The Bloomsbury Murder

The Blitz Detective #10

by Mike Hollow

January 1941. When Detective Inspector John Jago is called to a terraced house in London's Bloomsbury district, he finds the body of a woman who has been attacked and left to die - her crime, it seems, being kindness to strangers. Rosemary Webster had taken in victims of the devastating Blitz and refugees from wartorn Europe and given them refuge in her own home, but now she's a victim too - of cold-blooded murder. Jago is on the trail of a killer, pursuing them across Bloomsbury's leafy squares and into the distinguished environs of University College London, uncovering a tangle of damaged hearts and minds as he goes. There may have been envy, resentment, even outright hostility. But who would want to strike down an angel of mercy in her own home?

Genres: Mystery, Procedural, Fiction

368 pages, Hardcover

Published October 23, 2025

About the author

I first got into print when I was eleven. A boys’ comic published a feeble limerick I’d sent them and paid me five shillings, a fat sum at that age. But the postal order was nothing compared with seeing my words in print.

After that I kept writing – teenage poems for a late-1960s “underground magazine”, then grown-up poems, and later a happy mix of copywriting, journalism, editing and translating. All ways of getting paid for playing with words.

My CV? I was born in 1953 in the Essex County Borough of West Ham – home of the Blitz Detective – on the eastern edge of London. I grew up mainly in Romford and went to the Royal Liberty School, then studied Russian and French at Cambridge University.

My first job was translating for the BBC, and I did various jobs there for sixteen years before moving to work in communications for development agency Tearfund, travelling widely in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 2002 I went freelance as a writer, editor and creative project manager. Now I earn a living by translating and spend the rest of my time in the cellar of my house in Hampshire chronicling the adventures of the Blitz Detective.

Why write detective novels? Because I enjoy reading them and I love to create entertaining stories. Why set them in that place and time? Because overnight the Blitz turned everyday existence into a life-and-death struggle for ordinary people – and some of them were my family.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but did feel that the murderer and the reason was a bit "left field".

I didn't read this on Kindle. I got the hardback from the library, but unfortunately, despite requesting it, it hasn't been uploaded onto Goodreads.

[gkbowood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I 've noticed I am giving more 2 star ratings than the usual 3 or 4 stars lately. I really like this series so ignore my rating- it's just me not the story!

[Margaret Wigmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book to spend the day in the garden reading on the hottest day of the year so far! Good plot and well written. Mike Hollow knows London very well.

[Quintin Abrams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too much dialogue for me. Chapters and chapters of dialogue, while I appreciate it's a police investigation ( essentially) and we follow that inquiry through, it just didn't do it for me

[Mrs L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read all of this series of books and sadly I don't believe The Bloomsbury Murder to be as good or as interesting as the previous stories. Hopefully this is a one off.

[Scilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book takes place during WWII, and most nights there are bombs falling. Detective Superintendant Hardacre sends Inspector Jago and Cradock to find out about a woman murdered in Bloomsbury. She was a Canadian widow, Mrs Rosemary Webster, and had given rooms in her home to those who needed them as well. The Housekeeper, Annie McCready who lives in the home found her. A brass poker is found near her in the living room, and appears to be the murder weapon. The book takes place during WWII, and most nights there are bombs falling. Mrs. Webster's only son is an air pilot and is at a base not far away. He was recently injured and not currently flying. They talk with him and he says his mother is alwasys supporting someone in need. He can't imagine anyone wanting to kill her. Jado and Cradock go to London to see Mr. Bowman, the brother of the deceased, the Friends of the Ambulance people, marriage counselors, and many other people who she knew. No one can suggest a possible killer. However, Jado and Cradock do finally figure out the killer - a surprise to me.

I really like all the mysteries from Allyson&Busby that I have read, especially the ones taking place in the 1940's and 50's.

[Bill Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE Blitz rages across London but beneath the bombs everyday life and death go on.
Detective Inspector John Jago and Detective Constable Peter Craddock are called to a murder.
At first it's hard to see who would harm a charitable Canadian woman, mother of a wounded RAF fighter pilot, dedicated to helping those in need.
As the two coppers dig, the posh and artistic district of Bloomsbury begins to reveal its darker side.
This 10th Blitz Detective tale slowly peels its way down to the harsh truth with the precision of a ticking bomb.

[Caren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars