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Breen and Tozer #1
A Song From Dead Lips
London, 1968.
The Runaway. A young woman is found naked and strangled in an alley in well-to-do St John’s Wood.
The African. The neighbours would love to pin it on the enigmatic black stranger who has just moved in.
The Pariah. Detective Sergeant Cathal Breen is convinced there’s more to the case than anyone wants to admit; no-one’s listening.
The Outsider. In walks WPC Helen Tozer – awkward chatterbox, farmgirl, and the first woman to enter the murder unit – and gives Breen a breakthrough.
A Song from Dead Lips is a crime thriller that shows the glorified sixties close-up, as it really was – comfortably sexist, racially prejudiced, class-bound and crawling with corruption.
The Runaway. A young woman is found naked and strangled in an alley in well-to-do St John’s Wood.
The African. The neighbours would love to pin it on the enigmatic black stranger who has just moved in.
The Pariah. Detective Sergeant Cathal Breen is convinced there’s more to the case than anyone wants to admit; no-one’s listening.
The Outsider. In walks WPC Helen Tozer – awkward chatterbox, farmgirl, and the first woman to enter the murder unit – and gives Breen a breakthrough.
A Song from Dead Lips is a crime thriller that shows the glorified sixties close-up, as it really was – comfortably sexist, racially prejudiced, class-bound and crawling with corruption.
486 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
136 people are currently reading
1871 people want to read
About the author
William Shaw
20 books533 followersI'm a crime writer and write the Eden Driscoll series set in South Devon, the Alex Cupidi series set in Dungeness, Kent and the Breen & Tozer series set in London in 1968-9. The Red Shore – first in the Eden Driscoll series – is published on July 3 2025.
My most recent book is The Wild Swimmers,, the fifth in the Alex Cupid series - if you don't count The Birdwatcher .
In July 2025 I'm publishing the first in a new series set in South Devon, The Red Shore.
My non-fiction books include Westsiders , an account of several young would-be rappers struggling to establish themselves against a backdrop of poverty and violence in South Central Los Angeles, Superhero For Hire , a compilation and of the Small Ads columns I wrote for the Observer Magazine, and Spying In Guru Land , in which I joined several British religious cults to write about them.
A Song From Dead Lips was the first in a trilogy of books set in London in 1968, featuring DS Cathal Breen and WPC Helen Tozer. It was followed by A House of Knives and A Book of Scars .
I live in Brighton and play music with Brighton Ceilidh Collective. I also run an online book event called
My most recent book is The Wild Swimmers,, the fifth in the Alex Cupid series - if you don't count The Birdwatcher .
In July 2025 I'm publishing the first in a new series set in South Devon, The Red Shore.
My non-fiction books include Westsiders , an account of several young would-be rappers struggling to establish themselves against a backdrop of poverty and violence in South Central Los Angeles, Superhero For Hire , a compilation and of the Small Ads columns I wrote for the Observer Magazine, and Spying In Guru Land , in which I joined several British religious cults to write about them.
A Song From Dead Lips was the first in a trilogy of books set in London in 1968, featuring DS Cathal Breen and WPC Helen Tozer. It was followed by A House of Knives and A Book of Scars .
I live in Brighton and play music with Brighton Ceilidh Collective. I also run an online book event called
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 248 reviews
November 18, 2020
3.5 stars
It was a slow starter, but half way it picked up and became what I had hoped for. I always like it when there's historical information at the back of the book which places the story.
It was a slow starter, but half way it picked up and became what I had hoped for. I always like it when there's historical information at the back of the book which places the story.
June 14, 2024
Here I am sampling another starter in a detective series. I’m a glutton for punishment, but I do like variety. This one is set in London in 1968, the height of swinging London and flower power! Set around a Metropolitan Police squad room which means the inhabitants are racist, homophobic, sexist, misogynist, tribal and probably corrupt. The two protagonists dropped into this loving and caring atmosphere are Cathal Breen and Helen Tozer. Breen is a DS and is Irish: it wasn’t easy being Irish in Britain in the 1960s. Tozer is from Devon and is female, which leads to problems as she wants to work in CID which is a very male domain.
The backdrop to the crime being investigated is the music scene in London, particularly a group of young women who follow the Beatles. There are a few brushes with actual history, like Nobby Pilcher’s arrest of John Lennon and Yoko Ono for drug possession. Another historical aspect to this is the Biafran War. The Nigerian community in London plays a significant part in this. Shaw does manage to highlight the British government role in the very bloody war (as you might guess a rather ignoble one). There’s mention of the fascist coup in Greece and Enoch Powell’s views are noted.
The details seem to be accurate and I remember most of the technology (or lack of it) and the fact that everyone seemed to smoke. The plotting is pretty good and both of the main characters are suitably flawed. There are twists as you would expect and on the whole it was entertaining.
The backdrop to the crime being investigated is the music scene in London, particularly a group of young women who follow the Beatles. There are a few brushes with actual history, like Nobby Pilcher’s arrest of John Lennon and Yoko Ono for drug possession. Another historical aspect to this is the Biafran War. The Nigerian community in London plays a significant part in this. Shaw does manage to highlight the British government role in the very bloody war (as you might guess a rather ignoble one). There’s mention of the fascist coup in Greece and Enoch Powell’s views are noted.
The details seem to be accurate and I remember most of the technology (or lack of it) and the fact that everyone seemed to smoke. The plotting is pretty good and both of the main characters are suitably flawed. There are twists as you would expect and on the whole it was entertaining.
July 9, 2019
Set in 1968, in the midst of the Beatles mania, I liked this book very much. The characters of Breen and Tozer are interesting and I’ll be reading the second book soon.
August 7, 2022
This was quite a bit better than I thought it might be. However if you weren't alive in the Sixties then you might not find it as good. I enjoyed Breen as a character. The story was ok as was the pace. I guess the best bit for me was the feel of the era - I can't really fault that at all. It captured the attitudes that were prevalent then very well. Women, people of colour (warning - other words are used that would be considered offensive now), food drink and life generally. Decent enough read and I'll read the next one. 3.5/5
July 17, 2023
SHE’S LEAVING HOME is the first novel in the four-book Breen and Tozer series. Unfortunately, I read this series out of order, starting with #3, followed by #2, then #4. So I read the first one last.
SHE’S LEAVING HOME introduces us to the main protagonist, DS Cathal “Paddy” Breen, and his assistant, DC Helen Tozer. In this first novel, and the three that follow, Helen Tozer is less important than Breen, sometimes providing support (and sometimes frustration). The story is set in the late 1960s, and Tozer serves mainly as a counterpoint to Breen’s conventional perspective.
“Do you like the Beatles, sir?” asked Tozer. Or are you more of a Rolling Stones man?”
Breen is neither, preferring classical jazz. He is confused by the shift in culture and the attitudes of those only a few years younger—a 32-year-old who feels ”It was as if some kind of coup had taken place. The young and the beautiful had seized power.”
After some introductory incidents, the main story begins with the discovery of a teenage girl’s body just a short distance from the Beatles Abbey Road studios. The Beatles themselves play no role in the plot; their fans are important only in helping the police team identify the dead woman. From that point, the storyline follows a meandering trail to discover who killed her and why.
WHAT I LIKED:
William Snow is an outstanding writer. Not just a good writer, but an impressive one with a thorough grasp of sentence structure and rhythm, in both descriptive passages and conversational speech segments. This was his first fiction novel, but he spent years as a journalist and has written several nonfiction books.
There were long (several chapter) segments that flowed perfectly, such as, for example, the segment that started with Breen and Tozer travelling to a different jurisdiction to inform the dead girl’s parents of her demise and ended with the police report from that jurisdiction describing the outcome of their visit. And all around the tree house were photographs… They appeared to be photographs of children, dozens of them, held up by drawing pins. A boy and a girl…[balance omitted to avoid a spoiler].
The global theme, centring on the Biafran conflict, and the differences between Africans who hailed from Biafra—they were not stereotypes but individuals with distinct personalities and values based on their childhood experiences.
The ignorance of many in the U.K. about what was happening in Biafra.
