Last Rights

Francis Hancock #1

by Barbara Nadel

October 1940. The London borough of West Ham is in the grip of yet another night of bombing, and undertaker Francis Hancock is in the grip of yet another night of temporary insanity.

A veteran of World War One, Francis is forced by the nightly air raids to relive the trauma of the trenches, and all he can do is try to outrun the horrific flashbacks. So when he sees a man lurching through the rubble, screaming about being stabbed but with no visible wound, Francis dismisses it at the ravings of another lost soul... until the man's body turns up at his funeral parlour, two days later. Suspecting foul play, Francis feels compelled to discover what really happened that night - but he finds himself pitted against violent thugs, an impenetrable network of lies and his own fragile sanity.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Whodunit, Historical Fiction

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 6, 2005

About the author

Barbara Nadel is an English crime-writer. Many of her books are set in Turkey. Born in the East End of London, Barbara Nadel trained as an actress before becoming a writer. Now writing full-time, she has previously worked as a public relations officer for the National Schizophrenia Fellowship's Good Companion Service and as a mental health advocate for the mentally disordered in a psychiatric hospital. She has also worked with sexually abused teenagers and taught psychology in schools and colleges, and is currently the patron of a charity that cares for those in emotional and mental distress. She has been a regular visitor to Turkey for more than twenty-five years.

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murder mystery set in the heart of the east end of London during the blitz.

I listened to the audio book version and was captivated by the plot, the characters and the descriptions of the area where my mother grew up during and after the war.

Great storytelling and an interesting end to a mystery story that intrigued and entertained in equal measure.

I’ll definitely follow Hancock’s adventures in further publications

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing series of books set during the London Blitz of WW11. The main character is an undertaker who is a WW1 veteran of Anglo/Indian heritage. The books contain quirky humour and have a distincly English flavour.

[Michelle Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very different story than the ones from Istanbul. Francis Hancock, Mr. H. grows on you. He is a funeral ‘director’ during the second WW. He has been in the First lot as he refers to WW1. and is still troubled by it. He unravels a murder and does it because really no one should be murdered and not punished. He is a mild man that is very likeable. He looks after his mum and two sisters, and he cares for all the poor souls that end up in his shop.

[Christine Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m following the author’s Cetin Ikmen series which is excellent so when I saw this other series advertised at the back of one novel, I thought I would give it a try. Another rich source of characters from wartime East End London but the story seemed to grind on with little progress for most of the time.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new author for me - really enjoyed this book. Well paced, good sense of place and time, and flawed but sympathetic protagonist. Will look for more by this author, for sure.

[Judi K · Rating 1 out of 5]

It says something about a book when it lies there and you can't be bothered picking it up. I got about a third of the way through the book when I realised I just wasn't interested. I found it utterly boring. I didn't give a damn about any of the characters. Nevertheless I tried to continue to about halfway and found I was skim reading anyway. Finally I gave up and just skimmed over the end to satisfy any vague curiosity about who did it. Didn't care ultimately. I think I only continued as far as I did because I had nothing else to read at the time.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, a book about the Blitz! The main character in this mystery was interesting and the setting was very well done. I didn't realize the depth of prejudice that existed in the East End of London against the Jewish community, It figured prominently in the book. But the murdered man had no redeeming qualities, and in the midst of the devastation going on around him, I couldn't get interested in his case.

[Kia Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was an alright read. I enjoyed the characters and the setting, and feel the author did a great job of capturing social attitudes at the time. The constant internal monologues that Francis launched into were a bit of a slog to get through - I found myself skipping multiple pages as he reflected yet again on his experiences in the war. The ending was also quite rushed.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amidst the mayhem of the bombing of Britian, we’re drawn into families’ secrets, degrees of madness, and murder. We also get a taste of shattered homes and lives, weariness, air raid sirens, shaking ground, ashes and dust, and Londoners’ ability to keep their heads down while also putting one foot in front of the other.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[S R Bayliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story telling

Excellent picture of the multicultural East End of London during the blitz. Strong characters that I hope to meet again

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last Rights is a kind of a hard-edged cozy: undertaker, Francis Hancock, turns amateur detective, investigating a murder when the police do not at first seem interested, continuing when he feels that they have arrested the wrong person. The edge is provided by the blitz, working class conditions, prostitution and the black market, and some unsavoury characters. The story unfolds at a reasonable clip and Nadel’s style is quite engaging. There is some nice contextualisation with respect to the blitz and the Jewish community in London, the sense of place is quite strong, and the characterisation and familial relations are well realised. Where the book suffers is with respect to the plot. The premise is interesting but the execution is weak and contrived at times and the killer is somewhat obvious from a long way out. There were a number of elements of the story that I just simply did not believe, not least the actions of the police, which made little sense. Overall, the makings of a good series, but this opening story was undermined by an improbable plot.

[nicdavdi · Rating 3 out of 5]

With an undertaker as hero (and why not, I guess) and being set in London in the middle of the Blitz in WW2, this was going to be a different approach. We, of course, know what happened and how it all ended, but to have lived through it, night after night, not knowing how things would pan out and who might get killed next must have been terrifying. Barbara Nadel manages to conjure up the very essence of Istanbul in her Ikmen series, and here she manages to create a sense of what it must have been like during the bombing. It's an original setting for a story and I liked it.

[Jyv · Rating 1 out of 5]

It says something about a book when it lies there and you can't be bothered picking it up. I got about a third of the way through the book when I realised I just wasn't interested. I found it utterly boring. I didn't give a damn about any of the characters. Nevertheless I tried to continue to about halfway and found I was skim reading anyway. Finally I gave up and just skimmed over the end to satisfy any vague curiosity about who did it. Didn't care ultimately. I think I only continued as far as I did because I had nothing else to read at the time.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c2005. Not as good as her series based in Turkey. I found the story to be a bit disjointed and unnecessarily complicated! Perhaps it was just my frame of mind. Didn't much like the protagonist nor the plot. How odd! "Eager now to get back to the Duchess and the girls in case the Jerries made another appearance, I didn't stop off in Spitalfields to see if Ruby was all right."

[Louise Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was actually Ashes to Ashes that I read, but I can't find the book. I didn't enjoy this series. It reminded me of the boring Dr Who episodes - something's happening n the dark! Run! Run! Something else is happening in the dark! Run!

She's very talented, Francis Hancock is so different from her other PIs, but this series is not for me. I like a lucid plot.

[Mick Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written story featuring an unlikely sleuth - an undertaker mentally scarred by life in the trenches in WW1. The setting is the East End of London in the Blitz and is very well drawn. The plot is complex but believable.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nadel is a very good author but I never could care about the fact that a very horrible person was murdered, while innocents were being s;aughtered by the score by the nightly London bombings.

[Kandis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the setting -- WWII London is burning. Liked the characters--undertaker damaged from serving in WWI. Story was ok.

[Tracyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would really give this 3.5 stars, due to the portrayal of London during the Blitz. That was the part of the book I liked, the story and characters were not strong points.

[Linda Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it well enough to start the next book in the series. Interesting time period in my favorite city, and interesting characters.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder whether Francis Hancock is the only undertaker detective out there. This is the first book I have read by Barbara Nadel. I plan to read more.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read for a book group. Interesting characters and time period.