When one of his men is missing and two narcs are murdered, Detective Chief Superintendent Harpur finds himself increasingly dependent on his rich and crooked informer, Jack Lamb

Harpur matches wits with a deadly killer: the "Lolita Man." Five teenage girls have been raped and murdered, and the criminal is still at large. Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, assigned to the case, is a tough hunter, but so is "the Lolita man," watching the schoolyards. Now it looks as if the daughter of Harpur's friend may be the latest victim. Virtually obsessed with the urgency of the matter, and hampered by the bitter police rivalry that is jeopardizing the case, Harpur decides to go it alone.

“Crackling dialogue and seamy people race a no-holds-barred operation to its wickedly satisfying denouement.” ―John Coleman, [London] Sunday Times First time in U.S. paperback, the third in Bill James' "standout," "witty," "well above the ordinary" series (starred reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist). When Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur places young policeman Ray Street undercover in a vicious drug gang, the entire department knows the risks. If Street is found out, he will take his place in "the halo parade." Then the killing of a fellow officer will have to be avenged, by whatever means . . .

Forced to retire from the department under a cloud of suspicion, Detective Colin Harpur's colleague, Hubert Scott, concocts a scheme that will clear his name—one that is related to the kidnapping of underworld informant Bernard "Tenderness" Mellick's eleven-year-old son

"Le Carré-like psychological ambiguities and fierce double-crosses―from an author who, in an understated sentence or two, can pack a knockout punch."― Kirkus Reviews Sarah Iles' latest young lover, Ian Aston, and the seedy gangland club he frequents both possess the intense attractive of the forbidden. When one night at the Monty they witness a fatal knifing, they unwittingly learn far too much for their own welfare of a deadly plot that could, if successfully executed, rearrange the city's criminal power structure. Immediately, the unfaithful wife and petty criminal become targets of both police and underworld observation. The Machiavellian ACC Desmond Iles, Harpur's superior officer―a character Booklist calls "ranting, conniving, brutally sarcastic, and painfully funny"―has often taken the center stage in Bill James' novels. Here the betrayed policeman allows a professional crisis to become part of a personal vendetta as well, and Harput is swept direction into the path of escalting subterfuge and violence. In Come Clean, Bill James once again explores the no-man's land of law enforcement, where human concern and naked expediency stand perennially at odds with each other. And just as in its four predecessors, a memorable drama is played out against James' striking and unique urban tableau.

Bill James' Come Clean, the fifth novel in his stunning series of British police procedurals, was greeted with unprecedented critical acclaim upon its American publication in 1993. Readers eager for the next in the series will be amply rewarded with Take, an equally powerful portrait of men and women on both sides of the law. Ron "Planner" Preston has enjoyed a long criminal career out of jail. Caution, if anything, has been the key to his success. So a payroll van with a predictable route and minimal guard looks like a quick easy take. When the truck's schedule is abruptly changed and its guard doubled, however, Preston much either abandon the plan altogether or take on some young and risky new recruits, ones who may consider his habitual wariness a sign of the timidity of old age.Harpur and his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Iles, are accustomed to keeping an eye on men like Preston, not so difficult a task in a milieu where cops and criminals meet on many professional, familial, social. Therefore, they are quick to take notice of increased activity surrounding "Planner" on the part of his family and associates. But how are these moves to be interpreted? And where is the line between certainty and conjecture to be drawn? As one criminal aptly observes, "Chance matters."

While trying to rescue a posh club owner from a bank-robbing scheme, Colin Harpur must help his boss avoid conviction for murdering his wife's lover, in a sardonic police procedural by a critically praised Welsh writer. IP.

A darkly comic mystery in which Chief Supt. Colin Harper hopes to find the missing brains of a bank robbing gang who has gone missing with more than his share of the loot, before the vengeful members of the gang go beyond simply kidnapping their leader's daughter

Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur is a shrewd observer of the greed, pride, and lust that motivate the criminals he pursues - and sometimes the cops he works with, too. His own vulnerable spot is occupied right now by a pretty and endearing college student with whom he is spending very pleasant afternoons. But when Denise drifts into the social circle of Jack Lamb, Harpur's wealthy and powerful underworld informant, and one of the crooks the police are pursuing is shot to death during a robbery, Denise suddenly becomes the pawn in a frightening game of revenge. With a cast including the cowardly and scheming Ralph Ember (a would-be pillar of the community) and the pompous, often cuckolded Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, Gospel is a suspenseful, mordantly humorous story of driving ambitions on opposite sides of the law.

The mystery series continues with the stabbing death of the wife of Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur by a railway station, the culmination of her affair with a London police detective with a shady background and a strange fear of persons unknown.

“An unconventional and spicy tour de force... James is terrific.” ―Frances Fyfield Fear grips the drug underworld after two principals in the trade are murdered, and even ACC Desmond Iles is under a cloud of suspicion. Now the chief players start closing in on a fortune, while Iles, Chief Constable Mark Lane, and Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur plunge into their own fierce struggle to control the game.

THE DETECTIVE IS DEAD

Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur investigates the murder of thirteen-year-old Mandy Walsh, a drug runner, who was caught in the crossfire between two rival drug gangs

Ralph Ember, the owner of the shady drinking club The Monty, longs to be respectable, but as a proponent of the big-time drug dealing, that notion seems impossible, especially as he devises a plan to get his hands on the syndicate of the best drug operation in Britain.

Up-and-coming drug lord Keith Vine likes the fine work of his best pusher, Eleri ap Vaughan, who sells to the rich on the floating restaurant The Eton Boating Song, but when Eleri strays (gets supplies from someone else), Vine kills her. Her death is intended as a message to the other players to stay loyal, but instead - amid fears of an intended invasion from the London syndicate (in the person of a lurking stranger, "Lovely Mover") - it sets off a murderous struggle for control. Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, working undercover as Vine's supposed partner, now finds himself in increasing danger, and only one person suspects what he's up to - his sneering superior ACC Desmond Iles, a man he can't always trust. Before the story comes to its exciting conclusion, Harpur will be lucky to get out alive.

In the latest gripping Harpur & Iles mystery, the London syndicate tries to take over a choice operation, setting off a murderous rivalry with the local drug lords-and a fierce policy war among the police. Pursued from the shadows, Simon Pilgrim fled in terror from the floating restaurant Eton Boating Song . In the bar on the Eton, he had the choice spot, discreetly purveying high-stakes drugs to the Eton 's well-to-do patrons. Now he's dead, his throat cut, and the police know that the drug syndicates are in an all-out war, with the Eton as the prize. Naomi Anstruther, a cop, is sent undercover into this turbulent drug world. Right away she becomes an unknowing pawn in the rival criminals' plans-and in the complex struggle between Harpur and his rival, ACC Desmond Iles. When Naomi's cover is threatened, Harpur and Iles must act with lightning speed to salvage the operation and-in an explosion of violence-try to get her out alive. This is Bill James' most brilliantly plotted story yet, and the tension is high-wire to the last minute. "Bill James' Harpur and Iles books are deliciously un-savoury: a brilliant combination of almost Jacobean savagery and sexual betrayal with a tart comedy of contemporary manners."―John Harvey, Guardian "Although each book in the series, which is set in a nameless city north of London, stands on its own, they all add up to a stunning history of how crime has changed the fabric and character of British society."― Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[A] terrific series.... Get these books; settle into peril and chaos."― Bloomsbury Review Naomi Anstruther's undercover operation among the drug gangs, planned carefully by Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, has ended in a bloody shoot-out. Naomi escapes, but both her ex-boyfriend and her current lover―who shouldn't have been there―are dead. Now the biggest danger to Naomi is a young woman named Esme, who believes that she and Naomi should personally avenge Donald's and Lyndon's deaths. "One of the most exquisitely sardonic stylists writing crime fiction today."―Richard Lopez, Washington Post Book World "[A] black and zestful police series.... Matchless stuff by the genre's finest stylist."― Literary Review "One of the most exquisitely sardonic stylists writing crime fiction today."―Richard Lopez, Washington Post Book World "A tremendous writer... Where else can you find a mystery series with as many layers of gorgeous stuff?"― Chicago Tribune "Bill James' Harpur and Iles books are deliciously unsavory.―John Harvey, "The Crime Writer's Crime Writer," The Guardian "[A] brilliantly stylish series of novels .... A unique author who is an acquired habit, but once discovered, impossible to kick."― Daily Express [London], Frances Fyfield "British mystery writing's finest prose stylist...startling, achingly funny and sometimes wholly surreal.... Essential reading."― The Observer [London], Peter Guttridge

A tale of fear, greed, and murder by "one of the kings of the dark hill" (Val McDermid). Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his brilliant, amoral superior ACC Desmond Iles face a dilemma that's both political and personal when they suspect a police officer of taking bribes from underworld criminals Panicking Ralph Ember and Top Banana Mansel Shale. Is Nivette doing some unauthorized undercover work―as Harpur himself often does―or is he really bent? It's a question of intense interest not only to Harpur and Iles but also to Ember and Shale, and searching for the answer entails several break-ins to Nivette's house to look for, take, or plant the evidence. Meanwhile, the body of a pusher, Victor Goussard ("Slow Victor"), is found trussed up on a deserted boat in the city harbor―and then it disappears. His lover frantically, unwisely, starts to ask questions down at the docks; a snoopy television reporter sees a breaking story; and Ember, terrified of exposure, plots the murder of a man who knows too much. Harpur is fast on the trail to make the connections and prevent another crime, but it's a race against time―and treachery.