Breen tried to remember anything he had read about the war. It was confused, in his mind, with Vietnam. Facts only came in fragments. Hostilities had started last year. Part of Nigeria had seceded but he could not remember why, or which side had the upper hand.
This ignorance persists today and the underlying conflict still simmers in modern-day Nigeria.
WHAT I FOUND SOMEWHAT FLAWED:
The start was too slow, and initially appeared to portray Breen as somewhat cowardly, when I think it was meant to show that he was cautious. He appeared, initially, to have left Sergeant Prosser in danger. Next, he is assigned a case where the dead man’s body has been destroyed by fire. Then, both threads are dropped when he is assigned the case of identifying the teenaged girl. Had I not already read the second novel in the series, I would have found this decidedly confusing. These dropped threads are revisited again in book #2, and satisfactorily concluded.
I am old enough to remember the horrifying pictures of the starving children of Biafra. Most readers would not be. The photos of the starving children are described, but the emotional impact is missing. It is more like a journal narration. Interestingly, by book #3 in this series, which again describes the horrors of a conflict in Africa, the emotional impact is strongly present.
The truth about how Britain conspired against the Biafran independence movement, leading to the death of millions by starvation, is clearly described in the Author’s Note, but relatively few read the Author’s Note after they finish the narrative section. This information is presented in the body of the story as well, in a long speech by Okankwo, but the speech is too long—a diatribe rather than a conversation—and readers are likely to skim it. Plus Okankwo is not a suspect in the murder investigation, not a major part of the plot. Again, a reason to flip quickly through this section of the narrative.
Also in the Author’s Note is an important comment about DS Pilcher. Pilcher is mentioned several times in the storyline but frankly I brushed over those sections as they did not seem relevant to the plot. They weren’t relevant to the murder investigation but they deserved more attention as background material (in terms of the era) than I allotted them. By books #3 and #4, the author had learned how to highlight relevant thematic material so that it wouldn’t be skipped over.
Thus, a book I highly recommend, but one with flaws, and so I am giving it a four-star rating. Younger readers may be shocked by the non-PC language and casual police brutality of the time, but it is real, not an imaginary description of that period.
Thanks to the Greater Victoria Public Library for this ebook edition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My reviews for other books in this series:
The Kings of London, Breen and Tozer, #2
A Song for the brokenhearted, Breen and Tozer, #3
Play With Fire, Breen and Tozer, #4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SHE’S LEAVING HOME introduces us to the main protagonist, DS Cathal “Paddy” Breen, and his assistant, DC Helen Tozer. In this first novel, and the three that follow, Helen Tozer is less important than Breen, sometimes providing support (and sometimes frustration). The story is set in the late 1960s, and Tozer serves mainly as a counterpoint to Breen’s conventional perspective.
“Do you like the Beatles, sir?” asked Tozer. Or are you more of a Rolling Stones man?”
Breen is neither, preferring classical jazz. He is confused by the shift in culture and the attitudes of those only a few years younger—a 32-year-old who feels ”It was as if some kind of coup had taken place. The young and the beautiful had seized power.”
After some introductory incidents, the main story begins with the discovery of a teenage girl’s body just a short distance from the Beatles Abbey Road studios. The Beatles themselves play no role in the plot; their fans are important only in helping the police team identify the dead woman. From that point, the storyline follows a meandering trail to discover who killed her and why.
WHAT I LIKED:
William Snow is an outstanding writer. Not just a good writer, but an impressive one with a thorough grasp of sentence structure and rhythm, in both descriptive passages and conversational speech segments. This was his first fiction novel, but he spent years as a journalist and has written several nonfiction books.
There were long (several chapter) segments that flowed perfectly, such as, for example, the segment that started with Breen and Tozer travelling to a different jurisdiction to inform the dead girl’s parents of her demise and ended with the police report from that jurisdiction describing the outcome of their visit. And all around the tree house were photographs… They appeared to be photographs of children, dozens of them, held up by drawing pins. A boy and a girl…[balance omitted to avoid a spoiler].
The global theme, centring on the Biafran conflict, and the differences between Africans who hailed from Biafra—they were not stereotypes but individuals with distinct personalities and values based on their childhood experiences.
The ignorance of many in the U.K. about what was happening in Biafra.
Breen tried to remember anything he had read about the war. It was confused, in his mind, with Vietnam. Facts only came in fragments. Hostilities had started last year. Part of Nigeria had seceded but he could not remember why, or which side had the upper hand.
This ignorance persists today and the underlying conflict still simmers in modern-day Nigeria.
WHAT I FOUND SOMEWHAT FLAWED:
The start was too slow, and initially appeared to portray Breen as somewhat cowardly, when I think it was meant to show that he was cautious. He appeared, initially, to have left Sergeant Prosser in danger. Next, he is assigned a case where the dead man’s body has been destroyed by fire. Then, both threads are dropped when he is assigned the case of identifying the teenaged girl. Had I not already read the second novel in the series, I would have found this decidedly confusing. These dropped threads are revisited again in book #2, and satisfactorily concluded.
I am old enough to remember the horrifying pictures of the starving children of Biafra. Most readers would not be. The photos of the starving children are described, but the emotional impact is missing. It is more like a journal narration. Interestingly, by book #3 in this series, which again describes the horrors of a conflict in Africa, the emotional impact is strongly present.
The truth about how Britain conspired against the Biafran independence movement, leading to the death of millions by starvation, is clearly described in the Author’s Note, but relatively few read the Author’s Note after they finish the narrative section. This information is presented in the body of the story as well, in a long speech by Okankwo, but the speech is too long—a diatribe rather than a conversation—and readers are likely to skim it. Plus Okankwo is not a suspect in the murder investigation, not a major part of the plot. Again, a reason to flip quickly through this section of the narrative.
Also in the Author’s Note is an important comment about DS Pilcher. Pilcher is mentioned several times in the storyline but frankly I brushed over those sections as they did not seem relevant to the plot. They weren’t relevant to the murder investigation but they deserved more attention as background material (in terms of the era) than I allotted them. By books #3 and #4, the author had learned how to highlight relevant thematic material so that it wouldn’t be skipped over.
Thus, a book I highly recommend, but one with flaws, and so I am giving it a four-star rating. Younger readers may be shocked by the non-PC language and casual police brutality of the time, but it is real, not an imaginary description of that period.
Thanks to the Greater Victoria Public Library for this ebook edition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My reviews for other books in this series:
The Kings of London, Breen and Tozer, #2
A Song for the brokenhearted, Breen and Tozer, #3
Play With Fire, Breen and Tozer, #4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 11, 2016
First, this bit of Beatles trivia. When the Fab Four recorded “She’s Leaving Home,” it was the first time a female musician was used on any Beatles track. Her name was Sheila Bromberg and she played the harp.
So there.
The book, "She’s Leaving Home," will take you back to the Beatles era of London but it should be noted that the band is mostly in the background, little bits here and there including a court appearance for one John Lennon, busted for drug possession. Toward the end, the song in question does surface. A quick mention.
Potential Beatle enthusiasts, take note—The Beatles are about 10 percent factor here. It’s the era that matters more, the shift in cultures and attitudes and, even more importantly, Britain’s role in global politics, specifically how the British government dealt with the civil war in Nigeria and the breakaway state of Biafra. In many ways, "She’s Leaving Home" is about the fallout of the British thirst for trade stability—and energy resources. (The author’s note at the end might be worth reading before you dive in.)
So, a caution. Based on the book jacket, I was expecting much more about the Beatles. Instead, Abbey Road studios—where a teenage girl’s body is found “just steps away”—is used as a sort of mecca for fans. If you think Macca becomes a suspect, think again. That didn’t diminish my enjoyment of this story, I’m just saying.
Into this landscape comes a police procedural and the same old story—two very different cops with two very different ways of viewing the world. But we never get tired of the same old story. Do we? And the one in She’s Leaving Home is very good.
First we meet Detective Sgt. Cathal "Paddy" Breen. He’s worried and confused about an incident in which he may have acted poorly and left a Sergeant Prosser in harm’s way. Breen is introspective and routine-oriented. He’s a bit down in the dumps after the death of his elderly father. When a young woman's body is found strangled on Abbey Road, Breen is assigned the case and he’s teamed with a female constable, at the time a rarity. Helen Tozer is very much a second-class citizen in the ranks of law enforcement, but she’s brazen and outspoken. Tozer is Breen’s foil. She is new, Breen is old. She is the future, Breen is the past. She is hip to what’s coming. He is clueless but he sees the changing streets and shops.
