Vacuum (A Harpur & Iles Mystery, 28) - Hardcover

Bill James has been called ""the Elmore Leonard of Britain's underworld"" (Kirkus Reviews) and has been named a ""Master of Crime"" in a mystery roundup by the London Sunday Times, which said, ""There is nothing else quite like this series of police procedurals. James is concerned with the dilemmas and difficulties of policing Britain's inner cities, and he addresses these in hard-edged narratives that leave readers gasping and flinching, praying the people in these stories never come to live in their streets."" In addition to the Harpur and Iles series, James is the author of other mystery series and a book on Anthony Powell. He lives in Wales.

The qualities that make James' books stand out from the crowd are his masterful ability with words and his howlingly funny, darkly brutal humor. Local drug kingpin Mansel Shale becomes a shadow of his former self after his wife and son are gunned down in what appears to be a hit gone wrong. In his grief, Mansel has turned to religion, leaving his drug business up for grabs. His second in command, a weirdo who believes he is Generalissimo Franco, is the wrong man to head up the organization, especially with rival Ralph Ember eager to gain control of Shale's territory. Neither Assistant Chief Des Iles nor DCS Colin Harpur wants a drug war, both believing in Iles' motto, "No blood on the pavement." But their new chief has a different motto--"Lock 'em up and toss away the key"--and is pushing matters in the wrong direction, forcing Harpur and Iles to head off the danger, keep villains and victims happy, and ensure that their town remains peaceful, if drug-ridden. Despite the seriousness of the plot, it's impossible not to laugh aloud at the fierce ripostes, subtle digs, and overt insults peppered across every page. A true delight from a genre master. -- Booklist Starred Review, October 1, 2011