Synopsis: Saturday 7th September, 1940. The sun is shining, and in the midst of the good weather Londoners could be mistaken for forgetting their country was at war – until the wail of the air-raid sirens heralds an enemy attack. The Blitz has started, and normal life has abruptly ended – but crime has not.
That night a man’s body is discovered in an unmarked van in the back streets of West Ham. When Detective Inspector John Jago is called to the scene, he recognises the victim: local Justice of the Peace, Charles Villiers. The death looks suspicious, but then a German bomb obliterates all evidence. War or no war, murder is still murder, and it’s Jago’s job to find the truth.
The Blitz began when Germany bombed London. On September 7, 1940, 300 German bombers raid London, in the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. This bombing “blitzkrieg” (lightning war) would continue until May 1941. It was also referred to as "The Longest Night" - carnage and destruction was spread indiscriminately throughout the city - though specific targets included factories, warehouses, docks, and bridges.
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| © National Maritime Museum London |
Life for those who were unable to be evacuated was hard and frightening. People spent most nights in their Anderson air-raid shelters, or in houses "blacked out" at night. Rationing was in place (food, petrol, kerosene, clothing) - even police cars were subject to the same petrol rationing as civilians; the majority of schools were closed; work was re-directed to the war effort. (read more here @ "A Child's Memories: The Blitz in West Ham").
Another aspect of the war was profiteering and the black market - crime did not stop just because of the war or the Blitz specifically - in fact it was said to have flourished (read more here @ War History Online) with crimes such as murder, looting, racketeering, juvenile delinquency, ration abuse; medical scams; fraud (even by legitimate businesses). The departure of so many young men to war would soon lead to a weakened police force and provided the ideal haven for gangsters to operate in.
Hollow's "Blitz Detective" provides the reader with a real sense of what it was like to live through the Blitz (particularly in West Ham where 38 bombs and 4 mines were dropped between 7th October 1940 to 6th June 1941).
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| Bombs Dropped In West Ham |
And I particularly liked the way he used aspects and scenarios from both the real and a personal history to add a touch of realism to the story-line. As Greg Buzwell wrote in his article - London During the Blitz: A Landscape of Fear and Shadows - "... novels set during the Blitz show people both at their very best .... and at their most flawed and human .."
Fans of Anthony Horowitz's "Foyle's War", Christianna Brand's "Inspector Cockerill" series and Philip Kerr's "Bernie Gunther" series will take to Hollow's DI John Jago and his new DC, Peter Craddock. I am looking forward to the next chapter in the Blitz Detective series.
For those interested in reading more about the Blitz:
> Jstor Daily - what life was like during the london blitz
> Eyewitness to History - the london blitz
> Mike Hollow - The Blitz Detective
> Bomb Sight - Mapping the WW2 Bomb Census
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