“West London was full of color. Each year the colors got louder. Girls in green leather miniskirts, boys in paisley shirts and white loafers. New boutiques selling orange plastic chairs form Denmark. Brash billboards with sexy girls in blue bikinis fighting the inch war. A glimpse of a front room in a Georgian house where patterned wallpaper had been overpainted in yellow and a huge red paper lampshade hunt from the ceiling. Pale blue Triumphs and bright red Minis parked in the streets.” Elsewhere around London, as in the area where he keeps a basement flat, it’s business as usual. Things aren’t so bright.
So the clash between Breen and Tozer is the clash of cultures, of the times and attitudes changing. The story works in issues of the day, from sexism and racism to homophobia. When one of the main individuals in the center of the investigation is a man with his roots in Biafra, there’s xenophobia, too, and issues of national identify (not too much different than what is playing out in Britain and the U.S. in 2016).
Breen and Tozer grow closer. She warms him up, loosens him up. Things change when they visit her family home in the countryside and what is a beautiful and intriguing pastoral scene turns into harrowing moment, so well told, shortly thereafter. And then another. No spoilers here.
The occasionally pastoral procedural picks up the pace toward the end and She’s Leaving Home ends with a bang and, well, Breen and Tozer find a way to get over the cultural divide. This is also a story you’ve read before. But we never get tired of the same old story. Do we?
So there.
The book, "She’s Leaving Home," will take you back to the Beatles era of London but it should be noted that the band is mostly in the background, little bits here and there including a court appearance for one John Lennon, busted for drug possession. Toward the end, the song in question does surface. A quick mention.
Potential Beatle enthusiasts, take note—The Beatles are about 10 percent factor here. It’s the era that matters more, the shift in cultures and attitudes and, even more importantly, Britain’s role in global politics, specifically how the British government dealt with the civil war in Nigeria and the breakaway state of Biafra. In many ways, "She’s Leaving Home" is about the fallout of the British thirst for trade stability—and energy resources. (The author’s note at the end might be worth reading before you dive in.)
So, a caution. Based on the book jacket, I was expecting much more about the Beatles. Instead, Abbey Road studios—where a teenage girl’s body is found “just steps away”—is used as a sort of mecca for fans. If you think Macca becomes a suspect, think again. That didn’t diminish my enjoyment of this story, I’m just saying.
Into this landscape comes a police procedural and the same old story—two very different cops with two very different ways of viewing the world. But we never get tired of the same old story. Do we? And the one in She’s Leaving Home is very good.
First we meet Detective Sgt. Cathal "Paddy" Breen. He’s worried and confused about an incident in which he may have acted poorly and left a Sergeant Prosser in harm’s way. Breen is introspective and routine-oriented. He’s a bit down in the dumps after the death of his elderly father. When a young woman's body is found strangled on Abbey Road, Breen is assigned the case and he’s teamed with a female constable, at the time a rarity. Helen Tozer is very much a second-class citizen in the ranks of law enforcement, but she’s brazen and outspoken. Tozer is Breen’s foil. She is new, Breen is old. She is the future, Breen is the past. She is hip to what’s coming. He is clueless but he sees the changing streets and shops.
“West London was full of color. Each year the colors got louder. Girls in green leather miniskirts, boys in paisley shirts and white loafers. New boutiques selling orange plastic chairs form Denmark. Brash billboards with sexy girls in blue bikinis fighting the inch war. A glimpse of a front room in a Georgian house where patterned wallpaper had been overpainted in yellow and a huge red paper lampshade hunt from the ceiling. Pale blue Triumphs and bright red Minis parked in the streets.” Elsewhere around London, as in the area where he keeps a basement flat, it’s business as usual. Things aren’t so bright.
So the clash between Breen and Tozer is the clash of cultures, of the times and attitudes changing. The story works in issues of the day, from sexism and racism to homophobia. When one of the main individuals in the center of the investigation is a man with his roots in Biafra, there’s xenophobia, too, and issues of national identify (not too much different than what is playing out in Britain and the U.S. in 2016).
Breen and Tozer grow closer. She warms him up, loosens him up. Things change when they visit her family home in the countryside and what is a beautiful and intriguing pastoral scene turns into harrowing moment, so well told, shortly thereafter. And then another. No spoilers here.
The occasionally pastoral procedural picks up the pace toward the end and She’s Leaving Home ends with a bang and, well, Breen and Tozer find a way to get over the cultural divide. This is also a story you’ve read before. But we never get tired of the same old story. Do we?
August 10, 2013
Prepare to be transported back to the heyday of the swinging Sixties in this thoroughly enjoyable debut by William Shaw. Drawing on the sights and sounds of this iconic era, with a musical soundtrack resonating with references to the age of Beatlemania and the hugely influential Abbey Road studios, Shaw has conjured up a gripping crime thriller infused with period detail. I think to simply draw comparisons with Life On Mars vis-a-vis the police element is fair to an extent- the novel is peppered with references to racism, homophobia, sexism and the more Neanderthal methods of policing, all in what we view now as the non-PC language of the time- but I think this does the novel a bit of a disservice. As the larger, and indeed more global, themes of the novel become apparent, and the strength of the police characters generally have a more intrinsic depth to them, Shaw rises above a mere whimsical trip back to the past and produces something altogether more gritty and compelling.
The main police protagonists, DS Cathal Breen and WPC Helen Tozer are well-drawn and carry the weight of the plot with ease. Breen is a deep and thought provoking character, set apart from his more brutish colleagues in the murder unit, often being at the brunt of their misplaced humour or vitriol. At times he shows a distinctly more human and empathetic approach to both victim and the suspects, and genuine physical responses to the criminal acts he bears witness to. The interplay between him and the ballsy Tozer, the first woman assigned to the murder unit, is beautifully realised combining a mixture of humour, camararderie and emotional involvement, which makes the scenes between these two in particular, one of the most satisfying aspects of the book. Breen is haunted by demons, but Tozer has also experienced a dark event in the past, which has caused her to carve out a career in the police service. The grittier aspects of this investigation has serious effects on, and consequences to both officers that Shaw effortlessly inveigles into the main, and for the most part, intriguing and disturbing plot making reference to the social prejudices of the era and drawing on aspects of the Biafran conflict- a political hotspot of the era.
I had certain pre-conceptions of this book, largely because of the period it was set in, thinking it might just be a run-of-the-mill sixties police procedural, which were confidently expelled by the weight of the issues contained within the book, and the exceptional characterisation throughout. Shaw recreates the sights and the sounds of the era with ease and the prejudices of the time and I found this a most enjoyable and compelling read, drawing on a historical conflict that I personally had little knowledge of. A highly readable debut and I hope to see more in this series.
The main police protagonists, DS Cathal Breen and WPC Helen Tozer are well-drawn and carry the weight of the plot with ease. Breen is a deep and thought provoking character, set apart from his more brutish colleagues in the murder unit, often being at the brunt of their misplaced humour or vitriol. At times he shows a distinctly more human and empathetic approach to both victim and the suspects, and genuine physical responses to the criminal acts he bears witness to. The interplay between him and the ballsy Tozer, the first woman assigned to the murder unit, is beautifully realised combining a mixture of humour, camararderie and emotional involvement, which makes the scenes between these two in particular, one of the most satisfying aspects of the book. Breen is haunted by demons, but Tozer has also experienced a dark event in the past, which has caused her to carve out a career in the police service. The grittier aspects of this investigation has serious effects on, and consequences to both officers that Shaw effortlessly inveigles into the main, and for the most part, intriguing and disturbing plot making reference to the social prejudices of the era and drawing on aspects of the Biafran conflict- a political hotspot of the era.
I had certain pre-conceptions of this book, largely because of the period it was set in, thinking it might just be a run-of-the-mill sixties police procedural, which were confidently expelled by the weight of the issues contained within the book, and the exceptional characterisation throughout. Shaw recreates the sights and the sounds of the era with ease and the prejudices of the time and I found this a most enjoyable and compelling read, drawing on a historical conflict that I personally had little knowledge of. A highly readable debut and I hope to see more in this series.
