Body and Soul

Description

From the master of British Crime Writing comes Frank Elder's last case. 'John Harvey is one of the all-time greats and remains one of my favourite writers.' IAN RANKIN_____________________Frank Elder's last case could be the one that breaks him for good.The heavy manacles around the girl's wrists, perhaps not surprisingly, looked very much like the ones that had been found on the studio floor. For a moment, she had a vision of the chain to which they were attached being swung through the air, taking on force and speed before striking home. Then swung again.When his estranged daughter Katherine appears on his doorstep, ex-Detective Frank Elder knows that something is wrong.Katherine has long been troubled, and Elder has always felt powerless to help her. But now Katherine has begun to self-destruct; the breakdown of her affair with a controversial artist, known for his pornographic paintings, has sent her into a tailspin.But when the artist is found murdered in his studio, suspicion falls on Katherine. The vultures are circling.And as Elder struggles to protect his daughter and prove her innocence, the terrors of the past threaten them both once more...Daily Telegraph Book of the Year_____________________'A masterpiece from a master of the genre.' MARK BILLINGHAM'An expertly plotted and moving final act for an old-school investigator of the best sort, from a true master of the genre' GUARDIAN Books of the Month'This is wonderfully atmospheric crime writing - a tribute to Harvey's exceptional talent' MAIL'The 79-year-old Harvey has made it clear that Body & Soul is his last novel, and what an excellent farewell it is .... Elder and Resnick are both greats of British crime fiction.' THE TIMES Book of the Month'Few writers have even approached Harvey's grasp of atmosphere which, mingled with some sharpish social comment and utterly believable characters, makes them a must read' CRIME REVIEW'Sadly, this is Harvey's last book after a 40-year crime writing masterclass.' PETERBOROUGH TELEGRAPH

John Harvey was born in London, where he now lives, while considering Nottingham his spiritual home. Initially a teacher of English & Drama, he has been a full-time writer for more than forty years. The first of his 12 volume Charlie Resnick series, Lonely Hearts was selected by The Times as one of the '100 Best Crime Novels of the Century' and the first Frank Elder novel, Flesh & Blood, won the CWA Silver Dagger in 2004. He was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in the crime genre in 2007, and his story, 'Fedora' won the CWA Short Story Dagger in 2014.In addition to writing fiction, he has written and published poetry, running Slow Dancer Press for over twenty years; his New & Selected Poems, Out of Silence was published in 2014. He has adapted the work of Arnold Bennett, A. S. Byatt, Graham Greene and others for radio and television, and in 2017, his dramatisation of the final Resnick novel, Darkness, Darkness, was produced at Nottingham Playhouse. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Hertfordshire and Nottingham.

The 79-year-old Harvey has made it clear that Body & Soul is his last novel, and what an excellent farewell it is .... Elder and Resnick are both greats of British crime fiction. * The Times, Book of the Month * An expertly plotted and moving final act for an old-school investigator of the best sort, from a true master of the genre * Guardian Books of the Month * Few writers have even approached Harvey's grasp of atmosphere which, mingled with some sharpish social comment and utterly believable characters, makes them a must read * Crime Review * A masterpiece from a master of the genre * Mark Billingham * Body and Soul is a clever thriller ... that will leave you stunned and staring at the page in disbelief. * Evening Standard *