Gideon's Night

Gideon #3

by J.J. Marric

Gideon's Night is inhabited by thugs, murderers, and maniacs as a rule. But on this particular evening, an unusually virulent pair of psychopaths is leaving behind a grisly trail of pain, grief, and blood. First, there's the "baby snatcher" - kidnapping and killing a slew of helpless infants. Then there's "the prowler," who's been known to unleash his special brand of brutal terror on unsuspecting young women on foggy London evenings such as this one. Add to the nightmare the threat of an explosive gang war, and you've got enough mayhem to keep any self-respecting copper busy for months. But for Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard, it's all coming to a head on one nerve-shattering, breathless night!

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Procedural

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

A pseudonym used by John Creasey.

The Gideon series was continued after Creasey's death by William Vivian Butler.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gideon's Night by J.J. Marric is the 3rd book in English author's Commander Gideon Scotland Yard police procedural series. This book takes place over the course of a foggy night in London. Gideon decides to work the night shift because he figures that The Prowler will strike again during this night. The Prowler is a rapist who attacks young women on foggy nights.

The story basically shows Gideon and his officers juggling balls. It's a fascinating story, showing excellent police practices and a neat variety of cases. You've got the Prowler, a baby kidnapper, a missing woman and her husband, a possible gang war, and various sundry other cases. We get to see Gideon shepherding his resources, dealing with his district commanders, going out on cases when necessary and sorting out personal issues and temperaments. You get to see things from the PoV of victims, other police, and even the criminals. Even family matters play a role, with son Matthew wanting to finish school and become a cop like his dad.

It seems like a simple story but really there is so much in the story, it's intelligent, with nice action and even enjoyable decision making (does that seem silly?). I don't usually give mysteries 5-star ratings but what can you do when the story deserves it. Purely enjoyable and entertaining. (5 stars)

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creasey (writing under the name Marric) begins deeper characterization with this, the third Gideon book. A well done, Scotland Yard procedural. This is the book that convinced me to get the rest of the series rather than go one book at a time.

[Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ensemble cast with multiple plot lines. Interesting. Like the ensemble television series.

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is ok. 3.5, at least. But a bit formulaic. I thought Gideon’s Day was better. A bit rawer, bumpier, more original

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This year is about reading some of the random books that have ended up on our shelves at home. J.J. Marric was a pen name for the prolific author John Creasey, who wrote more than 600 books using 28 different pen names. It looks like this series continued with a new entry almost every year or two until there were 26 books. In this case, I am yet again, going against my normal method of reading by not going back to start with the first book in the series.

Book 3 of 26 focuses on a single night shift where Gorden Gideon (aka Gee-Gee) is running the show at Scotland Yard. Over the course of the night he handles a half-dozen main cases ("Gang warfare, baby stealing, murder..."), along with some personal matters with his son and one of the police officers. In some ways, the continual barrage of cases felt like it was a good representation, but of course, Gideon manages to be on the front lines a few more places and times than someone in his position probably would be. It's a solid police procedural, but I enjoyed it more as it was picking up steam and winding down. Somewhere in the middle, I started to get tired of yet another new storyline popping up.

I have too many other series that I really want to read, so this is not going to start me on the 26-book cycle. That said, if I ran across another of Gideon's adventures, I wouldn't turn it away.

[MR D J ALLMARK · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read.

A great book, seen all of the Gideon TV series, what I love about these books though, much more research into the characters, a total of at least 3 episodes of the TV series, in one book, really gripping. One thing to note though, this is the 2nd Gideon book I've read, book 2 of the John Creasey series. Their is no mention of DCI David Keen mentioned, in the books it's Lem. I'm now curious , as to why the TV series created a different character for the part. Regards David A

[Ron Matsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendously well organized and attractive read!

Not sure what to expect from a first time read of a George Gideon detective novel but I was greatly impressed and thoroughly enjoyed reading this one night account in the life of a Metropolitan Police Commander. John Creasy took a log book of one night's criminal activities in London and created a suspenseful read focusing on but not exclusively the perceptions and thoughtful actions of his hero George Gideon.
I will read another in this series.

[Elizabeth B Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gideon’s Night - Nice to Reread

I read all of John Creasey’s Gideon books when I was a teenager (many many years ago). I was so happy to discover that they are still around. It’s Scotland Yard in the best way - a procedural story with lots of unique and memorable characters. Old-fashioned, but worth reading for pleasure.

[Nora Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

J. J. Marric aka John Creasey, has written one of his signature stories about George Gideon, Commander, one of The Big Five at Scotland Yard. Marric layers on crime after crime bringing the novel to a deft conclusion.

[Ed Boring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. This is the first of the Gideon books I have read. Loved it. Plenty of mystery, exploration of family values, examination of the work ethics and capabilities and possibilities of police detectives.

[Steve H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable series so far. Atmospheric and a great cast of characters. 👍🏻

[Carolann Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book the characters are well developed. Looking forward to reading more about Gideon and Scotland Yard.

[Judy Laita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satisfied

Enjoyable & very hard to put down. I thought it was close to how it really is showing the day to day work that police must face to keep us safer. Well done John!

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Commander Gideon is working the night shift for a week. His reasoning is that this way he will be on duty when the Prowler strikes. This book covers the first night. He gets not only the Prowler, but a baby snatcher case, a gang war, and a suspenseful missing husband situation.

Gideon is such good relaxation reading that when I finished this book I pulled the rest of the stack out from behind the shelves and arranged them in order for more (anticipated need for) relaxation. :-)

[C. John Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a foggy night in London and Gideon is spending it at Scotland Yard. He is hoping a criminal known as The Prowler, who has been attacking young women on just such a night, will be active again. When he does Gideon and his men go all out to catch him. The other major case involves three babies snatched from their parents. With these two cases, and other minor matters we get to see the Yard in action at night. As well as the police matters we also deal with more personal matters in the lives of both George Gideon and his assistant Inspector Lemaitre. As always these are not strait mysteries but rather procedurals, although in this case we have no idea who The Prowler actually is. All in all a good read.

[Delores Alger · Rating 4 out of 5]

creasey's gideon

[Regine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workmanlike.