Still Waters

by John Harvey

Book Overview

The battered body of a young woman is found floating in the still waters of a city canal. Police suspect a serial killer, which makes it a case for the Serious Crime Squad. Not Charlie Resnick's case,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805041494
• ISBN13: 9780805041491
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.7" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Still Water

The author's well-documented love for jazz, as well as that of his protagonist, Charlie Resnick, is established on the first page of this, the ninth in the series, when, as he is awaiting the start of a concert featuring the great jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson, he is called out to a murder scene. The victim is a young woman, found in one of the many canals that ringed the area, and the speculation is that she is but the latest in a string of incidents called in the media the Canal Murders There have been a number of bodies found, "females aged between seventeen and twenty-five; all discovered in or near water with serious injuries to the head or upper body," and this latest one the last of "three murders, no more than months apart, radius of thirty miles," with no clothing, no ID. And it is not, of course, the last one to be found within these pages. Charlie thinks: "How many were there whose deaths still sought proper explanation and resolve? How many women in water, ditch, or hasty grave, their bodies spilled out at the sides of roads or in the stairwells of deserted buildings?" The Serious Crimes Squad is just being formed as the book begins, an off-shoot of Charlie's CID Unit, to consist of 20 detective constables, four sergeants, a smattering of support staff, one inspector, and a freshly appointed detective chief inspector, whose identity is as yet unknown. Charlie's own lack of ambition keeping him from applying for the position himself, is what he and others in his division are thinking. Charlie's Unit has been fragmented of late - Mark Divine still recovering from the devastating events described in the prior entry in the series, Graham Millington talking about going back into uniform and moving, Lynn Kellogg applying for a transfer to the Family Support Unit [and wanting to get out from under Charlie's shadow]. And there is also Charlie's evolving relationship with Hannah, who he met in that same eighth series entry, "Easy Meat." There is a constant theme here of violence to women, often but not necessarily including rape, and of domination and submission. There is a secondary story line as well, an often charming one dealing with nuns, art theft and forgery, and possible redemption. And as usual with Mr. Harvey, perfectly evocative descriptions, e.g., "At the table alongside them, four Asian girls from a nearby comprehensive were arguing over their German homework, filling the air around them with tobacco smoke and laughter. A middle-aged woman with the puzzled moon face of a child was sitting with her carer, twisting a narrow length of scarf in and around her fingers in a seemingly endless pattern, tea and toast beside her untouched. Beyond the glass, solitary men and women sat with the dogs or children, and a man wearing padded cycling shorts and a maroon sweatshirt shouted into his mobile phone." As with all the other books from this author, this one is highly recommended.

Praise from an ardent fan

I love the Charlie Resnick series! I discovered them years ago after a reviewer in the Chicago Tribune talked about Harvey's insights into great jazz artists. I completey agree,in fact I have discovered several musicians that have rapidly become some of my favorite artists (Lester Young, Ben Webster). But I also enjoy Harvey's depiction of a man at odds with contemporary society. Charlie Resnick is such a likeable character that my only complaint is that the series has ended. Any and all of the Resnick books work as stand alone well written and exciting mysteries,but I would suggest starting from the begining and reading them all. The arch of character development in many of the ancillary characters is quite rewarding.

Fine for fans, possibly confusing for others

There are inherent perils in writing a series of novels based on the same set of characters. Is the author simply rehashing the same theme over and over again? Are the characters becoming too predictable? Will readers new to the series understand what is going on, or will they feel excluded from the author's world for not begining at the first novel? Is there any reason left to warrant delving into the characters' lives yet again?These are pitfalls common to almost all authors. The 'Burke' stories of Andrew Vachss are now constantly fighting self-parody. Douglas Adams' HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE series arguably had no reason to continue after the third installment. Joseph Heller destroyed his beloved CATCH-22 characters with the near-wretched CLOSING TIME. And Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan' stories have become far less about Ryan, and more about Clancy's political views.John Harvey's 'Charlie Resnick' series of British police procedurals are also fighting these traps. While Harvey has consistently written taut, elegant meditations on the evils that society can fall victim to (see EASY MEAT), there remains the danger that he may alienate new readers who are not intimately familiar with Resnick's ways. STILL WATERS is a finely written story, but newcomers to Resnick's universe may find themselves confused.STILL WATERS finds Resnick, the resourceful British police officer, in a situation immediately identifiable to all. He is rather anxious over his burgeoning relationship with English teacher Hannah, and also has job security issues over an ignored promotion possibility. But while his overall routine may to similar to many, Harvey manages to inject new life into the familiar with Resnick's personal indentification with the seedier aspects of humanity. But while Resnick may attempt to keep his professional and personal lives seperate, the murder of one of Hannah's friends brings his worlds together.Harvey's novels have, as their main focus, the view that evil is just around the corner in all our lives. In STILL WATERS, it is spousal abuse that receives the brunt of Harvey's attention. Seemingly happy couples are revealed to exist in relationships of pain and suffering. Harvey deals with this theme quite effectively, from many viewpoints. He also refuses to serve as judge to his characters, presenting them as flawed examples of humanity, not incarnations of evil. Harvey also never rules out the concept of redemption, however rare that commodity may be.But as STILL WATERS is one novel of many, Harvey has other issues to deal with as well. There is Lynn Kellogg, a fellow officer who would rather transfer out than deal with her past relationship with Resnick. There is Mark Divine, a police officer who was raped in a previous novel, and has become increasingly violent. There is Carl Vincent, a homosexual officer in a profession not known for tolerance. Harvey manages to touch on all of their lives, but some of it seems unnecessary. A new reader

Solid Ninth Entry in Series

Very solid ninth entry effectively mixes Charlie Resnick's ever-deepening relationship with schoolteacher Hannah and the dissapearance of her friend Jane. This is against a backdrop of the formation of a new Serious Crimes Unit headed by an ambitious high-flying female which threatens to take over Charlie's turf. Less effective is the subplot tying together a few formerly seen characters and an art forgery ring.

Another excellent work by a sterling British writer

When the battered corpse of a mid-twenties woman is found floating in a canal, the police conclude that a serial killer is one the loose because of a nebulous link to other canal murders. However, a second body is soon found. This time the victim is Jane Peterson, a close friend of Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick's lover, Hannah. The police think that Jane is the latest victim of the serial killer. Neither case falls under the jurisdiction of Charlie since serial killer investigations are worked on by the Serious Crime Unit. However, Hannah is convinced that Jane's death was caused by her physically abusive spouse, Alex. Hannah convinces Charlie to look into her girl friend's death. Meanwhile, other things swirl around Charlie. A junior officer, Lynn Kellogg has applied for a transfer and is pushing Charlie to make it happen. Other crime, such as an art theft, requires Charlie's investigative talent. With all this going on, Charlie is going to find it difficult to properly investigate what happened to Jane. The Charlie Resnick series are some of the best British police procedurals on the market today. The current entry, STILL WATER, is a well written detective novel that showcase John Harvey's tremendous talent. Though the story line is quite good, it is not at the upper echelon of the previous novels because too much is left open (perhaps for the next book). Still, that leaves the tale better than 99.9% of the police procedural in book stores on sale today. Several of the Resnick novels are about to go paperback and are worth buying by fans of the sub-genre. Harriet Klausner