One Under

A Joe Faraday novel is always a welcome read, despite being gritty, often violent and unsettling. Of all the writers of detective novels I've read, Hurley is the most convincing, showing the police stretched, juggling time and resources. Not for them the luxury of taking their working life one case at a time: there's paperwork, other calls on their time, other cases demanding attention. It feels real.

This is a particularly nasty case, involving an apparently brutal murder in which the victim has been strapped to the line shortly before the first train of the day comes through. All the usual police characters play their part in arriving at the solution to the mystery of who could have been responsible for such a crime: Winter, Suttle et show more al, as well as Faraday himself. All are believable, developed characters, as are many of the civilians called on to help piece the story of the murder together.

A satisfying read. show less

The beginning of this book is one you won't forget quickly. Early one morning, an unsuspecting train driver runs over a body on the tracks. But this isn't an accident or a suicide: that body was chained to the tracks. It has to be murder. DI Faraday is tasked with solving the case, and brings his newly returned colleague DC Winter onto the team. Winter, pursuing a lead on the ID of the dead man, becomes entangled in a feud with a local drug kingpin that might have serious professional and personal consequences.

Overall I quite liked this book, despite cheerfully returning it to the library half read. Not the book's fault: simply a question of too many library books out at the same time and more pressing deadlines to meet. Faraday is an show more interesting protagonist: a policeman who is not particularly brash or egotistic, more of a quiet leader by example. Winter, on the other hand, is direct and will not hesitate to call BS on something, especially now that his recent brain surgery has given him a second chance on life. They certainly make an interesting pair!

I would consider reading more in the series, and finishing this one at a later date. show less

One Under is the train engineers term for a body that has gone under the front of a train. It doesn’t happen often, but can be a suicide choice. In this case, the police discover that the naked body of a man had been chained to the tracks and left for the train to tear to pieces.

This is the seventh entry into Graham Hurley’s police procedurals featuring DI Joe Faraday and his subordinate, DC Paul Winter. And while Joe Faraday is as straight as they come and works by the book, Paul Winters doesn’t mind taking the odd short cut or getting his hands dirty. While perusing the list of Missing Persons, looking for the victim’s ID, Winter comes across a man who seemingly stepped out of his life. He doesn’t appear to be the man in the show more train tunnel, but this case looks suspicious to Winter and he decides to investigate this disappearance on the side.

One Under is a fun and informative read. The author is one of the best writers of police procedurals, giving the reader the feeling of how an investigation is set up, managed, controlled and run. The frustrations, political and departmental pressures, false starts and long hours of piecing unconnected clues together are realistic and gives you a glimpse of how detectives really work.

With a great plot and cemented by two strong characters that I have grown to know well, this book is a first-class addition to this series. show less

An excellent crime thriller. Joe Faraday investigates a gruesome death in a train tunnel in parallel with a mysterious missing person case. Excellent characterisation and detail, especially of locations in and around Portsmouth as well as police procedure which has the ring of authenticity. Strongly recommended.

This is a gritty, hard boiled crime thriller and it doesn't get much better. A man ,chained to the tracks, is killed by the first morning train leaving Portsmouth for London. DI Joe Farady and DC Paul Winter investigate. Waterstone's Books Quarterly describe Hurley as the South Coast's answer to Ian Rankin.

Un Hurley/inspecteur Faraday technique plutôt qu'émotif (son fils sourd-muet & enthousiaste est au loin, ouf), avec des situations, des caractères inhabituels, complexes et fouillés. Un plaisir. Modeste, Hurley a de la classe.
Electre : l'inspecteur Faraday doit retrouver l'identité d'un corps déchiqueté par une locomotive près de Portsmouth.