October 14, 2013
This excellent (or should that be 'fab'?) detective novel is set in 1968 Swinging London. The first novel to feature Detective Sergeant Cathal Breen and WPC Helen Tozer - on probation with CID when women are considered unable to even drive police cars, although always called upon to put the kettle on... Breen is an interesting character, not greatly liked by most of his fellow officers and having created a distance from them by moving out of police accomodation to care for his elderly father, who has since died. The author gets the politically incorrect office banter just right as he recreates a time and place where casual sexism and racism are the norm, as is police corruption (including the infamous Pilcher from the drug squad, who targeted John Lennon and Mick Jagger, among others).
Breen is sent to investigate the murder of a young girl, her naked body discovered in a St John's Wood alley. She has been left by a block of flats backing onto Abbey Road, the recording studio where young girls congregate to wait for the Beatles, and also close by the house of an eminent African surgeon. This atmospheric crime novel will take you from Apple Scruffs, to building sites, through to fund raising for the war in Biafra; to both the city and country, as Breen refuses to accept the obvious suspects as the correct ones. Breen and Tozer are fantastic characters, both with their secrets and demons to deal with. I sincerely hope that they will appear together in future novels, as this was so enjoyable and well written. Lastly, if you enjoy crime novels set in the 1960's you might also like Kiss Me Quick.
Breen is sent to investigate the murder of a young girl, her naked body discovered in a St John's Wood alley. She has been left by a block of flats backing onto Abbey Road, the recording studio where young girls congregate to wait for the Beatles, and also close by the house of an eminent African surgeon. This atmospheric crime novel will take you from Apple Scruffs, to building sites, through to fund raising for the war in Biafra; to both the city and country, as Breen refuses to accept the obvious suspects as the correct ones. Breen and Tozer are fantastic characters, both with their secrets and demons to deal with. I sincerely hope that they will appear together in future novels, as this was so enjoyable and well written. Lastly, if you enjoy crime novels set in the 1960's you might also like Kiss Me Quick.
July 18, 2016
The year 1968 seems surely the most tumultuous & memorable in my adult lifetime & I had the good fortune to spend some of it in England. So I probably can comment fairly on how well A Kiss from Dead Lips recreated the period. (The American edition is called She’s Leaving Home.) The loutish behaviour & remarks of the detectives Prosser & Carmichael towards the Woman Police Constable (as they were then designated) Tozer & DS Breen fit the era (I’d put women detectives right alongside women priests as proof that the world really is now a much better place than then) & I thought the almost forgotten Nigerian civil war well-worked into the plot tho’ we ought to have been told that the African characters were Igbos. Biafra wasn’t supported by either side in the Cold War which may be why the independence movement failed. I wish Shaw had put the money figuring in the plot to support the heroic effort by pilots flying famine relief in clapped out aircraft for Joint Church Aid (aka Jesus Christ Airways) - would have made the story much more poignant but maybe villains too sympathetic. The snobbish attitude towards Irish ‘Paddies’ in the building trade (now it’s Poles) seemed accurate too. (I crewed with a chap who renovated flats in London & that’s what he called his employees.) It was very surprising tho’ to find a bagel cafe in London, even if the owner is supposed to be a Jewish refugee; in the ‘60s I’m pretty sure I never saw a bagel outside NYC.
Yet I felt many period details were contrived & names or motor cars & aircraft dropped to lend false authenticity. A character drives a Jaguar but which model Jaguar would have made a big difference in knowing whether respectable or villain, & a Constellation would be rather long of tooth (JCA were flying them still). But the main problem was what many younger readers will believe authentic background, the almost exclusive attention to the Beatles. There were so many other huge groups in ’68 & the fab four were beginning to fade. A musically knowledgeable author such as Cath Unsworth would have done the setting more authentically.
But my principal difficulty was with Breen - an infectious depressive. His bereavement over his father was excessive & affected (however much he’d missed his father, he should have felt a sense of relief in having his life back too) & Breen treats Tozer with a standoffish chilliness for much of the story that I found churlish & offensive. She is a very warm & enthusiastic partner & anyone of normal sensibilities (whether or not romantically inclined towards her) should enjoy her company & welcome her support. The sneers of Prosser & Carmichael towards her, of course, reveal the absolute oafs they are. The villains are also quite obnoxious, & I found the final thriller pursuit highly unbelievable, worst of all by having Carmichael excrete in his pants, which was disgusting, unnecessary, and unfunny. I’ll not read any more of the series. Much as I’ll miss Tozer, whom I liked very much, Shaw s not an author whose company a sensitive reader of taste will enjoy.
Yet I felt many period details were contrived & names or motor cars & aircraft dropped to lend false authenticity. A character drives a Jaguar but which model Jaguar would have made a big difference in knowing whether respectable or villain, & a Constellation would be rather long of tooth (JCA were flying them still). But the main problem was what many younger readers will believe authentic background, the almost exclusive attention to the Beatles. There were so many other huge groups in ’68 & the fab four were beginning to fade. A musically knowledgeable author such as Cath Unsworth would have done the setting more authentically.
But my principal difficulty was with Breen - an infectious depressive. His bereavement over his father was excessive & affected (however much he’d missed his father, he should have felt a sense of relief in having his life back too) & Breen treats Tozer with a standoffish chilliness for much of the story that I found churlish & offensive. She is a very warm & enthusiastic partner & anyone of normal sensibilities (whether or not romantically inclined towards her) should enjoy her company & welcome her support. The sneers of Prosser & Carmichael towards her, of course, reveal the absolute oafs they are. The villains are also quite obnoxious, & I found the final thriller pursuit highly unbelievable, worst of all by having Carmichael excrete in his pants, which was disgusting, unnecessary, and unfunny. I’ll not read any more of the series. Much as I’ll miss Tozer, whom I liked very much, Shaw s not an author whose company a sensitive reader of taste will enjoy.
January 11, 2022
A gripping crime thriller which effortlessly captures the spirit of the 1960's. The main characters are Detective Sergeant Cathal "Paddy" Breen and Women Police Constable Helen Tozer. Breen is an outsider, never quite getting along with the laddish behaviour of his colleagues while Tozer has to prove herself as the only woman in the murder squad.
It's 1968 and a teenage girl's body has been found naked in the upmarket area of St John’s Wood in London. Breen and Tozer discover the girl was one of the "Apple Scruffs" the group of fanatical Beatles fans who gathered outside the Beatles' Apple Corps building and Abbey Road Studios in London as well as the individual homes of their heroes.
As their investigation continues they uncover a family tragedy which seems to prove the cause of the girl's murder, but Breen and Tozer's relentless inquiries lead them to discover there is more to the girl's death than meets the eye.
This is the first in the Breen and Tozer series which I'm rereading 9 years later. Looking forward to rereading the others.
It's 1968 and a teenage girl's body has been found naked in the upmarket area of St John’s Wood in London. Breen and Tozer discover the girl was one of the "Apple Scruffs" the group of fanatical Beatles fans who gathered outside the Beatles' Apple Corps building and Abbey Road Studios in London as well as the individual homes of their heroes.
As their investigation continues they uncover a family tragedy which seems to prove the cause of the girl's murder, but Breen and Tozer's relentless inquiries lead them to discover there is more to the girl's death than meets the eye.
This is the first in the Breen and Tozer series which I'm rereading 9 years later. Looking forward to rereading the others.
April 12, 2015
I’ve been on a bit of a mystery kick lately (Louise Penny, you are a master!) and I came across William Shaw’s British mystery, She’s Leaving Home. Set in London in 1968 and the first of a trilogy, disgraced Detective Sergeant Cathal Breen investigates the apparent murder of a young woman. What initially seems to be an open-and-shut case soon becomes something much more complicated. Politics, race relations, music, and the changing shape of modern day London all force Breen to look deeper into this young woman’s death. What was once a simple investigation soon becomes all too complicated.
