I’m thrilled to say on the blog today I have Death In Blitz City by David Young, on behalf of Compulsive Readers. Thank you to Tracy Fenton and Zaffre Books for my place on the tour and the copy of the book.
1942. Hull, East Yorkshire – It is the most heavily-bombed city outside of London – but for the sake of national morale the Hull Blitz is kept top secret. Only the politicians in Whitehall and Hull’s citizens themselves know of the true chaos.Newly-posted Inspector Ambrose Swift cannot believe the devastation he finds. But for Swift and his two deputies – part-time bare-knuckle boxer Jim ‘Little’ Weighton and Dales farmer’s daughter Kathleen Carver – it’s murder, not the war, that’s at the forefront of their minds.When a series of sadistic killings is wrongly blamed on locally-stationed black American GIs, Swift, a one-armed former WW1 cavalryman who tours the rubble-strewn city on a white horse, soon discovers these are no ordinary murders. The fetid stench of racism, corruption and perversion go to the very top. And for Swift, Weighton and Carver, finding the real killers means putting their own lives at risk – because powerful forces in the US and Britain cannot let the war effort be undermined. Not even by the truth.
An author I have not come across before but when I read the synopsis and saw the front cover, I just wanted to dive right into this historical crime mystery. As I had no expectations I went in with a totally open mind and by the time I had read the book, I knew I had found a new to-go author.
Set in Hull during World War 2 we meet Inspector Ambrose Swift, fresh into his post. He finds himself faced with two horrific murders which quickly turn out to be more than they seem. Swift is a determined and likeable character, who clearly puts everything into his work and cares. WAPC Kathleen Carver shines as she shows how much she can add to his team, although Swift has to fight tooth and nail to get her there.
David Young has so intricately plotted this story and created a compelling and gripping read. I thought the fact and fiction was woven together so cleverly that I couldn’t tell were one ended and the other began. He brings Hull of the time vividly alive. Along with his detailed and well drawn characters that draw you in it makes this a story I couldn’t put down.
I always appreciate an investigation set in the past. The fact there are no modern gadgets shows the detail, the deduction power and the amount of digging the team have to do to get to the truth. This made it more of an on the edge read for me. I got so caught up in the investigation I was flipping the pages to find out everything.
A perfectly paced, highly satisfying book that grabs you from the outset and immerses you to the end. A book for anyone who enjoys a historical fiction mystery told with authenticity.
Author Bio
East Yorkshire-born David Young began his East German-set crime series on a creative writing MA at London’s City University when Stasi Child – his debut – won the course prize. The novel went on to win the 2016 CWA Historical Dagger, and both it and the 2017 follow-up, Stasi Wolf, were longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. His novels have been sold in eleven territories round the world. Before becoming a full-time author, David was a senior journalist with the BBC’s international radio and TV newsrooms for more than 25 years. He writes in his Twickenham garden shed and in a caravan on the Isle of Wight. The Stasi Game, his sixth novel, is available to pre-order now. You can follow him on Twitter @djy_writer
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 