Under Admiralty Arch

by SJT Riley

Winter 1953. Robert Lynnford, star crime-reporter of The London Herald, discovers – while investigating the murders of two nightclub croupiers and the fraudulent activities of an investment advisor in the City of London - a dead body with all the hallmarks of an assassination. And first on the scene, Lynnford quickly becomes, for some, himself a suspect.

Meanwhile, Lynnford’s investigations broaden, and a Polish woman who has fled to post-war Britain seeking refuge from communist Poland soon becomes a person of interest for the journalist. Embroiled in murder and the theft of government secrets, she is being tracked down by British and foreign secret security services, and only subterfuge and her wits can keep her alive and safe. Lynnford faces a who is she really, and should he try to catch her or help her escape?

368 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2025

Reviews

[Anne Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t realise that this was the third in a series but it was fine as a standalone. Set in 1953 in London, it involves an investigative journalist, MI5, MI6, Scotland Yard, the Russians and some Polish gangsters, In places I was reminded of Dick Tracy stories, lots of running around in Morgan cars, getting across London in twenty minutes ( those were the days). A pleasant enough story, cosy and easy to read. I could picture most of the action as I lived in central London for many years.

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third in a series featuring newspaper crime reporter Robert Lynnford in the early 1950s. I read the first in the series a couple of years ago and thought that it was a good mystery albeit witha lot of plot but didn't do the best job at explaining some of the background and details (sort of the reverse of an info dump problem!) but didn't realise that when I requested it from NetGalley. Still it was nice to drop in again to see what's changed.

And actually there are some similar issues here - the plot is very complicated, with a big cast of characters that can get a bit confusing because there's not a lot of detail to differentiate them from each other. But the underlying mystery is interesting and I wanted to see who did it. This is definitely going more towards the adventure-mystery end of the genre, with plenty of car chases and more than a few fights.

****Copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. All opinions are my own.*****

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crime journalist Lynnford is on the case again attempting to solve the deaths of two young female croupiers from a club in London. His editor transfers him temporarily to the Parliament beat much to his distaste but leaves him also with the crime file. Fortunately he is able to combine the two and with the help of newspaper colleagues and his all-most fiance, Victoria, figure out who killed the girls, solve a couple other murders, remove foreign agents from England, and hand the Parliamentary file back to the woman who was temporarily away.
The action moves quickly and it kept my attention. Each of the main characters was well developed, even the "baddies" so I could tell what their motivations were. The intervention of MI5 added an additional level of intrigue.
This is the second Riley book I have read and I will continue to enjoy this author's work.