Two candles flaring at a Christmas crib. A nurse who steps inside a church to light them. A gunshot emptied in a man’s head in the creaking stillness before dawn, that the nurse says she didn’t hear. It’s 1947 in the snowbound, war-scarred City of London, where Pandora’s Box just got opened in the ruins, City Police has a vice killing on its hands, and a spooked councilor hires a shamus to help … a shamus to help spare his blushes. Like the Buddha says, everything is connected. So it all can be explained. But that’s a little cryptic when you happen to be the shamus, and you’re standing over a corpse.
“Elegant and spare but still cloaks itself in a terrific atmosphere. I liked the backstreet whores and the tipster barbers; the gold-leaf dining rooms and the tenement bedrooms. For me, it rang of Chandler – a grey-skied, British ‘Big Sleep’.”-ATLANTIC BOOKS
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Prose so smooth, so sweet, so swinging it will dance you straight back to the 1940s and make you the star of every black and white crime noir you ever watched at 2:00 am with a glass of whiskey in your hand. A lot of people have been comparing SHAMUS DUST to Raymond Chandler, and they’re right to make the comparison. Chandler is the master of that particular voice, of course, but dare I suggest that this book might even do Chandler one better?
A wonderful, wonderful book.
Author Janet Roger weaves a delectable Who Done it in London around 1947 at the beginning of the cold war. The background of events and locational buildings vividly paint the war damage era. Author Roger created several memorable characters that are complex, intriguing, and mysterious.
One of my favorites in the cast is Newman. He is an American detective or shamus engaged during the war in London and now taking on private investigations. Councilman Drake works for the government. He called Drake Christmas morning to check on a situation. In acting toward the request, Newman finds a dead body in a nearby church. Finding the murderer is an intense quandary filled with suspects. The trust is as elusive as who will prosper when the secrets are revealed.
I really liked her early setup of Newman’s style in the snippet below.
“I put a shoulder against the door. “The call you ran to the square to make. Did you see anybody else out walking? Think about it, Miss Greer. When City Police arrive, they’ll want to know.”
For two seconds her eyes drew the light out of the room, then saw the whole idea was ridiculous and gave it all back.
“Before five o’clock on Christmas morning, in this weather? Did you see anyone? Look, I’ve already told you everything I can think of. I want you to go.”
“You didn’t tell me you lit a candle at the crib.” Her knuckles whitened on the latch. She gave a small gasp of disbelief, put her head back against the wall and looked along the rose pattern on the wallpaper. “Because I didn’t imagine it could possibly interest you. As a matter of fact, just lately I light two. If a real police detective should ask me, I’ll be sure to tell him.”
Choices for the guilty party are numerous, and the bodies are piling up. Still, you will keep guessing all the way to the end. This is an excellent chance for you to test your skills of deduction and clue following. This is my first chance to get to know this author, but her style is good. I hope to see more from Janet Roger. Until then, enjoy this powerful mystery. It will make you think and then think again.
Janet Roger, Author or “Shamus Dust Hard Winter, Cold War, Cool Murder” has written a unique, intriguing, intense, captivating and dramatic novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Mystery, and Suspense. The timeline for this story is during the cold war and is around 1947. The novel goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events. The setting of the story is in London. The author describes her dramatic characters as complex, complicated, quirky, and suspicious.
Mr. Newman is a “shamus” or American “detective” who has been involved in London during the war and now does private investigations. He is called by someone in the government, Councilman Drake who wants to hire him on Christmas morning. Newman is supposed to check out a situation about the client’s property. Newman finds instead a dead body by a nearby church.
Who could have possibly been the murderer? This is more than a “who done it”. This reminds me of some of the black and white mystery movies on TV, such as Alfred Hitchock, which are very intense, with the music in the background getting louder and sharper when something is going to happen.
London still has to rebuild many places. There is rubble, broken-down buildings, and streets after the war. There seem to be back-exits to back streets to help you get lost in a crowd, or could be very dangerous. Various people have motives for rebuilding or buying land. There are secrets and dangers. Even the Police seem to have their own agenda. Who is trustworthy?
As Newman investigates further, he finds more and more suspects with motives and more bodies. Janet Roger has provided a well-written story with twists and turns, red herrings, the chase, blackmail, danger, and murder. I would recommend this intense book for those readers who enjoy a good “who done it”.
