Book Description
The jagged blast of high explosives rips through the evening air. In the sky over East London the searchlights criss-cross in search of the enemy.
On the first night of the Blitz, a corpse is discovered in a van in the back streets of West Ham. Detective Inspector John Jago recognizes the dead man as local Justice of the Peace Charles Villiers. But then a German bomb obliterates all evidence.
Villiers, not a popular man, was both powerful and feared. As the sirens wail, the detective must start matching motive to opportunity and it doesn't help when his boss foists an intrusive American journalist on him.
Jago soon discovers the dead man held many secrets, some reaching back to World War I. A lot of people wished Villiers dead and an air raid is a good time to conceal a murder.
My Review
Direct Hit was a very interesting read about the World War II Blitz over East London. The book reminded me of Foyle's War in many ways. The reader can feel the impact on the characters' lives as the raids continue night after night. To solve a murder mystery when the body is destroyed in a bombing is an impossible task for Detective Inspector Jago but in the end he manages to do so. This book is sure to satisfy anyone who likes police procedurals with a captivating plot, realistic characters and setting. There was a surprise at the end of the book which may develop into a romance for Jago and I look forward to reading book 2 in order to see how this develops.
The jagged blast of high explosives rips through the evening air. In the sky over East London the searchlights criss-cross in search of the enemy.
On the first night of the Blitz, a corpse is discovered in a van in the back streets of West Ham. Detective Inspector John Jago recognizes the dead man as local Justice of the Peace Charles Villiers. But then a German bomb obliterates all evidence.
Villiers, not a popular man, was both powerful and feared. As the sirens wail, the detective must start matching motive to opportunity and it doesn't help when his boss foists an intrusive American journalist on him.
Jago soon discovers the dead man held many secrets, some reaching back to World War I. A lot of people wished Villiers dead and an air raid is a good time to conceal a murder.
My Review
Direct Hit was a very interesting read about the World War II Blitz over East London. The book reminded me of Foyle's War in many ways. The reader can feel the impact on the characters' lives as the raids continue night after night. To solve a murder mystery when the body is destroyed in a bombing is an impossible task for Detective Inspector Jago but in the end he manages to do so. This book is sure to satisfy anyone who likes police procedurals with a captivating plot, realistic characters and setting. There was a surprise at the end of the book which may develop into a romance for Jago and I look forward to reading book 2 in order to see how this develops.
