Book Description: On the first night of the Blitz, a body is discovered in a van in the back streets of West Ham. DI John Jago is called to the scene and recognizes the body as local Justice of the Peace and businessman Charles Villiers. Shortly afterwards a blast destroys the scene. Jago quickly establishes that Villiers’ wife and adult son Edward both have possible motives, and that there was a rift between Villiers and his brother Arthur. But as he begins the investigation, Jago is annoyed when his boss tells him to help an American journalist who’s writing about public morale – even more so when he finds it’s a woman, Dorothy Appleton. As Jago and Appleton follow leads, they realize that the dead man held many secrets, some of which reach back to World War I. Rather a lot of people wished Villiers dead – and an air raid is a good time to bury bad news.
My Thoughts: Oh, wow! Mike Hollow has written quite a book in Direct Hit, The Blitz Detective. The subtitle caught my attention... The Blitz Detective. And that, my reader friend, is why I chose to read this book. A detective who is caught in the throes of a war but yet, there is a dead person, a case to be solved during a war! Interesting that there are so many dead peoples, yet one body in a van is to be investigated and it brings out so much trouble.
On the night of the Blitz in London. A body (as in dead) is found. It just happens to be the body of the local Justice of the Peace, Charles Villers.
And right after the body is found...a "direct hit" destroys the scene. Hmmm! Interesting! And that is the thought that Detective John Jago has as he thinks of this incident.
But wait, there is way more to this mystery . . .
There are many, many secrets. And then to top it off John Jago's boss insists that Dorothy Appleton an American journalist be able to follow/go with Jago as he tries to solve this case.
Detective John Jago and his side kick, Dorothy make for a lively read! Love this dynamic duo!
It's interesting how the author directs the reader back to WWI throughout the WWII scenes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this well written, interesting read.
*This book was provided for review by Kregel Publications*
Meet the Author:
Mike Hollow was born in West Ham, on the eastern edge of London, and grew up in Romford, Essex. He studied Russian and French at the University of Cambridge and then worked for the BBC and later Tearfund. In 2002 he went freelance as a copywriter, journalist and editor. He's a published poet, and nowadays when not writing about the Blitz Detective he makes his living as a translator.
- Series: The Blitz Detective
- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Kregel Publications (June 27, 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1782641270
- ISBN-13: 978-1782641278
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