The eagerly awaited third novel featuring Inspector Madden, from the author of River of Darkness and The Blood-Dimmed Tide
The Dead of Winter (John Madden Mystery Trilogy 3)
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Amazon Review
Slowly but surely, Rennie Airth has been building a reputation as one of the most solid and accomplished practitioners of the intelligent crime thriller, with an ironclad combination of adroit storytelling skills and carefully wrought characterisation (something of a speciality for this author). The Dead of Winter is the latest example of Airth's finely-honed art, and is as impressive and involving as such predecessors as Rivers of Darkness and The Blood-Dimmed Tide, (the first two parts of this trilogy).
We are once again in the company of troubled copper John Madden, the time period having moved on from the first books to the Second World War. It is the time of Churchill’s radio broadcasts, the blackout and the ever-present threat of V2 bombs. Near the British Museum in London, a young woman refugee from war-torn Poland is killed. She had been engaged as a landgirl on a farm where she had won the affection of the farmer and his wife -- and that farmer is John Madden, no longer utilising his detection skills for Scotland Yard. But he is prepared to aid his ex-comrades in this disturbing situation, and utilises his still-keen expertise to dig into the murder. Madden becomes aware that the killer is almost certainly a professional hitman. Why did he murder his Polish victim? It’s up to John Madden to construct a plausible case from a slender assortment of clues – and, what’s more, in the face of considerable personal danger.
Those who read Rennie Airth’s earlier books will need little persuasion to pick The Dead of Winter up; and new readers will be entranced by the carefully constructed narrative and strong sense of period. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'The author's fine sense of time and place bring 1940's England to life.'
-- Choice
'The well-crafted writing and plot development make it a page-turner despite the slow pace.'
-- Herald Express (Torquay)
'What engages one [is]...the narrative, his observation of the natural world and his gift for striking imagery.'
-- The Oldie
`A superlative detective novel from a writer who creates complicated narratives populated by fully realised characters. He has an enviable ability to evoke rural landscape as well as teeming metropolitan life, particularly the menace of a London perpetually shrouded by darkness. Airth's John Madden novels are must-reads.' -- Daily Express
`Airth's atmosphere of London at war is superb'
-- The Times
`Rennie Airth's atmospheric The Dead of Winter is set in London during the second world war...the novel recreates wartime London brilliantly, and Airth's detectives have to cope with flying bombs and blacked-out streets as they struggle to find the killer.' -- Sunday Times
`This is an energetic and entertaining thriller, with a denouement which rises to a frightening climax.'
-- Times Literary Supplement --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
-- Choice
'The well-crafted writing and plot development make it a page-turner despite the slow pace.'
-- Herald Express (Torquay)
'What engages one [is]...the narrative, his observation of the natural world and his gift for striking imagery.'
-- The Oldie
`A superlative detective novel from a writer who creates complicated narratives populated by fully realised characters. He has an enviable ability to evoke rural landscape as well as teeming metropolitan life, particularly the menace of a London perpetually shrouded by darkness. Airth's John Madden novels are must-reads.' -- Daily Express
`Airth's atmosphere of London at war is superb'
-- The Times
`Rennie Airth's atmospheric The Dead of Winter is set in London during the second world war...the novel recreates wartime London brilliantly, and Airth's detectives have to cope with flying bombs and blacked-out streets as they struggle to find the killer.' -- Sunday Times
`This is an energetic and entertaining thriller, with a denouement which rises to a frightening climax.'
-- Times Literary Supplement --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By L. J. Roberts
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
First Sentence: Dusk was falling by the time Maurice Sobel reached Neuilly, and he walked the short distance from the Metro to his house in the cold, not quite earthly light of the blue-painted street lamps which were the city's sole concession to the war that was about to engulf it.
It's 1944 and England is anticipating the end of the War, but crime lives on. A young Polish is brutally murdered on the streets of London. Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair is assigned the case along with Inspector Billy Styles.
Once they learn the victim was living in the same town as their retired former boss, John Madden, they ask for his help. When other, similar, murders occur, they begin building a trail back to Paris at the very beginning of the war and the realization they are hunting a serial killer.
The book's opening depicts the last days in Paris before the Germans enter in 1940 and the tone is set. I immediately felt the character's anxiety and fear about getting out in time. That opening scene is indicative of Airth's ability to convey a very strong sense of time and place to the reader.
Characters are another of Airth's strengths. There is a large cast of characters, some of whom appear for only a short time. Yet with each, and only a brief description, the characters are fully developed, with form and substance.
The relationships work, whether it be working relationships among the police, whether among peers or between layers; or the wonderful relationship between John Madden and his physician wife, Helen, as well as the working- and lower-class characters. Each character has a purpose.
