- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Phoenix; New Ed edition (22 Aug 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753822601
- ISBN-13: 978-0753822609
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 92,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The Blitz, London 1944 - as the Luftwaffe make their last desperate assault on the city, Londoners take to the shelters once again and eagerly await the signal for D-Day. In the East End children lead police to a charred, dismembered corpse buried in a bombsite. The victim is German and it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary murder. For Russian emigre Detective-Sergeant Troy it is the start of a manhunt which will lead him into a world of stateless refugees, military intelligence and corruption in high places. A manhunt in which Troy is both the hunter and the hunted.
About the Author
John Lawton has spent the last ten years making television programmes, mostly for Channel 4, and editing volumes of H. G. Wells' work. He is the author of the Detective-Sergeant Troy series of crime novels. He lives in Derbyshire.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is an excellent book. Maybe the plot is a bit contrived but you don't notice because it is so beautifully written and because it evokes wartime London so powerfully. I did not live through the war so I can't speak to its accuracy but I finished reading it with a vivid picture of London in 1944. I also understood quite a few subtleties and patterns of societies which I had not appreciated before. By the way, this is also a very good crime thriller -- I sat up until 3.30 one morning to finish it! It's the second John Lawton book I've read (I ran across Riptide in an airport bookshop) and both have been much more thought-provoking than the average paperback mystery. Highly recommended.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This first book in the Troy series left me rather torn. On the one hand, it's a gripping page-turned stuffed with great characters and atmosphere, all set in London just prior to D-Day. On the other hand, the plot relies on so many coincidences and contrivances that one's suspension of disbelief is sorely tested. Like the Berlin detective Bernie Gunther in Phillip Kerr's excellent WWII trilogy (collected as Berlin Noir), Lawton's D.S. Troy is a wonderful character. Born in England to upper class Russian Jewish parents, he doesn't believe in Queen and country, but pursues a broader notion of justice. As a young Scotland Yard whiz-kid, he tries to unravel a series of murders and disappearances tied somehow to former German scientists and the American military.
The downside is-and I give nothing away by saying this-that too many central figures in the story are connected to Troy's personal life. One victim lives above his closest police friend, another is known to his uncle (who just happens to be a scientist working in military research), another central player is known to him from childhood, and another important character has a past history with Troy as well. Not to mention the climax, in which Troy's well connected brother plays a key role. It gets to be rather a lot to ignore, and the worst part is, there isn't really a need for all those connections to be there!
Fortunately, Lawton provides ample detail and atmosphere to keep everything enjoyable. His portrait of the tough conditions in wartime London, and the privileged place of the American military there is striking. Food rationing, bombing raids, dense fog, rubble-strewn streets, tough East End children, it's all highly evocative. Similarly, he provides a picture of England's simmering domestic political situation that will come as a surprise to many American readers. Every character springs to life under Lawton's pen, from Troy's keen subordinate, to his canny superior, to a hooker with a heart of gold, and bluff American officers. My own favorite is the cross-cursing Polish forensics expert.
Coincidences aside, the book is exceedingly well-written, and it's shame Lawton isn't better known in the US. A second Troy book, Old Flames, is set in 1956, a the third, A Little White Death, in 1963-neither of these had yet been published in US.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This book is brilliant. This was the first of John Lawton's books I have read and eagerly await more. Once I started reading the book I couldn't put it down. The plot of World War II London - the mystery, suspense, detail and brilliant imagery made this book a joy to read. If you want a good read then this is a great book to read and at the price is a steal. Thoroughly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Whitewash
I'm not fully sure what to make of this novel. I swapped it for another book without knowing anything about anything except that it was set in wartime London, immediately prior to... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Michael Watson
Excellent book, let down a little by poor type-setting and an...
This story starts off appearing to be a fairly hum-drum detective story, set in London shortly before the Normandy landings. Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. R. Cantrell
Disappointing
I saw a reveiw which compared the set of novels of which this is one of the earliest as comparable to the historical works of Patrick O'Brian in their detail and plot development. Read more
Published 10 months ago by j.s.pullen
A surfeit of amazing coincidences
This would be a three and a half star review if that was possible. Black Out is well written with excellent period detail lightly applied - there are none of the moments when the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Dobester
Excellent period detail
The first and by far the best of the Troy thrillers, this books presents an excellent depiction of wartime London. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Macavity
Enjoyable, but if you like your things in order......
I enjoyed this book and can add little to the positive reviews on here.
However, be warned if you are buying this as the first book published in the excellent Troy... Read more
However, be warned if you are buying this as the first book published in the excellent Troy... Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2009 by M. Stevens
Another elegant thriller
This is another sophisticated and unusual thriller by the underrated John Lawton. He is a past master at good dialogue and creating real characters with all their flaws. Read more
Published on 14 May 2006 by Sally Loren
Starts well then loses the plot
When I started this book I couldn't read it fast enough, but two days later I really wanted to finish it. It starts extremely well with a body found in a bomb-site. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2004 by Peter Symonds
Starts well - but goes off the boil
This book started really well - the discovery of a dismembered body in a London bomb site is really well imagined and there's plenty of atmosphere, with a fairly creepy tension... Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2002
Dead body found in East End of London...
...but it's war time, so surely it's just another victim of the Blitz? Not so, and Sgt Troy proves it. Join the war time of London during WWII and feel the atmosphere. Read more
Published on 7 July 2002
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