MIDNIGHT STREETS - Phil Lecomber


 It is 1929 and the Cockney private detective George Harley saves a young girl's life. The act begins an investigation that brings Harley to such disturbing places he could never have imagined. A series of grisly murders against children are occurring in Harley's part of town. Scotland Yard has asked Harley to keep them informed and to be their eyes and ears on the ground. But palling up with the Dicks at the Yard puts George in a precarious spot as he doesn't want the locals, who have been willing to keep him informed, to think he's too deep in their pockets.

But ... children! Dismembering children! Even in this community "peopled with lowlife ponces, jaded streetwalkers, and ... a world of grubby bedsits, all-night cafés, egg and chips, and Gold Flake cigarettes" (according to Goodreads) there needs to be a reconciliation with morality. This is George's neighborhood and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. But it won't be easy. Anyone willing to do what they've already done is not afraid to get Harley out of their way.

As is evident by my recent reading list, I enjoy this period in literature and I especially like 'noir' mysteries. Everything about this sounded right up my dark and narrow alley!

But not every book, even those with exciting themes, is for every reader, and this book was definitely not for me.

I found the writing itself to be a hard slog for me. I'm tempted to say it is 'over-written' with odd conversations between people at times:

     "You know, Reverend," said Morkens, hoping to diffuse the atmosphere a little. "Your question of whether man needs divine authority to set his moral code has a precedent in ancient history, of course. Polybius, in The Histories, says that a scrupulous fear of the gods was the very thing which kept the Roman commonwealth together."
     Ruxton nodded in gratitude. "There you are, then."

I recognize that a lot of this is on me and my expectations. When I see 'noir' and I see the era of this story, I'm expecting something darker in tone, in narration, not just in the crime itself. And I'm also expecting shorter, snappier dialog that keeps the story moving at a brisker pace. Again ... me and my expectations.

Considering the crime(s) and George Harley's getting involved I did expect there to be more imminent danger for our hero, but was again disappointed. There's danger, for sure, but it never feels as though our hero was going to meet the same fate as the children.

Looking for a good book? Midnights Streets by Phil Lacomber is a slow-moving P.I. story set in the late 1920's London.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

2-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Midnight Streets

author: Phil Lacomber

publisher: Titan Books

ISBN: 9781835411995

paperback, 432 pages

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