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.

Paperback

About the author

David Young was born near Hull and – after dropping out of a Bristol University science degree - studied Humanities at Bristol Polytechnic specialising in Modern History. Temporary jobs cleaning ferry toilets and driving a butcher's van were followed by a career in journalism with provincial newspapers, a London news agency, and the BBC’s international newsrooms where he led news teams for the World Service radio and World TV.

David was a student on the inaugural Crime Thriller MA at City University – winning the course prize in 2014 for his debut novel Stasi Child – and now writes full-time in his garden shed. In his spare time, he’s a keen supporter of Hull City AFC.

Stasi Child is the first of three books in the Oberleutnant Karin Müller series – set in 1970s communist East Germany – bought by the UK arm of Swedish publisher Bonnier by former Quercus CEO Mark Smith. It reached the top 5 bestsellers on Amazon Kindle, was number one bestseller in Amazon’s Historical Fiction chart, and has been optioned for TV by Euston Films (Minder, The Sweeney etc). Translation rights have so far been sold to France.

Reviews

[Leah Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Had reading block for a while and this thriller/crime really got me back into reading.

[Barry Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, having read it when it first came out I was delighted that it was the Book Club's choice for this month and it gave me the opportunity to read it again. The author blends an authentic historical background story with an interesting, plausible plot to create an entertaining read which as I say I thoroughly enjoyed. I would love to hear more about the characters and how their lives develop.