Off Minor

by John Harvey

Book Overview

Two little of the same age but very different backgrounds are missing. To Resnick, this is the only connection--until one of the them turns up dead. The fourth mystery in the popular series.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805012656
• ISBN13: 9780805012651
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

In the best tradition of Connelly and Sjowall and Wahloo

Charlie Resnick is inspector in Nottingham, where the 6 year old girl Gloria disappears. After a few months her body is found by a young couple making love in an abandoned warehouse. A few months later another 6 year old girl, Emily, disappears. At first sight the disappearances look very similar and there are quite a few possible suspects. It is up to Resnick and his team to sort out who was involved in what. In the end both crimes are solved, but it takes until the last page before it becomes clear to the reader what happened exactly.Charlie Resnick is an inspector in the tradition of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch including his love for jazz music. We also follow Resnick's colleagues, who are not all equally likeable, but that only makes the characters more realistic. There is also quite a lot of criticism on society in the tradition of Sjöwall and Wahlöö. All in all this book is a very enjoyable read.

A Wonderful Series!

I just discovered the Charlie Resnick series and I am loving it!John Harvey has created a believable, compassionate protagonist in Charlie. Charlie's a bit of a schlump--loves his food and isn't too concerned about grooming or fashion. He loves American Jazz and he loves his cats. This British police procedural series introduces us to the detectives in Charlie's crew and we grow to know and like them all.When two little girls go missing and one is found murdered, Charlie fears he may be dealing with a serial killer. The story jumps quickly back and forth between characters and this method of story telling proves very effective after one becomes accustomed to it. The two little girls are the same age, but from different economic circumstances. Harvey does a fine job in showing us the devastation their disappearances cause their respective families.Harvey is a fine writer and skilled at picturing the despair, danger and frustration of Nottingham's mean streets, where gangs of unemployed or underemployed youths take out their rage on each other. His Charlie Resnick is a bit of an outsider himself, having been born of Polish immigrants. He never seems to feel quite comfortable embracing either his Polishness or his Englishness. He's something of a loner. His marriage failed and his relationships usually fizzle as well. He has great sympathy and concern for the victims he meets in his work, and for his crew of detectives, but his most solid relationships are with his four cats. I recommend this series without reservation.

A Wee Frustrating but Still Good Stuff

A strong fourth entry in the Charlie Resnick series, the plot revolves around the dissapearance of two small girls, and the uncertainty as to their abductor is maintained until the very end. As in the previous books Harvey continues to the develop the personal lives of the police force, although the focus her is less on Resnick as it is on others. It a bit bleak since it isn't really clear why Resnick keeps rejecting the romantic possabilites presented, and the one member of the force who seems headed toward happiness doesn't acheive it.

great work-classic crime thriller

Six-year-old Gloria Summers simply vanished from the Lenton Recreation Ground where she was playing. Her parents are distraught and the police are totally stymied, as their investigation goes nowhere. Sixty-three days later the corpse of the little girl is found. In a nearby neighborhood, six-year-old Emily Morrison has disappeared from her family's garden where she was playing. Like the Summers, Emily's family is distraught and at the end of their rope with despair. A desperate Inspector Charlie Resnick, feeling the pain of both families, begins a desperate search of the streets of Nottingham in order to avoid a second fatality from what appears to be a serial killer. OFF MINOR is a reprint of a classic British police procedural that will thrill fans of the sub-genre. The story line is gripping, forcing readers to care and finish the story in one sitting. Charlie is one of the leading lights in mystery tales and the support cast adds a touch of authenticity to the novel. This reviewer strongly recommends readers who enjoy police procedurals or even just a damn good story, try the entire Resnick series because they are consistently of a quality level that would have pleased Dr. Deming.Harriet Klausner