Shamus Dust surprised me. Not because I didn’t expect to like it. I start every new book with at least the hope of liking it. But this one hooked me from the beginning and held on tight, page after page. I thought I had seen that this was a debut, but the more I read, the more convinced I became that this had to be the work of an author who had grown in her talent leading up to this wonderfully written story. But no, when I checked, Shamus Dust is a debut, and let me tell you, Janet Roger has set the bar quite high with this one. If you’ve ever enjoyed the rich atmosphere of a Bogart movie, you’ll love this book because this author knows her business when it comes to creating atmosphere. The story is set in postwar London, and it’s easy to picture from the vivid pictures Roger paints with her words. The whole story comes together perfectly, and I got to enjoy some terrific characters along the way. And here’s the thing, this story is set a couple of decades before I was even born, but I still had no problem relating to these characters. They’re that well-drawn. The whole thing simply transports you back to that time and place. This is one killer debut, one that I have no problem recommending to anyone who enjoys an atmospheric mystery.
Unfortunately, I was ill when I started reading, one effect being I couldn’t remember much of what happened on the previous page.
After saying that I so enjoyed this book I looked forward to reading it again, not something I normally do unless it is top quality.
The author set the novel just after the Second World War and includes that in subplots. Reminiscent of the likes of Chandler, with its comédie et criminalité noire it has something of an authentic 40s feel. Since I like that style it much improved my enjoyment of this work.
I can heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in crime fiction with a touch of the Humphrey Bogart.
Shamus Dust: Hard Winter. Cold War. Cool Murder.
by Janet Roger
I wrote this review based on a copy that the author sent me.
This is an exciting murder mystery set in post-war London. It begins with the PI Newman, an American living in the UK, who receives a call from Councillor Drake requesting his assistance, or more precisely his deductive abilities. The request sparked his curiosity as to why a councillor with a problem would send a car to collect him first and then telephone for his assistance second.
He is chauffured to a crime scene – a gunshot wound, a body of a “ white male in his early thirties, lean built, smooth-shaved, hair thinning, good-looking once….” , discovered in the porch of the Church-St.Bartholomew the Great on Christmas Day morning. Discovered by a nurse who just happened to be his neighbour – she had stepped in before going on duty to light not one but two candles. Luckily for Newman, the victim was also a tenant of the Councillor and had a key to the apartment. On entering the location, the identity was discovered to be one Raymond Jarrett, a photographer to some degree. But the photographs were “ not the kind of photographs that get taken at garden parties on summer lawns “, but of boys, always they were young boys.
Events quickly take an interesting turn when Newman follows advice and asks a few questions – to the wrong person at the wrong time – the result is being knocked out and the person he was talking to, who just happens to be a key informer, is unfortunately killed and still Professor Garfield is missing…
The investigation is ongoing and with each chapter the intrigue deepens as the whereabouts of the Professor remains unknown and Henry, his Personal Assistant becomes increasingly concerned. The Commissioner insists that Newman allow the police to deal with the case in their own way along with McAlester, the Detective Inspector deciding suspiciously what interests city detectives and what should be left alone, “ what went in and what stayed out of the record “ .
Around forty-eight hours later, as if Newman didn’t have enough to be investigating, a body was discovered in the river – bloated, the features almost past recognition. What was easy to see were the two ragged gunshot wounds to the victims chest.
My overall thoughts on this book : an amazing unique murder mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat. I couldn’t put it down, having to keep stopping myself from devouring it in one session as I didn’t want the story to end, my ongoing enigma of “ whodunnit “ !
As we follow Newman’s leads, I initially felt that Drake valued Newman and his investigating techniques, each new thread becoming intertwined with others, a criss-crossing web of deceit. Stumbling upon an extra lead or one solution only leads to more questions. The puzzle constantly niggling still who, why and for what reason quickly becoming a cat and mouse chase, a race against time.
The WW2 era has always been a favourite of mine but this was an especially exciting read as Janet Roger deals out a different focus with intense details including the impact of the London bombings.
I give Shamus Dust: Hard Winter. Cold War. Cool Murder 5 out of 5 stars.
It’s 1947 in war-scarred London. City Police has a vice killing on its hands and a spooked councilor hires a shamus to keep the limelight off him.
Mr. Newman is a shamus … or American detective …. who was in London during the war and now does private investigations. Councilman Drake calls him on Christmas morning who hires him to look into a ‘situation’ about a client’s property.
What Newman finds is a man shot to death. A nurse who stops at her church to light a candle finds the body. She denies ever hearing gunshots. But she can identify the body … it’s one of her neighbors.
This historical mystery has a tightly woven plot …. filled with twists and turns. Characters are solidly developed. Suspects are many and varied. There are the good guys, the bad guys, and some who can’t be easily identified, leaving Newman unable to decide who he can trust. I am usually not a big fan of historical stories … but this one captured my attention from the start and kept my interest to the unexpected conclusion.
Many thanks to the author for the digital copy of this historical mystery. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own
Set in London during the winter of 1947, Shamus Dust is a good ole whodunit with lots of twists and turns.
Exceptionally well-written debut novel. An intelligent read with a complex plot and large cast of interesting characters. Atmospheric noir. I loved the writing style, quirky, witty, full of unique metaphors and unusual turns of phrase. Highly recommend.