Assisting Breen is newcomer, policewoman Helen Tozer, a woman motivated by her own past, who offers Breen some insight into a world he’s realizing that he increasingly doesn’t understand. He doesn't get the Beatles craze, nor the fashion preferences. Really, Breen's wondering when all these changes happened, seemingly under his nose. Battling both internal and external prejudices and assumptions, Breen and Tozer slowly unravel the unexpected motivation behind the young woman’s murder.
She’s Leaving Home was an excellent mystery novel. It had the perfect balance between mystery and fully fleshed out characters. I’m not always a fan of the mystery genre since, all too often, the mystery comes at the expense of having flat, boring, unexplored characters. This is the not the case in She’s Leaving Home. Breen is an interesting character. He’s not some amazing Sherlock-like cop. He’s reeling from the death of his father and feels totally at sea in the world around him. He doesn’t understand the Beatles craze, he’s oblivious to some of the inter-departmental politics going on in his station. Despite the fact that Breen isn’t your average detective hero, what I like about She’s Leaving Home is that readers see a transformation in Breen. At first he’s very hesitant, almost afraid of doing his job. But slowly readers learn that this is a guy with integrity working in a job that is rife with corruption and prejudice.
Helen Tozer, like Breen, is a bit of an outcast, courtesy of her gender. As a woman, Tozer doesn't get a lot of respect from her male colleagues. Despite the opposition she encounters, Tozer is enthusiastic and not without her own resources. With Tozer, Breen gets some insight into the changing world around him, although this does mean he has to put up with her rather incautious driving abilities. Breen and Tozer are a perfect pairing; they both bring necessary elements to the investigation. Their dynamic alone will have me coming back for book two.
The 1960s setting is another strong part of She’s Leaving Home. The era plays an important part in the mystery because public opinion of the time helps to shape the direction that Breen and Tozer investigate. Should Breen and Tozer buy into the prejudices of the bystanders, who seem to assume that the murderer must be the Africans that moved in next door? Shaw never sugarcoats less than politically correct attitudes of those directly and indirectly involved in the murder investigation; a cozy mystery this is not. For me, the realism affected in She’s Leaving Home was a huge draw for me. The setting was absolutely well-rendered and I appreciated the fact that it actually played a part in the book and that it wasn’t there as window dressing. Great setting and great characters what more could you ask for?
I absolutely loved reading She’s Leaving Home. The setting hooked me, but the characters kept me interested. This is the perfect read for those who love British crime and who love their characters imperfectly human. This one is highly recommended!
Originally reviewed at The Book Adventures.
Assisting Breen is newcomer, policewoman Helen Tozer, a woman motivated by her own past, who offers Breen some insight into a world he’s realizing that he increasingly doesn’t understand. He doesn't get the Beatles craze, nor the fashion preferences. Really, Breen's wondering when all these changes happened, seemingly under his nose. Battling both internal and external prejudices and assumptions, Breen and Tozer slowly unravel the unexpected motivation behind the young woman’s murder.
She’s Leaving Home was an excellent mystery novel. It had the perfect balance between mystery and fully fleshed out characters. I’m not always a fan of the mystery genre since, all too often, the mystery comes at the expense of having flat, boring, unexplored characters. This is the not the case in She’s Leaving Home. Breen is an interesting character. He’s not some amazing Sherlock-like cop. He’s reeling from the death of his father and feels totally at sea in the world around him. He doesn’t understand the Beatles craze, he’s oblivious to some of the inter-departmental politics going on in his station. Despite the fact that Breen isn’t your average detective hero, what I like about She’s Leaving Home is that readers see a transformation in Breen. At first he’s very hesitant, almost afraid of doing his job. But slowly readers learn that this is a guy with integrity working in a job that is rife with corruption and prejudice.
Helen Tozer, like Breen, is a bit of an outcast, courtesy of her gender. As a woman, Tozer doesn't get a lot of respect from her male colleagues. Despite the opposition she encounters, Tozer is enthusiastic and not without her own resources. With Tozer, Breen gets some insight into the changing world around him, although this does mean he has to put up with her rather incautious driving abilities. Breen and Tozer are a perfect pairing; they both bring necessary elements to the investigation. Their dynamic alone will have me coming back for book two.
The 1960s setting is another strong part of She’s Leaving Home. The era plays an important part in the mystery because public opinion of the time helps to shape the direction that Breen and Tozer investigate. Should Breen and Tozer buy into the prejudices of the bystanders, who seem to assume that the murderer must be the Africans that moved in next door? Shaw never sugarcoats less than politically correct attitudes of those directly and indirectly involved in the murder investigation; a cozy mystery this is not. For me, the realism affected in She’s Leaving Home was a huge draw for me. The setting was absolutely well-rendered and I appreciated the fact that it actually played a part in the book and that it wasn’t there as window dressing. Great setting and great characters what more could you ask for?
I absolutely loved reading She’s Leaving Home. The setting hooked me, but the characters kept me interested. This is the perfect read for those who love British crime and who love their characters imperfectly human. This one is highly recommended!
Originally reviewed at The Book Adventures.
April 30, 2014
I've read crime fiction constantly since I was entering my teenage years and so I often look for books which are a bit different to what else is out there. Luckily crime fiction is a huge genre and alongside all the repetitive stuff are a few little gems, one such gem was this book. I read the blurb on Net Galley and requested it immediately. It stood out as something unique and different and for me I couldn't wait to get started with it. I've read it on and off the past few days and enjoyed it massively. I challenge anyone to read the blurb and not want to read this book...
Straightaway just from the writing of the book you really could tell this book was set in 1960's London. The author has done an incredible job of capturing that era. The book felt very authentic and realistic and I definitely felt as if I had gone back in time during this book. A body of a young, naked woman is found by a spoilt child and his nanny. Cathal Breen is the man brought in to investigate and I have to say I really liked this character. He has a bit of a past and some baggage and I definitely enjoyed reading about him. I'd say he reminded me a bit of Tom Thorne (Mark Billingham) in certain ways and he is my favourite fictional detective of all time so we were off to a good start already! Upon finding the body police officers who usually work the beat crowd around and are given jobs to carry out by Breen. Finding a dead body is a bit of a novelty for them when they only usually walk the beat!
Working alongside Breen is Helen Tozer and again I really liked this character. The book is full of sexism and racism which is of course relevant to the time as it was rife back then. A woman police officer joining a force of men doesn't go down well with Breen's colleagues, who already have a vendetta of sorts against him after he abandoned a fellow officer who was being held at knifepoint. I especially liked the scenes between Breen and Tozer, plenty of banter alongside a new friend/partnership. Both are interesting characters and both have history, Breen's comes from moving out of the police home to live with his father in a flat who has now passed away and Tozer's from having a family member bearing stark similarities to the dead girl who has been found. Tozer isn't welcomed to the force by anybody but Breen and it was fascinating just reading the sexism of her fellow colleagues and how unprofessional they came across. Again though all very believable for the time. Women in crime fiction today are of course commonplace.
Of course this wouldn't be a book set in the 60's without a mention of the Beatles, or perhaps a reference to the arrest of one of them? The dumping of the body is also around the corner from the Abbey Road studios and Breen and Tozer visit a Beatles fan club as part of their investigation. However it's when they visit the dead girl's parents that the story really picks up and as always to say any more would be to ruin the story. What I would say is I did work out who the killer was fairly early on, well, not worked out but I picked out who I thought it might be and ended up being right! Overall I seriously loved this book and reccommend it so much to crime fans, fans of Mark Billingham especially. London in the 60's was brought to life in this book and I just loved reading about it. Breen is definitely a character to watch and as this is book one of a trilogy I imagine by the end of it he will have became one of my favourite detectives.
Huge thanks to Quercus for the review copy of this fantastic book.
Straightaway just from the writing of the book you really could tell this book was set in 1960's London. The author has done an incredible job of capturing that era. The book felt very authentic and realistic and I definitely felt as if I had gone back in time during this book. A body of a young, naked woman is found by a spoilt child and his nanny. Cathal Breen is the man brought in to investigate and I have to say I really liked this character. He has a bit of a past and some baggage and I definitely enjoyed reading about him. I'd say he reminded me a bit of Tom Thorne (Mark Billingham) in certain ways and he is my favourite fictional detective of all time so we were off to a good start already! Upon finding the body police officers who usually work the beat crowd around and are given jobs to carry out by Breen. Finding a dead body is a bit of a novelty for them when they only usually walk the beat!
