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Francis Hancock #3
Ashes to Ashes
As London burns, an unlikely hero unearths a series of brutal murders...
As the German Luftwaffe bomb the capital, undertaker Francis Hancock suddenly finds himself caught up in the middle of a terrifying abduction plot.
It's 29 December, 1940, the night that Hitler has chosen to destroy London under a barrage of flaming incendiary bombs. Their main target - St Paul's cathedral - is where Hancock is sheltering from the onslaught. But the First World War veteran doesn't just have bombs to contend with; a young girl, who was also sheltering in the cathedral, has vanished. Then some of those charged with protecting the building are brutally murdered. Hancock must face his own demons and fears in his struggle to catch those responsible and bring them to justice...
As the German Luftwaffe bomb the capital, undertaker Francis Hancock suddenly finds himself caught up in the middle of a terrifying abduction plot.
It's 29 December, 1940, the night that Hitler has chosen to destroy London under a barrage of flaming incendiary bombs. Their main target - St Paul's cathedral - is where Hancock is sheltering from the onslaught. But the First World War veteran doesn't just have bombs to contend with; a young girl, who was also sheltering in the cathedral, has vanished. Then some of those charged with protecting the building are brutally murdered. Hancock must face his own demons and fears in his struggle to catch those responsible and bring them to justice...
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 12, 2011
About the author
Barbara Nadel
61 books213 followersBarbara Nadel is an English crime-writer. Many of her books are set in Turkey. Born in the East End of London, Barbara Nadel trained as an actress before becoming a writer. Now writing full-time, she has previously worked as a public relations officer for the National Schizophrenia Fellowship's Good Companion Service and as a mental health advocate for the mentally disordered in a psychiatric hospital. She has also worked with sexually abused teenagers and taught psychology in schools and colleges, and is currently the patron of a charity that cares for those in emotional and mental distress. She has been a regular visitor to Turkey for more than twenty-five years.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 8, 2011
Interesting story, very quick read. But found the single location a bit claustrophobic.
June 26, 2017
Kolmas kirja (minun ensimmäiseni) Nadelin sarjasta hautausurakoitsija Francis Hancockista, I m-sodan traumatisoima veteraani II m-sodan Lontoossa. Päähenkilö on erittäin mielenkiintoinen.
Teos sijoittuu yhteen ainoaan joulukuun 1940 iltaan ja yöhön St. Paulin katedraalissa, yöhön jolloin natsit yrittivät palopommeillaan tuhota Lontoon maamerkin. Miljöökin on siis mielenkiintoinen, mutta juttu tuntui vähän venytetyltä ja väliin pitkäveteiseltä, kun pimeässä kirkossa liikutaan ylös ja alas vapaamuurarien salaliittolaisia paetessa. Voi olla, että silläkin oli jotain tekemistä pitkästymisen kanssa, etteivät englanninkieliset termit kirkkoarkkitehtuurista ole täysin hallussa.
Teos sijoittuu yhteen ainoaan joulukuun 1940 iltaan ja yöhön St. Paulin katedraalissa, yöhön jolloin natsit yrittivät palopommeillaan tuhota Lontoon maamerkin. Miljöökin on siis mielenkiintoinen, mutta juttu tuntui vähän venytetyltä ja väliin pitkäveteiseltä, kun pimeässä kirkossa liikutaan ylös ja alas vapaamuurarien salaliittolaisia paetessa. Voi olla, että silläkin oli jotain tekemistä pitkästymisen kanssa, etteivät englanninkieliset termit kirkkoarkkitehtuurista ole täysin hallussa.
November 27, 2022
repetitive story set in St Paul’s cathedral
I found this very repetitive story of Mr Hancock climbing stairs, up and down he went throughout one night! I persevered with it to see if it got better but it didn’t very sorry to find it boring. Don’t both with it.
I found this very repetitive story of Mr Hancock climbing stairs, up and down he went throughout one night! I persevered with it to see if it got better but it didn’t very sorry to find it boring. Don’t both with it.
June 28, 2009
Review: Ashes to Ashes, Barbara Nadel
It is 29 December 1940, and London is in the grips of the worst bombing conflagration of the Battle of Britain. Hitler has ordered the razing of London and the main target of the attack is St. Paul’s Cathedral. Knowing that the pride and fighting will of his entire nation are at stake, Winston Churchill personally orders all hands to defend the church, come what may. It is a terrible night as incendiary bombs rain down and spark fires wherever they fall, followed by high explosive bombs to fan the flames.
Francis Hancock, a half-Indian shell-shocked Great War veteran, takes cover from this barrage in St. Paul’s. Claustrophobic and on the verge of panic, he listens to the sirens howl up above, the bombs thud into the City, buildings splinter and collapse, while his fellow Londoners in the crypt whisper about a foul-mouthed girl who has gone missing in the church. It’s not long before he volunteers to find her, more to get out of that cramped crypt than anything else. Except, when a night watchman tells him of a terrible secret surrounding the girl’s disappearance, and is himself thrown from the highest point in the building by an unseen murderer shortly thereafter, Francis Hancock’s life is suddenly in greater danger than if he tried to venture out into the immolated streets.
