for everyone, with equal justice for all with no exceptions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.