Working alongside Breen is Helen Tozer and again I really liked this character. The book is full of sexism and racism which is of course relevant to the time as it was rife back then. A woman police officer joining a force of men doesn't go down well with Breen's colleagues, who already have a vendetta of sorts against him after he abandoned a fellow officer who was being held at knifepoint. I especially liked the scenes between Breen and Tozer, plenty of banter alongside a new friend/partnership. Both are interesting characters and both have history, Breen's comes from moving out of the police home to live with his father in a flat who has now passed away and Tozer's from having a family member bearing stark similarities to the dead girl who has been found. Tozer isn't welcomed to the force by anybody but Breen and it was fascinating just reading the sexism of her fellow colleagues and how unprofessional they came across. Again though all very believable for the time. Women in crime fiction today are of course commonplace.
Of course this wouldn't be a book set in the 60's without a mention of the Beatles, or perhaps a reference to the arrest of one of them? The dumping of the body is also around the corner from the Abbey Road studios and Breen and Tozer visit a Beatles fan club as part of their investigation. However it's when they visit the dead girl's parents that the story really picks up and as always to say any more would be to ruin the story. What I would say is I did work out who the killer was fairly early on, well, not worked out but I picked out who I thought it might be and ended up being right! Overall I seriously loved this book and reccommend it so much to crime fans, fans of Mark Billingham especially. London in the 60's was brought to life in this book and I just loved reading about it. Breen is definitely a character to watch and as this is book one of a trilogy I imagine by the end of it he will have became one of my favourite detectives.
Huge thanks to Quercus for the review copy of this fantastic book.
March 12, 2014
Police thrillers are not my typical fare, but I’m glad I took the chance on this one. The 1968 London and countryside settings are well realized, the pop culture references (mostly to the Beatles, whose Abbey Road studio and fans feature heavily) are good fun, and the sophisticated plot treats serious subjects like war (the Biafran conflict in Nigeria), casual racism and xenophobia (the Irish main character, Cathal Breen, is, almost without exception, referred to as “Paddy”), and changing moral standards.
Though the novel starts off feeling slow and mildly clichéd (a policeman climbing a tree to rescue a cat – oh please!), everything improves when policewoman Helen Tozer enters on page 67. Shaw ably depicts a society in flux: “The young and the beautiful had seized power...These people were only a few years younger…but they lived in a different world.” Or, as Tozer puts it, “This is 1968, sir. There aren’t any ‘supposed to’s’ left.”
I thought we were heading for a tidy ending, but the last few paragraphs turn out to be rather unsettling. I should have known: Shaw’s setting this up to become a whole series of “DS Breen & WPC Tozer” mysteries. Book #2, A House of Knives, is due out in the UK on May 29th. Once again (e.g. The Strangler Vine), I would have preferred it if this smart suspense novel could just stand alone. I doubt I’ll bother with the sequel.
(Here’s another instance [e.g. The Shock of the Fall] of different British and American titles; in this case, I much prefer the U.S. title for the way the subtle allusion to a Beatles title could apply to either the murder victim or to Tozer. The UK title, A Song from Dead Lips, just doesn’t do it for me.)
I was delighted to win a copy through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Though the novel starts off feeling slow and mildly clichéd (a policeman climbing a tree to rescue a cat – oh please!), everything improves when policewoman Helen Tozer enters on page 67. Shaw ably depicts a society in flux: “The young and the beautiful had seized power...These people were only a few years younger…but they lived in a different world.” Or, as Tozer puts it, “This is 1968, sir. There aren’t any ‘supposed to’s’ left.”
I thought we were heading for a tidy ending, but the last few paragraphs turn out to be rather unsettling. I should have known: Shaw’s setting this up to become a whole series of “DS Breen & WPC Tozer” mysteries. Book #2, A House of Knives, is due out in the UK on May 29th. Once again (e.g. The Strangler Vine), I would have preferred it if this smart suspense novel could just stand alone. I doubt I’ll bother with the sequel.
(Here’s another instance [e.g. The Shock of the Fall] of different British and American titles; in this case, I much prefer the U.S. title for the way the subtle allusion to a Beatles title could apply to either the murder victim or to Tozer. The UK title, A Song from Dead Lips, just doesn’t do it for me.)
I was delighted to win a copy through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
March 7, 2023
J'ai beaucoup aimé cette plongée dans le Londres des années 60, qui mêle habilement politique anglaise de l'époque et évolution des moeurs. On voit que la place des femmes est en train de changer, qu'elles s'affirment malgré une résistance forte des mentalités machistes. Les tensions racistes sont aussi bien rendues dans ce Londres de plus en plus multiculturel.
L'enquête qui part de la découverte du cadavre d'une jeune fille, liée au milieu des groupies des Beatles, va prendre une autre dimension, grâce à la ténacité d'un duo d'enquêteurs improbables composés d'un flic un peu démodé et attaché à ses principes et d'une jeune recrue, délurée et bien décidée à se faire une place dans un monde d'hommes. William Shaw dresse un portrait peu flatteur des conflits au sein des différents services de police anglais, mais aussi entre la capitale et la campagne.
Bien entendu, l'auteur a publié quatre tomes dans cette série mais celui-ci a été le seul a être traduit, et n'est aujourd'hui même plus disponible !
L'enquête qui part de la découverte du cadavre d'une jeune fille, liée au milieu des groupies des Beatles, va prendre une autre dimension, grâce à la ténacité d'un duo d'enquêteurs improbables composés d'un flic un peu démodé et attaché à ses principes et d'une jeune recrue, délurée et bien décidée à se faire une place dans un monde d'hommes. William Shaw dresse un portrait peu flatteur des conflits au sein des différents services de police anglais, mais aussi entre la capitale et la campagne.
Bien entendu, l'auteur a publié quatre tomes dans cette série mais celui-ci a été le seul a être traduit, et n'est aujourd'hui même plus disponible !
February 12, 2015
I won this advanced readers copy from Mulholland Books. I really enjoyed it! I like the way the book started and how the story started to slowly unfold. I enjoyed the characters: Breen, Tozar & Carmichael. Helen Tozar was my favorite being a young, spunky, police officer in a field dominated by men. I loved the chemistry between her and Breen. I also loved her healthy appetite and how food played a big part in this book. A huge part for poor Carmichael.... LOL! I enjoyed how the book not only focused on the crime but also on the families of the police officers and their friends in the community. This was a well rounded and satisfying read.
February 12, 2023
I like the style of this author enough detail to set the scene and punchlines. However this one I struggled with the misogyny - not author’s fault as set in the 60s in Metropolitan Police. Also the dialogue at times could be difficult to following - who was saying what. On a positive good start to a series which I am definitely going to continue with.
I had the great opportunity to meet the author at a reading retreat.
I had the great opportunity to meet the author at a reading retreat.
February 14, 2014
For this reader, She's Leaving Home was a not yet ready for primetime thriller. And my rating is actually more of a two star minus grade than a full two stars. The book's title and marketing led this reader to believe this book would capture the singularity of the late sixties, the hook of the Beatles and demonstrate a new vigor in this genre. It does none of these things. I'm pretty certain Shaw did not live through this time because its punch, sizzle and joy elude him. And I would not invoke The Beatles unless I had a meaningful way to incorporate them into the tale and bring their sway over those halcyon days in a way that would make me , as a reader, feel the shock of recognition and the "yeah, that's it" feeling. Instead, their presence in the novel just made me shake my head and say "huh?" The first 300 plus pages may be a competent exposition, but the writer has not honed his ear for language well enough to grab the reader and lure her in. I did not feel compelled to keep reading on. The characters are not consistently interesting or well-drawn enough to make me read it compulsively - generally, the best way to read mysteries for me.And although the author creates many characters, homes and bits of the British landscape to create and inhabit a fully developed story, they just did not interest me all that much.To his credit, the author shows promise in the last 100 pages as he pulls together the bits and pieces of relevant details to make a successful enough ending. But by then, I just wasn't that interested. Mystery readers deserve better than this.
July 15, 2015
Second read: It's rare to read a crime mystery a second time and enjoy it as much or more as the first time. Love the characters and themes that almost make you forget about the poor dead girl. Highly recommended. Will be starting the second book in the series next week!
Original review:
An enjoyable murder mystery set in 1968's London, near the Beatles recording studio on Abbey Road. I felt that Shaw really captured the colorful and turbulent time: issues of feminism and racism, the sadness underlying hard-core "Beatlemania," the cultural struggles of immigrants. The relationships between the characters felt adequately tense and combative, reflecting the changing times and the pressure on the status quo to adapt to a new, liberal world. Cathal "Paddy" Breen, the protagonist police detective whose Irish roots and disconnect from British pop culture prevent him from truly fitting in, gives the reader an outsider's perspective. His confusion is our confusion, and thus it was easy to connect with his character.
Side note: The police environment reminded me a lot of the excellent British TV series "Life on Mars" which also features a protagonist who doesn't fit in (literally, as he time travels back to 1973 as a cop). I couldn't help but see several of the TV show's actors in my mind's eye while reading.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Goodreads giveaways.
Original review:
An enjoyable murder mystery set in 1968's London, near the Beatles recording studio on Abbey Road. I felt that Shaw really captured the colorful and turbulent time: issues of feminism and racism, the sadness underlying hard-core "Beatlemania," the cultural struggles of immigrants. The relationships between the characters felt adequately tense and combative, reflecting the changing times and the pressure on the status quo to adapt to a new, liberal world. Cathal "Paddy" Breen, the protagonist police detective whose Irish roots and disconnect from British pop culture prevent him from truly fitting in, gives the reader an outsider's perspective. His confusion is our confusion, and thus it was easy to connect with his character.
Side note: The police environment reminded me a lot of the excellent British TV series "Life on Mars" which also features a protagonist who doesn't fit in (literally, as he time travels back to 1973 as a cop). I couldn't help but see several of the TV show's actors in my mind's eye while reading.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Goodreads giveaways.
June 1, 2017
Don't they say if you remember the 60s you weren't there? Well, I do and I was. And William Shaw's A Song From Dead Lips is a perfect evocation of this period. Brought back so many memories for me: Abbey Road, The Beatles, St. John's Wood, Biafra (remember that - the bitter civil war in Nigeria?) and so much more. Social turmoil, class conflict, pop culture (remember Afghan coats?) - I had one, much to my parents dismay...
We meet DS Cathal Breen and WPC Helen Tozer - an odd combination; a somewhat disaffected sergeant of Irish origins, an outcast in the Marylebone CID, and the feisty Tozer, a female copper in a force when sexism was rife. Breen and Tozer investigate the murder of a nameless young woman found naked and strangled in an alley on Abbey Road, in a plot that is gripping yet slow burning, impeccably researched with pitch perfect period detail.
Police procedurals don't get any better and William Shaw has pretty much made the 60s his domain. It doesn't matter whether or not you remember this period, there is so much to enjoy here.
We meet DS Cathal Breen and WPC Helen Tozer - an odd combination; a somewhat disaffected sergeant of Irish origins, an outcast in the Marylebone CID, and the feisty Tozer, a female copper in a force when sexism was rife. Breen and Tozer investigate the murder of a nameless young woman found naked and strangled in an alley on Abbey Road, in a plot that is gripping yet slow burning, impeccably researched with pitch perfect period detail.
Police procedurals don't get any better and William Shaw has pretty much made the 60s his domain. It doesn't matter whether or not you remember this period, there is so much to enjoy here.
August 8, 2016
It's a while since I've read a book so quickly, but what a cracking read! I simply couldn’t put it down. Set against a background of 60's Beatle-mania, immigration concerns, and an emerging youth culture, the beleaguered Detective Breen investigates the murder of a young girl, with the assistance of the newly promoted female Detective Constable Tozer, and the hindrance of his un-PC fellow officers who view him as a liability. Great writing, evoked the culture and belief structure of the sixties to a tee, with intelligent observations of the era and some equally funny and poignant parts. Breen and Tozer make a great team.
Highly recommended. I enjoyed this so much I’m already reading book two.
Highly recommended. I enjoyed this so much I’m already reading book two.
May 27, 2014
Thanks go to www.bookaddictshaun.blogspot.co.uk for his review and recommendation.
Atmospheric read throwed out loads of images I was a fly on the wall.
I enjoyed every page I didn't want to put it down!
Atmospheric read throwed out loads of images I was a fly on the wall.
I enjoyed every page I didn't want to put it down!
February 4, 2018
Pretty decent book, Actually learned few things about history of UK. As for the story it was quite good and had few good moments but it actually failed to grab my full attention.
Ending of the story was also bit plain and boring for my taste.
Ending of the story was also bit plain and boring for my taste.
April 5, 2017
I was growing up during the 1960s and consequently I don't really have a clear view of the era, but this crime novel really does bring that decade to life. DS Cathal Breen is something of an outsider and when he apparently leaves a colleague to be attacked by a knife wielding burglar he becomes even more of an outsider. Then he is joined by DC Helen Tozer - who never seems to stop talking.
When a body is discovered in an alley in well to do St John's Wood, the neighbours have their own preferred suspect in the person of an African who has just moved into their midst. The murder team have their work cut out to identify the naked body but Tozer has her own ideas about how to discover her identity.
I did enjoy this novel. It is well written and as I say evocative of the era in which it is set. I must admit I winced over some of the attitudes expressed and I'm sure other readers will do as well. However this is how it was then and it does show how much things have changed since then. This is the first book in a series and I shall be reading the second book shortly.
When a body is discovered in an alley in well to do St John's Wood, the neighbours have their own preferred suspect in the person of an African who has just moved into their midst. The murder team have their work cut out to identify the naked body but Tozer has her own ideas about how to discover her identity.
I did enjoy this novel. It is well written and as I say evocative of the era in which it is set. I must admit I winced over some of the attitudes expressed and I'm sure other readers will do as well. However this is how it was then and it does show how much things have changed since then. This is the first book in a series and I shall be reading the second book shortly.
July 22, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. First by this author I have read and very impressed. Set in London in 1968 and the themes are immigration/police corruption/popular music/casual racism and Biafra. I thought initially that maybe the pacing was a little slow but on reflection think it was about right. Good story carefully told which unfolded towards an ending I had not foreseen.
January 9, 2023
After finishing the Cupidi series by author William Shaw, I was very relieved to have another of his series to get stuck into. The first book in the Breen & Tozer series, A Song From Dead Lips (aka She's Leaving Home) was in no way a disappointment, but I have to say I didn't love it as much as the Alexandra Cupidi series. But it's only the first in the series, so hopefully the follow ups return to the 5 stars that I have been rating Mr Shaw's books at. If you liked the TV series Life On Mars, then I think you will also like this.
August 19, 2019
Historical British Procedural! (TW rape/ sexual harassment, groping/ suicide/ homophobia/ xenophobia and racism, including slurs)
I started reading Play With Fire (the fifth in this series, out now) when Rioter Liberty pointed out she would be starting at the beginning of the series. In case you were wondering what would get me to finally not jump randomly into a series, it was that–thanks Liberty! So anyhoo, this series begins in London in 1968 and uses The Beatles fandom and news at the time as a fun backdrop. While dealing with the aftermath of a case gone wrong Detective Sergeant Cathal “Paddy” Breen is assigned a murdered young woman case who is found just outside The Beatles’ recording studio. He’s also assigned a woman officer, Helen Tozer, to help him in a sexist police department. As they work on the case, there’s a clash of conservatism vs the young’s new freedom beliefs, along with sexism, racism, and xenophobia at immigrants as a backdrop that bleeds into their work. This was a solid start to a procedural series I’ll definitely stick with–especially since I love his most recent series: The Birdwatcher and Salt Lane–and it works well for fans of procedurals where the leads aren’t hotmesses but are definitely fallible, and have a personal relationship.
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: https://link.bookriot.com/view/56a820...
