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

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. 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)

A noir farce that’s just as wickedly funny as most of the 27 other Harpur and Iles escapades―compelling evidence that James is long overdue for a major award (Kirkus Reviews Starred Review)