CUTTING EDGE

Third in the author's compelling series featuring Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick and the men and women he works with in a northern English city. Charlie—introspective, divorced, comforted by his cats and jazz records—is, at the moment, immersed in trying to find the culprit in three slashing attacks, one of them fatal, all seemingly related in some way to the city's major hospital. Subplots abound; major and minor characters cut in and out—all of them vital whether revolting, respectable, or in-between. Tension mounts as Charlie and his team slog away at the investigation; overcome a major glitch; save a fourth victim—and solve their case. Harvey's police procedurals are in a class by themselves (Lonely Hearts, etc.)—near Dickensian in their portrayal of human frailty; cinematic in their quick changes of scene and character; totally convincing in their plotting and motivation. His latest is all of these—one more to be prized.