I started reading Play With Fire (the fifth in this series, out now) when Rioter Liberty pointed out she would be starting at the beginning of the series. In case you were wondering what would get me to finally not jump randomly into a series, it was that–thanks Liberty! So anyhoo, this series begins in London in 1968 and uses The Beatles fandom and news at the time as a fun backdrop. While dealing with the aftermath of a case gone wrong Detective Sergeant Cathal “Paddy” Breen is assigned a murdered young woman case who is found just outside The Beatles’ recording studio. He’s also assigned a woman officer, Helen Tozer, to help him in a sexist police department. As they work on the case, there’s a clash of conservatism vs the young’s new freedom beliefs, along with sexism, racism, and xenophobia at immigrants as a backdrop that bleeds into their work. This was a solid start to a procedural series I’ll definitely stick with–especially since I love his most recent series: The Birdwatcher and Salt Lane–and it works well for fans of procedurals where the leads aren’t hotmesses but are definitely fallible, and have a personal relationship.
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: https://link.bookriot.com/view/56a820...
November 22, 2017
The US edition has the title which lured me in: SHE'S LEAVING HOME.
As I passed it on the library shelf I said to myself, "This will have a Beatles theme." I was correct. The SGT. PEPPER track "She's Leaving Home" is the right one to clue a reader into the nature of this book. The year is 1968. The body of a teen runaway is found a block or so away from EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where the Apple Scruffs (Beatle fans) hang out each day hoping for a glimpse of the Beatles as they go in and out of the studio.
While I don't read mysteries often, I have just spent the last four months reading every novel Graham Greene ever published, and this book has some political intrigue. Cataclysmic events in Africa have caused Nigerian expatriates in London to take action. As with a Graham Greene novel, world events affect a very specific tragedy.
Stylistically, William Shaw has much in common with Richard Price. There is an even-handedness in the characterizations and the pacing. A sense of a police department as a human institution is given.
The UK title is A SONG FOR DEAD LIPS. That's an evocative title, but I sense British copyright law is the reason it wasn't given, as its title, a Beatles song-title. As a Beatlemaniac, I was impressed with the accuracy of Shaw's details regarding the Fab Four and I especially liked an anecdote involving George Harrison. It shows that Shaw gets George. One odd thing though: The girls obsessed with George call Patti Harrison his "girlfriend." No one corrects them. She was, of course, very much his wife in 1968. Not even the narrator mentions the mistake, and it is highly unlikely that girls hanging outside Abbey Road studios day in and day out would not know the marital status of each Beatle.
Goodreads' entry defaults to the British title. But Goodreads makes up for that by indicating that this is a series now. I'm glad. It is a good story and it is, by no means, ABOUT the Beatles. Not much of it is about Beatles fandom. But its chief effect is to show 21st century readers how much has changed, in particular the position of women in Britain. This book was published in 2013 and one of the main characters is a rookie cop by the name of Tozer. Her chief fault, in the eyes of her colleagues, is that she's a woman. (Notice that I worked a Beatles title into the last three words of that sentence! This is done in a few places in SHE'S LEAVING HOME, but Shaw doesn't go overboard with it, and he makes use of particular lyrics in the right places.)
As I passed it on the library shelf I said to myself, "This will have a Beatles theme." I was correct. The SGT. PEPPER track "She's Leaving Home" is the right one to clue a reader into the nature of this book. The year is 1968. The body of a teen runaway is found a block or so away from EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where the Apple Scruffs (Beatle fans) hang out each day hoping for a glimpse of the Beatles as they go in and out of the studio.
While I don't read mysteries often, I have just spent the last four months reading every novel Graham Greene ever published, and this book has some political intrigue. Cataclysmic events in Africa have caused Nigerian expatriates in London to take action. As with a Graham Greene novel, world events affect a very specific tragedy.
Stylistically, William Shaw has much in common with Richard Price. There is an even-handedness in the characterizations and the pacing. A sense of a police department as a human institution is given.
The UK title is A SONG FOR DEAD LIPS. That's an evocative title, but I sense British copyright law is the reason it wasn't given, as its title, a Beatles song-title. As a Beatlemaniac, I was impressed with the accuracy of Shaw's details regarding the Fab Four and I especially liked an anecdote involving George Harrison. It shows that Shaw gets George. One odd thing though: The girls obsessed with George call Patti Harrison his "girlfriend." No one corrects them. She was, of course, very much his wife in 1968. Not even the narrator mentions the mistake, and it is highly unlikely that girls hanging outside Abbey Road studios day in and day out would not know the marital status of each Beatle.
Goodreads' entry defaults to the British title. But Goodreads makes up for that by indicating that this is a series now. I'm glad. It is a good story and it is, by no means, ABOUT the Beatles. Not much of it is about Beatles fandom. But its chief effect is to show 21st century readers how much has changed, in particular the position of women in Britain. This book was published in 2013 and one of the main characters is a rookie cop by the name of Tozer. Her chief fault, in the eyes of her colleagues, is that she's a woman. (Notice that I worked a Beatles title into the last three words of that sentence! This is done in a few places in SHE'S LEAVING HOME, but Shaw doesn't go overboard with it, and he makes use of particular lyrics in the right places.)
August 20, 2021
William Shaw's first Breen & Tozer mystery, She's Leaving Home is a perfect snapshot of an era. It's 1968. Beatlemania is strong in England, and the young and free and beautiful seem to be in charge. Although he's not that old, Cathal Breen grew "up in an England of cautious floral prints," an England in which he was expected to turn into his parents and to accept his place in the world. He'd moved his ailing father into his home and had taken care of him until his death, and he wasn't showing any signs of fighting against what had been expected of him. No indeed. Breen has carefully avoided all the changes sweeping the country.
But Helen Tozer, fresh from the country and enjoying city life, isn't going to let him avoid those changes forever. She definitely represents The New, and although she takes a misstep or two, she's got more than enough gumption to put up with all the males who think it's ridiculous to have female police officers. That is a very good thing, too, because she even has to put up with nonsense from the secretary.
Shaw had me learning things about England in the swinging sixties. The attitudes, the casual racism, the Beatles, lardy cakes... I could really picture myself in London with Breen and Tozer. The mystery is very good, and if I had any little quibble it was the fact that I got to know more about Breen than I did Tozer, and I found Tozer to be every bit as fascinating as the closed-off Breen. But that's what a series is for: each book develops the characters even more while involving readers in new mysteries.
It's good to know that I have this series by Shaw to read while I wait for new Alex Cupidi mysteries. He's one very fine writer, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least sample one of his books.
But Helen Tozer, fresh from the country and enjoying city life, isn't going to let him avoid those changes forever. She definitely represents The New, and although she takes a misstep or two, she's got more than enough gumption to put up with all the males who think it's ridiculous to have female police officers. That is a very good thing, too, because she even has to put up with nonsense from the secretary.
Shaw had me learning things about England in the swinging sixties. The attitudes, the casual racism, the Beatles, lardy cakes... I could really picture myself in London with Breen and Tozer. The mystery is very good, and if I had any little quibble it was the fact that I got to know more about Breen than I did Tozer, and I found Tozer to be every bit as fascinating as the closed-off Breen. But that's what a series is for: each book develops the characters even more while involving readers in new mysteries.
It's good to know that I have this series by Shaw to read while I wait for new Alex Cupidi mysteries. He's one very fine writer, and you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least sample one of his books.
December 20, 2015
Set in London at the tail-end of the swinging sixties, A Song from Dead Lips captures not only the changes taking place at the time, but also the rump of old conservatism and everyday racism and sexism, the influence of class, and the pervasiveness of corruption within institutions. Along with context, the key ingredients of the book are its two lead characters and their somewhat awkward relationship. Detective Sergeant Breen is a principled outsider, the son of an Irish immigrant builder, who is marginalised within CID. WPC Helen Tozer is an ambitious but rather naïve detective determined to break the glass ceiling. Shaw surrounds them with a number of other well penned coppers and suspects. The plot is a relatively straightforward police procedural, with Breen and Tozer fighting their colleagues as they struggle to solve the mystery. The result is an engaging tale full of social and political commentary.
November 2, 2016
Fast, funny and more or less flawless: Wonderful characters, fantastic background, memorable voices, hooky lines, lovely soundtrack...
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