London, 1940: the Luftwaffe blitzes London every night for fifty-seven nights. Houses, shops and entire streets are wiped from the map. The underworld is in flux: the Italian criminals who dominated the West End have been interned and now their rivals are fighting to replace them. Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, the Black-Out Ripper sharpens his knife and sets to his grisly work.
Henry Irving … work.
Henry Irving is a disgraced reporter on a Fleet Street scandal rag. Genius detective sergeant Charlie Murphy is a fresh face in the Metropolitan police, hunting corrupt colleagues but blinkered by ambition and jealousy. His brother, detective inspector Frank Murphy, searches frantically for his runaway daughter, terrified that she will be the killer’s next victim.
As the Ripper stalks the terrified streets, the three men discover that his handiwork is not quite what it seems. Conspirators are afoot, taking advantage of the chaos to settle old scores. The murders invade the lives of the victims and victimizers on both sides of the law, as everyone is sucked deeper and deeper into Soho’s black heart.
Based on a little known true story.
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I’ve been following Mark Dawson for quite some time (no, not in that way…) by listening to The Self Publishing Show podcast he does with James Blatch, signing up for the Ads for Authors course (which I’m still trying to complete) and being on his newsletter. When I signed up to that I received a starter library of books, which was very generous of him, and I thought it was about time I got round to reading one of them. I think the ebook is exclusive to a newsletter sign up as only the paperback and audio book are still available on Amazon.
As anyone who visits this blog will know I read across all genres, particularly since I started writing, as I like to see what else is out there. All I ask for is a good story, well told, and some decent writing. I can’t remember when I last read a police procedural.
The Black Mile is the story of a family of policemen in the Met; the father, William Murphy, newly promoted to Chief Constable, and his sons; war hero, Frank Murphy and his younger brother, Charlie, who’s struggling to find his place in the force. And of a reporter for The Star, Henry Drake. It is set in 1940 and as bombs rain down on London, a killer strikes fear into the black mile of Soho as young women, all prostitutes, are murdered and, as the body count mounts, he is dubbed the Black-Out Ripper.
This is a dark and gritty novel which, as well as hunting down a killer, explores the relationships between brothers and work colleagues as different career paths are taken and loyalties tested.
I thought the characterisations were excellent, could almost taste the filth of the streets in the descriptions and enjoyed the pace as it never let up. It also ends satisfactorily whilst leaving plenty for the ongoing series.
Would I read one of Dawson’s books again? Absolutely. I can see why they’re so popular and I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a darker tale.
Captures the British police force worldview and vocabulary of the 1940’s. Recommend.
Reality is not black and white and neither are the characters in The Black Mile. I found this story and the characters to be engrossing. I found myself staying up late, reading my kindle app in the dark, to get to the finale of this story. Totally not where I thought it was going, which is always a plus. Occasionally I stumbled over all the English slang.
Thanks for a good read, Mark. I look forward to reading more of your stories.