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  • The Blitz Detective

  • By: Mike Hollow
  • Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
  • Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (197 ratings)
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The Blitz Detective cover art

The Blitz Detective

By: Mike Hollow
Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
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Summary

September, 1940. The sun is shining, and in the midst of the good weather Londoners could be mistaken for forgetting their country was at war - until the familiar wail of the air-raid sirens heralds an enemy attack. 

The Blitz has started, and normal life has abruptly ended - but crime has not. That night a man's body is discovered in an unmarked van in the back streets of West Ham. When Detective Inspector John Jago is called to the scene, he recognises the victim: local justice of the peace Charles Villiers. The death looks suspicious, but then a German bomb obliterates all evidence. War or no war, murder is still murder, and it's Jago's job to find the truth.

©2015 Mike Hollow (P)2020 Soundings

What listeners say about The Blitz Detective

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very satisfying read

This is very accomplished and a joy to listen to. Setting a book in a specific time and place can be quite hard to achieve without putting in the results of so much research that they jar. The author has succeeded marvellously in evoking a time and place which feels right. It is very atmospheric and reminds me in tone of Murder by Matchlight by ECR Lorac. That is a very great compliment as she was there and published at the time. The author also manages to get lots of background in about the way people lived, thought, attitudes to the war and especially the effect of being at war only twenty years after the last time without at all overpowering the story.

There is a focus on character which is hugely refreshing and makes the story so much more meaningful.

Our detectives are also a delight. John Jago is a naturally cultured man from the East End of London now an inspector. His new constable Craddock is inexperienced but clever and they work really well together.

It genuinely feels like a golden age detective story with no noticeable anachronistic modern attitudes, artificial conflicts, twists and turns, just a good yarn with plenty of thought provoking ideas.

The reader is new to me and what a find. His warm voice exactly suits Jago and everything else was pitch perfect.

I cannot think of anything that could have been done better. Highly recommended.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed this with its lack of jingoistic rhetoric. The main character shares a rather jaded attitude to war, patriotism and the class structure with several of his suspects. The female (possible) love interest isn’t awful which makes a change. I’ll definitely be interested to see how any series develops the characters.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

blitz detective

a really great story read by a good narrator would highly recommend and would like to read more

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story and narration

This is the first book by this author I’ve listened to and I much enjoyed it. The WW2 setting was well presented and the characters had depth. I come from Essex and the areas portrayed are known to me which added to my enjoyment. The narrator did well, a lovely voice which also delineated the characters well. All in all a very enjoyable read. Have got the second book to listen to and hope the others in the series will also be available on audible sometime.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

newly discovered author and great writer

I love crime stories, I discovered this book , and I was hooked, the settings are real which I like, it gives my imagination something real to go by. the stories are very interesting and the narration was really good, he seemed to match how I expected the main character to sound. I cant wait for more in the series.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Worth a listen

First thing to say that the Narration was very good. The romantic element in the story was a little to manufacture. This made the story a little over long in the telling. On the whole it was an OK listen. But not one of my favourites.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good

waited so long for this .hope the rest are on audio soon as I have limited sight and i love the books

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Cracking good story

I am new to Mike Hollow’s books but was not disappointed. This is an excellent book which kept my interest to the very end. The characters were well drawn and his research is excellent. I look forward to listening to the next book and hope that many more will be available on Audible in the near future.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable story

I enjoyed this WW2 story. Nothing too taxing, excellent narration and a plot along the lines of a ‘cosy crime drama’ I guess.
Recommend.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book with plenty of twists and turns.

Enjoyed from start to end. Clear storey but greta ending was not expected.

Hope the rest of the series will be treated in the same way.

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4 people found this helpful