Play With Fire

June 1, 2019
An earnest policeman investigates a lurid murder in the swinging London of 1969. Julie Teenager is a thoroughly modern call girl, a gauzy confection in pink and white calculated to excite the fantasies of London's stodgy middle-aged salarymen as they realize history has treated them cruelly. The Beatles! The Rolling Stones! A moon landing! Oh, to be young in that shifting moral climate. And Julie Teenager can give them a taste of it. When Julie (real name Lena Bobienski) is brutally murdered, Cathal Breen of the London CID is assigned to sort it all out. Julie had a small roster of regular clients, and Breen begins with them, uncovering identities, checking alibis; there is some internal interference, which suggests that perhaps one of Julie's clients was a police official. Then MI6 becomes involved--perhaps Julie was working for a foreign government or assisting an agent of one. Julie's maid, Florence, who helped schedule her appointments, is at first difficult to identify and then vanishes. Breen is not making much progress, but he is attracting the disapproving notice of police higher-ups. His investigation takes place against the background of '60s London, and as a representative of the "establishment," Breen is often confronted with unexpected situations. One especially tasty moment occurs when he interviews the editor of OZ, the alternative newspaper Julie advertised in. The editor refers to "Germaine," who writes about sex, and readers with long enough memories will see the young Germaine Greer testing her abilities. The contrast between the predictable stuffiness of "proper" London and the vivid, if irresponsible, liveliness of the new generation is generally well handled and rewarding. Breen and his partner, Helen Tozer, are deftly presented and believable, but the many mysteries never quite cohere, and the resolution is somewhat unsatisfying. A fun visit to a bygone era, though not without flaws.

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July 1, 2019
British author Shaw’s solid fourth mystery starring the Metropolitan Police’s Det. Sgt. Cathal Breen (after 2016’s A Song for the Brokenhearted) opens with the discovery of the body of guitarist Brian Jones, the former Rolling Stone, in his swimming pool. Later, some investigators suspect Jones didn’t die of natural causes, but his death has nothing to do with the main plot: Breen’s investigation of the murder of a prostitute who called herself Julie Teenager, whose body was concealed on top of an elevator in her London apartment building. Though the dead woman, actually 26-year-old Lena Bobienski, had many clients, Breen is surprised to learn that Scotland Yard’s vice squad has no file on her under either name. A press report claiming that her johns included members of the establishment suggests the reason Bobienski was officially unknown to the police, despite the beat constable’s awareness of the nature of the traffic in and out of her building. The serious injury or death or three more people raises the tension. Fans of Deborah Crombie will be pleased, but those expecting a substantial look at the Jones case will be disappointed.

August 2, 2019

In the summer of 1969, London police detective Cathal Breen connects two seemingly unrelated murders while working solo because his previous partner, Helen Tozer, is on leave, pregnant with their child. The first murder victim is former Rolling Stones member Brian Jones; the second is a call girl known as "Julie Teenager," who dressed up as a teen for her clients. As Breen gets closer to solving the case, MI6 warns him to stop investigating. Although Helen isn't working, she's drawn into the case, using her keen intuition to help Breen investigate the girl's client list, which is made up of wealthy, powerful, and protected men. VERDICT Award-winning author Shaw delivers an excellent fourth installment of the "Breen and Tozer" series (after A Song for the Brokenhearted). Readers of C.J. Box will enjoy the tense, intricate plot. Fans of Tana French's "Dublin Murder Squad" series will appreciate the atmospheric description of the English countryside.--Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
It's 1969, and London is peering into a new age defined by rock music, free love, and the Cold War. Old-school copper Cathal Breen and his girlfriend, former WPC Helen Tozer, anxiously await their first child's birth. In the meantime, Cathal investigates the beating death of Julie Teenager, a prostitute who drew clients by masquerading as a young teen. And Helen, unable to resist the lure of unanswered questions, is drawn toward the rumors of foul play surrounding former Rolling Stones member Brian Jones' supposedly accidental drowning. In 1969, London's sex and music scenes often intermingle, and Helen veers into Cathal's case when she discovers that a female driver employed by Jones and Teenager has also been attacked. Any hopes Cathal had of his case shaping up to be an easily solved crime of passion are crushed when Teenager's secretary is murdered, a dirty cop sabotages his case, and MI6 threatens to halt his investigation. Teenager's violent, evasive killer and Cathal and Helen's evolving, unsettled relationship create a new level of suspense for this must-read series of detail-saturated procedurals (introduced in She's Leaving Home, 2014).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)