Death in Blitz City by David Young
1942. Hull, East Yorkshire - It is the most heavily-bombed city outside of London - but for the sake of national morale the Hull Blitz is kept top secret. Only the politicians in Whitehall and Hull's citizens themselves know of the true chaos.
Newly-posted Inspector Ambrose Swift cannot believe the devastation he finds. But for Swift and his two deputies - part-time bare-knuckle boxer Jim 'Little' Weighton and Dales farmer's daughter Kathleen Carver - it's murder, not the war, that's at the forefront of their minds.
When a series of sadistic killings is wrongly blamed on locally-stationed black American GIs, Swift, a one-armed former WW1 cavalryman who tours the rubble-strewn city on a white horse, soon discovers these are no ordinary murders. The fetid stench of racism, corruption and perversion go to the very top. And for Swift, Weighton and Carver, finding the real killers means putting their own lives at risk - because powerful forces in the US and Britain cannot let the war effort be undermined. Not even by the truth.
About the author
East Yorkshire-born David Young began his East German-set crime series on a creative writing MA at London's City University when Stasi Child - his debut - won the course prize. The novel went on to win the 2016 CWA Historical Dagger, and both it and the 2017 follow-up, Stasi Wolf, were longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. His novels have been sold in eleven territories round the world. Before becoming a full-time author, David was a senior journalist with the BBC's international radio and TV newsrooms for more than 25 years. He writes in his Twickenham garden shed and in a caravan on the Isle of Wight. The Stasi Game, his sixth novel, is available to pre-order now. You can follow him on Twitter @djy_writer
Review
‘Death in Blitz City’ is the start of a brilliant new wartime series set in the Humber. It was an engaging read that blends history with all the drama required of a brilliant crime read. I loved how much I learnt from reading this book! As I grew up not that far from Hull, Scarborough, I feel as if I should know more about wartime history than I do. Obviously I knew that it was bombarded in the blitz but it was the small things like how the rest of the country wasn't made aware that it was Hull being bombed, rather it was a described as a northeastern town. It's these details that make a historical novel as it provides the authenticity of the period. David certainly has managed to infuse this book with rich historical elements as it manages to transport the reader right into the depths of the story.
DI Ambrose Swift has recently relocated to Hull from London and is faced with a major case as soon as he arrives. After a heavy night of bombing there are plenty of deaths but one body has been found that was already dead before the house was bombed! The poor girl was strangled and mutilated. It's up to Swift, along with his deputies Sergeant Weighton and WAPC Kathleen Carver to figure out what has happened. It leads to the American forces who are working at the docks, institutionalised racism and a whole lot more!
I thoroughly enjoyed this group of characters! Ambrose is the perfect example of a gentlemen's policeman which pairs nicely with the travelling background that Weighton hails from. Plus there is the added dimension of a woman working in the police force in this era. I think maybe Carver is having an easy ride of it in this book compared to real life as Ambrose and Weighton seem ahead of their time with personal attitudes to this situation! I can see the three of them forming a really strong professional team over the coming books and I for one am excited to see what comes next for them.
This is a complex plot and David has not shied away from topics and embraces them head-on - sexism, racism and sexual assault all feature, but are handled with empathy and sensitivity. They all intertwined into a strong discourse both as a look into history but also as a cracking book! I devoured this book in one sitting and stayed up to the early hours to finish it. The pacing was on point and let's just say my heart was pounding during one section in particular!
This is the first book of David’s that I have read but it not going to be the last as I loved this one! ‘Death in Blitz City’ is highly entertaining, tightly and intelligently plotted with actions that grabs you by the throat and superbly formed characters. Loved it!
So I am going to tell you a wee tale here and why I love reading the acknowledgements and historical notes at the end of a book. In this case, David mentions the ‘Battle of Bamber Bridge’ and a documentary that looks into the deaths at Shipton Mallet while it was acting as an American prison during the war. This triggered something in this little old history nerd of me and I first contacted David who very graciously gave me the title of the documentary and the article in the Guardian that relates to it. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the documentsry it so I got in touch with the professor who was the consultant on it. He hasn't replied but I didn't think he would - but it did lead me to read academic articles on this topic. Some by him but others as well. What it has led to is a topic that I can explore and hopefully dive into it. It's made me believe that I could maybe return to university and maybe this could even be my PhD topic. Still need to do a lot of research and thinking before approaching my old lecturer about the possible options. But I wish to thank David as he has managed to light a fire in me again for history and that is a major thing. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
