The Custom House Murder by Mike HollowMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Three and a half stars.
The third book in a series set during WW2 focusing on a police detective DI John Jago, based in West Ham (one of the poorer areas of London).
In this instalment, a young lad looking for shrapnel after the all-clear is sounded finds a dead body in a public air-raid shelter. The victim turns out to be an English teacher and a pacifist, yet he was found in possession of a gun.
As John unravels the mystery of the murder his investigation is crossed by several pacifists, a love triangle, profiteering, and a budding romance for his sidekick PC Cradock. And let's not forget Cradock's first ever solo investigation - looking into a rogue trader who took a £5 deposit from one of DDI Soper's golf buddies to build an air raid shelter but never came back.
I thought I had uncovered the identity of the murderer. I was wrong. I enjoyed the mystery, I could complain that everyone seemed connected (and arguably they might never have connected the dots without a few coincidences) but then suburbs of cities are often like villages with everyone being connected in some way, so I'll let it slide.
However, I did find the lengthy discussion about god and belief a bit irritating - hopefully since I have read a later book which didn't dwell on religion this was just a one-off.
Anyway, off to read the next book.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment