Far Cry (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

The eleven Charlie Resnick novels to date have established John Harvey in the upper echelons of British crime writers: a place he has further cemented with his three Frank Elder books.

However, `Far Cry' is the second to feature his latest creations, DI Will Grayson and DS Helen Walker - following 2007's `Gone to Ground' - to my mind the most disappointing crime novel JH has ever written.

This second outing tackles the emotive issues of child abduction and abuse. It's 1995 and Simon and Ruth Pierce find their daughter Heather has gone missing on the foggy moors of Cornwall. She's found dead but an open verdict is recorded. Cordon, the investigating officer, harbours a suspicion that there are darker elements at play, but is unable to prove anything.

Fast forward to date and Ruth is now married to her second husband Andrew, when their daughter Beatrice disappears, apparently abducted.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: to lose one daughter seems a tragedy, to lose two, looks like carelessness. At the same time, a child abuser has recently been released from jail, and DI Grayson has him under surveillance, believing he's committed far more than the one crime he was sent down for. Ruth's first husband Simon, has also re-entered her life, and he's still disturbed/obsessed over the original incident involving his daughter Heather's death.

John ties everything up well, the characterisation is good, and he's believable (up to a point) at presenting the anguish and torment that the parents of abducted children go through. But - and it's a big but - he's no better than good here, when he needs to be great.

Although the prose is clean and spare, it lacks the compressed precision of his best writing and at 500 hardback pages long this feels slightly bloated. It's a decent, solid story, but time was when JH would have achieved the same effects in 200 pages less. My other quibble is there're no real suprises in here - it's fairly obvious what will happen at each stage.

Having said that, I can quite easily see this reaching a much wider readership than the Resnick books purely because of its subject matter. I acknowledge that it's a big improvement on `Gone to Ground', but it's not as good as 'Cold at Hand' last year's Resnick novel. As a long-term fan, I don't believe this is JH writing at the top of his game, but it still stands up against 75% of British crime fiction and shouldn't disappoint too many of his readership.

The second book to feature DI Will Grayson and DS Helen Walker. I felt that this book was similar to Cold in Hand featuring Charlie Resnick in that for the first two thirds of the book very little happens. The story line revolves and evolves around paedophiles and child abduction, we see Will's reaction when a Paedophile he's put away is released early, we're introduced to Ruth whose first daughter disappeared on a family holiday, and we have an insight into the private lives of both Will and Helen. Then, Ruth's second daughter also disappears - Will is convinced it's the paedophile who has just been released, but this is a John Harvey novel, very well written, an easy, enjoyable read where plots intertwine, cross over and sometimes come together, and the final third moves at a much quicker pace. Overall, I thought this was a slighter better book than Cold in Hand with an ending to suggest that this might be the last of Will & Helen as a professional partnership.

First Sentence: Ruth sets down her cup, crosses the room and opens the drawer.

Ruth Pierce's daughter, Heather, and her friend disappeared during a foggy Cornwell night in 1995 while on holiday with her friend's family. The friend was found bruised but alive, while Heather was found dead. The death was ruled "open" as it was impossible to tell whether it was accidental or murder. Now Ruth has a new daughter, Beatrice, by her second marriage. She still finds it hard enough coping with the loss of Heather. Then Beatrice disappears. Mitchell Roberts was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl. How he's been released. Will doesn't believe it was a single incident and does believe Roberts will rape again.

Harvey took a very difficult, painful and emotional subject, tuning it into a thoroughly compelling book. His emotions were honest but he managed to avoid going over the top with them.

His characters are diverse and believable. Grayson strays from the normal police protagonist in that he is married with two children. His marriage may not be perfect, but it's working and his wife, Lorraine, is as well-drawn as Grayson. His partner, DS Helen Walker, fills the more traditionally male role of being unable to sustain a relationship. But the partnership of the two characters works.

Harvey is very good at suspense. He knows how to start with small things and ratchet the tension up bit-by-bit. He doesn't use tricks, cliff-hangers or portents; just really good writing.

In spite of that, I found the story predictable and definitely could have benefited with some serious editing. At 500 pages, it was too long. Not because the story dragged, but it lacked the crispness and solid feel of his other books.

I shall always love Harvey's writing and do still recommend this book, but if I had to choose, I'd advise reading his Resnick or Frank Elder or some of his standalone books to really experience the quality of his writing.

FAR CRY (Pol. Proc-DI Will Grayson-England-Cont) - G+
Harvey, John - 2nd in series
William Heinemann, 2009, UK Hardcover - ISBN: 9780434016921