Airth truly conveys the stress and tragedy of families with loved ones in the war. The story is very well plotted and culminates in a very exciting and suspenseful scene.
My only complaint is that it was six years between the previous book and this one and that this is the end of the promised trilogy. For those who have not read Airth, I highly recommend the series. You have the pleasure of being able to obtain all three books now. For me, I shall have to hope Mr. Airth will provide another book in the future.
THE DEAD OF WINTER (Pol Proc- John Madden-England-1944/WWII) - Ex
Airth, Rennie - 3rd in series
Macmillan, 2009, UK Hardcover: ISBN: 9780230714847
It's 1944 and England is anticipating the end of the War, but crime lives on. A young Polish is brutally murdered on the streets of London. Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair is assigned the case along with Inspector Billy Styles.
Once they learn the victim was living in the same town as their retired former boss, John Madden, they ask for his help. When other, similar, murders occur, they begin building a trail back to Paris at the very beginning of the war and the realization they are hunting a serial killer.
The book's opening depicts the last days in Paris before the Germans enter in 1940 and the tone is set. I immediately felt the character's anxiety and fear about getting out in time. That opening scene is indicative of Airth's ability to convey a very strong sense of time and place to the reader.
Characters are another of Airth's strengths. There is a large cast of characters, some of whom appear for only a short time. Yet with each, and only a brief description, the characters are fully developed, with form and substance.
The relationships work, whether it be working relationships among the police, whether among peers or between layers; or the wonderful relationship between John Madden and his physician wife, Helen, as well as the working- and lower-class characters. Each character has a purpose.
Airth truly conveys the stress and tragedy of families with loved ones in the war. The story is very well plotted and culminates in a very exciting and suspenseful scene.
My only complaint is that it was six years between the previous book and this one and that this is the end of the promised trilogy. For those who have not read Airth, I highly recommend the series. You have the pleasure of being able to obtain all three books now. For me, I shall have to hope Mr. Airth will provide another book in the future.
THE DEAD OF WINTER (Pol Proc- John Madden-England-1944/WWII) - Ex
Airth, Rennie - 3rd in series
Macmillan, 2009, UK Hardcover: ISBN: 9780230714847
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Siena's Dad
Format:Hardcover
Wonderfully written conclusion to the Madden Trilogy. Airth's characters enhance a wonderfully nuanced plot that delivers on the promise of a story well told. At the end, you don't want to stop with just three Madden books. Airth is such a great talent. Let's hope he continues to write, to not do so would be a tragedy for his readers.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This was an extremely enjoyable read which managed to capture the period (1944) very well including the dialogue. It makes you realise how much cultural change has occurred over the last 60 or so years. I liked the characters. Their warmth and humanity contrasted well with the callousness of the murderer. However, at times I felt there was too much exposition of plot developments (often between the two senior poilce officers) which felt slightly clumsy and contrived. Although the plot was straightforward the author built suspense well (particularly in the last hundred or so pages). A comforting rather than chilling read, but an immensely enjoyabale one (and far better than some of the standard fare on offer in the crime and thriller section of bookstores).
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great end to the trilogy
The Dead of WInter is Book 3 in the 'John Madden' trilogy. The first in the trilogy, 'River of Darkness' was set in shire-England in the immediate aftermath of WW1. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Noel
4.0 out of 5 stars
`What have we missed?'
During a blackout, in London late in 1944, an Air Raid Warden bumps into a young woman. He offers to accompany her to her destination; she thanks him and declines his offer. Read more
Published 17 months ago by J. Cameron-Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Airth didn't quite move
I made a mistake of reading the three books in the Madden trilogy in quick succession, and the strength of the first, the atmosphere of the period in which it was set, became... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2010 by John Grimbaldeston
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great story and characters...
Rennie Airth's third novel starring detective John Madden, is excellent. Set in England and France at the beginning of WW2, Madden is involved in a murder case - committed in... Read more
Published on 6 May 2010 by Jill Meyer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rennue Airth does it again!
What a superb end to the John Madden mystery trilogy. Like the other books in the series I found the story line riveting and exciting. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2010 by Mrs. V. Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book yuo can not stop reading..
Dear all readers, I liked this Mr Madden third book very much. I have been waiting a long time for it to come.It is very well written as usual with Mr Airth. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2010 by Lena Heinemann
5.0 out of 5 stars
More please
Yes, I agree with the review above. An absorbing and highly effective end to the trilogy. They do need to be read in order, and the first remains the best, but both the sequels are... Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2009 by F. M. Stockdale
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