‘Resnick had despised estate agents ever since one of them ran off with his wife.’
So begins chapter two of ‘Rough Treatment’, a tale of dreadful TV executives, mismatched burglars, a menacing drug dealer and a reclusive detective.
What’s it about?
‘Rough Treatment’ is the second Charlie Resnick novel, in which a house burglary somehow turns into a romance and a kilo of cocaine becomes a key plot point.
I remain unconvinced that having your house burgled is compatible with sexual arousal, but for Maria, who appears to endure a deeply dull suburban existence filled with baths, day drinking, shopping and loathing her husband, the day her safe is burgled (not a euphemism) quickly leads her into an affair with one of the perpetrators.
For her much-stressed husband, Harold, the burglary becomes a threat to life itself when he realises the burglars have taken the drugs he was temporarily holding for his dealer. Can Harold persuade Stafford to let him live? And can he hold onto his job when his boss threatens to replace him? Can Resnick catch the burglars? And just what is upsetting Jack Skelton? Between the concerns of the crooks and the coppers, there’s plenty happening within these 300 odd pages.
What’s it like?
There are lots of characters and the narration switches abruptly between them, suddenly expecting the reader to be interested in the private lives of detectives whose existence we’ve barely registered, but this feels in keeping with the book’s overall focus, which is on people’s natures rather than simply their crimes. I presume these officers are recurring characters and these snippets feel more relevant to readers of the series as a whole.
Resnick himself is a bit too classic-sad-detective for me, unable to respond to the realtor who somehow takes a fancy to him despite his lack of real interest in moving. He seems defined primarily by the absences in his life: no wife, no baby, (despite fleeting references to a cot,) no visible family or friends. Then again, the police officers with families are not necessarily leading happier lives! Overall, it’s a rather sad world Harvey paints, with few characters seemingly destined for any kind of happiness when the story closes.
Final thoughts
The resolution is nicely plotted, though perhaps a bit predictable (let’s reward the burglar with a kind heart!) and I’d be tempted to read another one in this series as it was an easy, undemanding read with a clear resolution.
I’m still not convinced that any woman could fall in love with a burglar, though, no matter how much they loathe their husband!