Last week I reviewed River of the Dead, and if I had some reservations about that book, I have few about this novel. Ashes to Ashes is a triumph of atmosphere and setting. Not only does Barbara Nadel bring World War II and the battle to save London alive in the most vivid way possible, the brooding mystery at its heart is rendered all the more unsettling because we see it from the viewpoint of a physically and mentally broken man. Francis Hancock is as peculiar as he’s likeable, an unlikely hero who easily endears himself to the reader. What fascinated me most, though, was how Barbara Nadel took such an iconic building and turned it into a place of cramped murderous possibilities. The tight scenes, the claustrophobic atmosphere, the very real paranoia of a frightened man who can’t tell friend from foe, evoke the best of Alfred Hitchcock’s suspenseful films.
If the reminders to the reader of why a particular act was committed are as annoying as the occasional devilish monologues by the bad guys – à la Arthur Conan Doyle and his Inspector Sherlock Holmes – the moral dilemma that Barbara Nadel poses at the end of the book isn’t. It’s a question I’ve frequently asked myself in this post 9/11 world of ours, that is: to what extent must evil be left to flourish in order to preserve the greater good? It’s a question I’ve thought about many a time; as for the answer – it’s a horrifying thing to have to admit, but evil is as much a part of being human as is the good, and this duality makes me cringe when I wonder what I might do when driven to the extreme.
It is 29 December 1940, and London is in the grips of the worst bombing conflagration of the Battle of Britain. Hitler has ordered the razing of London and the main target of the attack is St. Paul’s Cathedral. Knowing that the pride and fighting will of his entire nation are at stake, Winston Churchill personally orders all hands to defend the church, come what may. It is a terrible night as incendiary bombs rain down and spark fires wherever they fall, followed by high explosive bombs to fan the flames.
Francis Hancock, a half-Indian shell-shocked Great War veteran, takes cover from this barrage in St. Paul’s. Claustrophobic and on the verge of panic, he listens to the sirens howl up above, the bombs thud into the City, buildings splinter and collapse, while his fellow Londoners in the crypt whisper about a foul-mouthed girl who has gone missing in the church. It’s not long before he volunteers to find her, more to get out of that cramped crypt than anything else. Except, when a night watchman tells him of a terrible secret surrounding the girl’s disappearance, and is himself thrown from the highest point in the building by an unseen murderer shortly thereafter, Francis Hancock’s life is suddenly in greater danger than if he tried to venture out into the immolated streets.
Last week I reviewed River of the Dead, and if I had some reservations about that book, I have few about this novel. Ashes to Ashes is a triumph of atmosphere and setting. Not only does Barbara Nadel bring World War II and the battle to save London alive in the most vivid way possible, the brooding mystery at its heart is rendered all the more unsettling because we see it from the viewpoint of a physically and mentally broken man. Francis Hancock is as peculiar as he’s likeable, an unlikely hero who easily endears himself to the reader. What fascinated me most, though, was how Barbara Nadel took such an iconic building and turned it into a place of cramped murderous possibilities. The tight scenes, the claustrophobic atmosphere, the very real paranoia of a frightened man who can’t tell friend from foe, evoke the best of Alfred Hitchcock’s suspenseful films.
If the reminders to the reader of why a particular act was committed are as annoying as the occasional devilish monologues by the bad guys – à la Arthur Conan Doyle and his Inspector Sherlock Holmes – the moral dilemma that Barbara Nadel poses at the end of the book isn’t. It’s a question I’ve frequently asked myself in this post 9/11 world of ours, that is: to what extent must evil be left to flourish in order to preserve the greater good? It’s a question I’ve thought about many a time; as for the answer – it’s a horrifying thing to have to admit, but evil is as much a part of being human as is the good, and this duality makes me cringe when I wonder what I might do when driven to the extreme.
October 19, 2013
Bit of a strange detective story. Based at St Pauls in London during the blitz (WWII), There are a number of deaths due to the misguided belief that if a young girl dies, St Pauls will be saved from the fires that devastated London.
It was not a detective story as I would have expected from authors such as Ranks and Robinson, so if you are looking for a good old detective story, this is not the book to read. If you want entertainment and to fill in a bit of time, then this book should do it for you.
It was not a detective story as I would have expected from authors such as Ranks and Robinson, so if you are looking for a good old detective story, this is not the book to read. If you want entertainment and to fill in a bit of time, then this book should do it for you.
November 3, 2012
The claustrophobia of St Paul's Cathedral during the height of the Blitz & a shell-shocked World War I veteran make for an interesting overlay on a string of suspicious deaths. The tone and pacing are excellent throughout but it is such a shame that it loses its way at the death with a loose conspiracy theory. Hancock is a survivor, though, and a man to be watched in the future!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews