Charlie Resnick
Encyclopedia
Detective Inspector Charlie Resnick is the protagonist of a series of eleven police procedural
novels by British writer John Harvey
, based in the city of Nottingham
. Charlie was noted for his Polish
descent and love of both sandwiches and jazz
. The first novel in the series, Lonely Hearts was published in 1989, and was named by The Times
as one of the "100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century". What was believed to be the final novel in the series, Last Rites, was published in 1998. However, in an interview on BBC Four
on 7 November 2006 John Harvey mentioned that he was working on a new novel in the Resnick series. In an interview with the BBC on 20 October, 2007, it was confirmed that the novel would be entitled Cold In Hand and would see Resnick retire from the police force. Cold In Hand was published in 2008.
There were two TV movies made about Resnick, based on Lonely Hearts and Rough Treatment, for the BBC in 1992 and 1993, starring Academy Award nominee Tom Wilkinson as the character. Screenplays for both were written by John Harvey
himself.
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
novels by British writer John Harvey
John Harvey (author)
John Harvey is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham.-Writing Career:...
, based in the city of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. Charlie was noted for his Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
descent and love of both sandwiches and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. The first novel in the series, Lonely Hearts was published in 1989, and was named by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as one of the "100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century". What was believed to be the final novel in the series, Last Rites, was published in 1998. However, in an interview on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
on 7 November 2006 John Harvey mentioned that he was working on a new novel in the Resnick series. In an interview with the BBC on 20 October, 2007, it was confirmed that the novel would be entitled Cold In Hand and would see Resnick retire from the police force. Cold In Hand was published in 2008.
There were two TV movies made about Resnick, based on Lonely Hearts and Rough Treatment, for the BBC in 1992 and 1993, starring Academy Award nominee Tom Wilkinson as the character. Screenplays for both were written by John Harvey
John Harvey (author)
John Harvey is a British author of crime fiction most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of Nottingham.-Writing Career:...
himself.
The Resnick Series
- Lonely Hearts - 1989
- Rough Treatment - 1990
- Cutting Edge - 1991
- Off Minor - 1992
- Wasted Years - 1993
- Cold Light - 1994
- Living Proof - 1995
- Easy Meat - 1996
- Still Water - 1997
- Last Rites - 1998
- Cold in Hand - 2008