Harvey, John

(British, 1938– )

Poet, scriptwriter, and novelist John Harvey learned his craft writing pulp Westerns and young adult novels, but finally found the perfect vehicle for his talents with the ten detective novels featuring scruffy, jazz-loving, sandwich-munching Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick and his team. Set against the beautifully realized background of Nottingham, the series explores Britain in the 1990s with ruthless honesty and sensitive observation. Harvey's great strength lies in his ability to create a vivid and credible cast of characters, many of whom reappear in some or all of the books. For that reason, the books should be read in order. Begin with Lonely Hearts (1989) in which a series of attacks on women are linked by newspaper adverts. Other high points in the series are Off Minor (1992) which deals with child murder, Wasted Years (1993), where a series of armed robberies brings bad memories for Resnick, and Easy Meat (1996), which addresses male rape.

Reginald Hill, Ian Rankin, Michael Dibdin. See CRIME  VM