The latest dark suspense from "the Elmore Leonard of Britain's underworld" ― Kirkus Reviews . Big drug dealer Ralph Ember stumbles on a ghastly surprise when he and sidekick Beau Derek arrive at the house of yachtsman Barney Coss, his bulk supplier: Barney and his two women have been savagely murdered―and the murderers, three drug rivals from London, are still in the house. Beau dies quickly at their hands; they let Ralph go―for the moment―but he's a marked man because of what he's seen. When Melanie, Beau's alluring, ruthless girlfriend, learns what has happened, she is bent on revenge and wants Ralph as her partner―all the way. Bill James' latest Harpur & Iles police procedural ratchets up the tension as the cops (the brilliant Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his ungovernable, half-cracked superior, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles) fight the drug barons for control of the city. As a body washes up, and one of the London creeps meets a violent end, the wily Ralph finds himself starting a new, very risky career―and Harpur sorts out what's going on just in time.

Harpur and Iles are back on the scene, and this time the danger is even closer to home. With the rumored transfer of Chief of Police Mark Lane, London's competitive drug lords are on edge. In the past, Desmond Iles has managed to maintain the peace on the streets in an old-fashioned system of give a little, take a little. But suddenly Iles is in danger of losing his power when the new chief constable comes to town, and, to preempt the new regime, the drug gangs begin a struggle for dominance. Adding to this volatile situation, Harpur sends a female undercover agent to infiltrate one of the gangs. With a dangerous mix of greed and fear, the looming threat of a stricter police force, and three sudden deaths, all sides are preparing themselves for a full-scale battle of the ugliest kind. A deliciously witty addition to a classic series, The Girl with the Long Back heightens the urgency and pace of the tantalizing London underworld in which cops and criminals, and all of their clever asides, are sketched in fantastic detail.

"A brilliant combination of almost Jacobean savagery and sexual betrayal with a tart comedy of contemporary manners." ―John Harvey, The Guardian. For years Colin Harpur's dubious boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, ran a questionable but practical arrangement with Mansel Shale and Panicking Ralph Ember, owner of the Monty Iles would protect their businesses if they ensured peace on the streets. But the arrangement fails when violence erupts. After a small-time criminal's house is firebombed, leaving the owner and his daughter dead, mistrust and uncertainty pervade the formerly well-managed more drug dealers emerge and competition grows. With the failure of a once mutually beneficial relationship between cops and criminals, a battle for survival ensues. Bill James is a pointripe with humor, fast dialogue, and incisive wit, he offers entrance into the shocking and fascinating underbelly of a city and its inherent mysteries.

"Savagely comic and expertly choreographed." ―The Guardian A large, carefully plotted "cash-in-transit" raid goes hopelessly awry when armed policemen intervene to seize the perpetrators. Relatives and friends of the incarcerated are convinced that information―the date, the time―was leaked by the only man to escape before his arrest. Deputy Constable Colin Harpur and Assistant Constable Desmond Iles are delegated the job of hiding and protecting the informant and his family.

"\[Bill James'\] strangely compelling series offers its own ample rewards."― Mystery Scene For years Panicking Ralph Ember and Mansel Shale have run profitable drugs empires in peaceful cooperation with each other, and ACC Iles will blind-eye their trade as long as it keeps violence off the streets. But this happy arrangement is threatened by foreign dealers moving in and offering not just drugs, but punters―exploited girls from Eastern Europe. And bloody gang warfare threatens as a scrabble for territory ensues.

DCI Harpur & his boss ACC Desmond Iles find their domain descending into bloody chaos as drug 'firms' fight for dominance. The long & profitable control of the illegal substances market is under threat, & a man in a fine suit is found with his throat cut. Luckily, Iles has been doing some illicit work himself.

The 25th installment of the acclaimed Harpur & Iles series by mystery master Bill James. Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles’s absence from a police undercover conference sets the stage for the moral and practical dilemmas faced by one of his colleagues, ACC Esther Davidson, as she works to bring down the largest gang operating in her sector. The role of undercover agents―or “out-located” officers―is brought into sharp focus as James masterfully unfolds the story of Davidson’s decision to infiltrate the gang against the events of the resulting court case.

Drugs barons Ember and Shale have co-existed peacefully for years, tolerated by ACC Desmond Iles as a way of keeping violence off the streets. But times are changing - Ember fears Shale has a plan to kill him and take over his firm.

A street shooting leaves a mother and child dead on the school run. But was this a random attack? Unlikely, when it transpires that the victims were the wife and son of well-known drug baron Mansel Shale. Having committed this atrocity, the gunman flees to a nearby shop where a hostage situation quickly develops. Detective Chief Inspector Harpur and Assistant Chief Constable Iles are brought in to oversee the siege - which ends in sudden tragedy. But as subsequent events unfold, it appears that the gunman wasn't tracking Shale after all, but his wife ...

The brand-new Harpur and Iles police procedural from master crime writer Bill James - After the dreadful business when his son and wife were shot, Mansel Shale has turned to God – leaving DCS Colin Harpur with a potential problem. Instead of keeping a grip on his profitable drugs empire, Shale has abandoned that sphere of commerce, leaving his business in the hands of an inexperienced assistant who is reputed to occasionally hallucinate about the Spanish Civil War. Harpur can see the possibility of protracted, warring viciousness on the horizon, and it is clear that something must be done . . .

When Harpur and Iles are called in to investigate an undercover investigation gone wrong, they can sense dark, hazardous times ahead . . . After a gang shooting involving an undercover police officer, Colin Harpur and his boss Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles are called to another Force’s ground to investigate what the Home Office see as spectacular failings. Harpur can imagine the pressure the officer would have been under. If a gang decided to kill, a spy would have to go along with it. But with careers of fellow officers – who might be in secret, dangerous alliance with villains – at risk, Harpur knows that he and Iles have an exceptionally tough inquiry ahead.

Harpur and Iles may have uncovered corruption, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions . . . An investigation into an incident in another Force led Colin Harpur and his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, to uncover corruption in the ranks and arrest a fellow policeman who murdered an undercover officer. But there are still many questions that remain unanswered: who ordered the execution? Why? Just how high did the conspiracy go and does the crooked power group behind the assassin still flourish? When the home office reopens the case, it is Harpur and Iles to whom the investigation is once more handed.

Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, worry about the safety of one of the big-time crooks on their ground, Ralph Ember, sometimes known as Panicking Ralph. Yes, Ralph is a villain, but he s a local villain, and Harpur and Iles feel a kind of bizarre affection for him. And in any case, Ralph helps Iles keep the city reasonably peaceful. But now some awkward repercussions from Ralph s lawless past seem to bring danger. Ralph is aware of this new peril and has installed a bulletproof steel barrier to protect himself in the club he owns but will this be enough to keep him safe? Harpur thinks not. Surely the upcoming party at the club will provide the perfect moment for a gunman to do for Ralph? The only way Harpur can be sure of protecting Ralph is to attend the party himself . . ."

Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur feels a sort of warmth towards Jack Lamb, a brilliantly prosperous but profoundly dodgy fine arts dealer. Lamb is the greatest informant Harpur has ever dealt with - might be the greatest informant any police officer has ever dealt with - and although Jack ended this arrangement some time ago, Harpur still feels indebted to him. Lamb's posh manor house is stuffed with expensive paintings, ripe for the pinching - and small-time thief George Dinnock and his crew intend to relieve him of a few. But their plans are complicated by local big-time crook Ralph Ember, who is on the lookout for some art to elevate his gentleman's club, The Monty; and who else would he visit to procure this art but Jack Lamb?

Harpur & Iles to uncover a trail of illegal art trading and money laundering. “I found I had a flair for tag-along, street level stealth. It thrilled me. It killed me. Do you mind if I tell you how?” Thomas Wells Hart drifted into a dodgy career as a private investigator and grew clever at tailing suspects and all the other tricks of the game. Not quite clever enough, however. Coming across Hart’s shot-up body, Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and Assistant Chief Constable Des Iles have to work out their own explanation as to how he came to be executed behind the wheel of a Ford Focus in a quiet suburban street. The trail will lead them through illegal art trading, big-bucks money laundering – and more murder. As ever, Iles suspects Harpur is hiding essential facts from him. As ever, Harpur is hiding essential facts from his boss. Will the mismatched pair manage to close the case?

Assistant Chief Constable Iles finds himself suspected of murder in the fast-paced 35th installment of the popular Harpur and Iles police procedural series. Tensions in the community are mounting following the gruesome deaths of two men, both of whom were accused yet acquitted of the murder of an undercover police officer. It looks like vigilante justice, but who is responsible? Alarmingly, suspicion falls on Assistant Chief Constable Iles. Matters escalate when a TV show investigating the murders is aired, further implicating Iles. Iles seems at ease with the accusations, as are his superiors in the police force. But others are not feeling so secure. Local crime bosses Ralph Ember and Mansel Shale fear reprisals against Iles will result in their own businesses suffering. And so they begin to plan how to remove potential troublemakers from their path . . .