Rating: 
Summary: An intelligent, well-written story
Review: I went to Amazon.co.uk, found this author, read the reviews and bought all three books in paperback. I can't put them down! He takes a real event and seamlessly blends his characters and actual people into the story. He is amazing!Troy is the policeman who investigates here and as you are drawn into the story, the author tells you so much about him, where he comes from, his family, etc. In addition, for us Yanks, he keeps the English phrasing to a minimum, but when he sticks some in, you're bound to understand it. This story is about some dead Germans/Poles right before D-Day. Troy puts their deaths together and the investigation and people he meets along the way are fascinating. Can't recommend it enough! The second, Old Flames, is even better. I'm finishing the third, A Little White Death, and don't even much care what the mystery is about, it's that well-written. Don't miss them.
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Summary: Excellent stuff!!
Review: Lawton elegantly captures the essence of War time London and uses it as a backdrop to a solid thriller. The story itself is unspectacular, nowhere near as complex as a Robert Harris tale, but Lawton effortlessly brings the reader into the world of war time depravation. An extremely well written book and very enjoyable.
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Summary: Great historical mystery
Review: Lawton is a newer author to me. His writing is superb, and his plot, though convoluted, ends up making sense. I don't know why so many people are of the opinion that serial killers or mass killers are something new to our society. They aren't. They just managed to hide behind war scenes, and take advantage of the fact that the lack of ready and accurate information made it easier to hide their crimes. All too often, those who have gotten a taste of killing in wartime, find it to their liking, and they manage to make themselves valuable to their superiors (who often know what they are doing but prefer to hide their heads in the sand). I am reading this now in nonfiction having to do with the U.S. and England hiding German scientists because their abilities would come of use during the Cold WAr. I find it very hard to forgive our American politicians and military for using these men when they had participated in such atrocities. I really enjoy reading about England during WWII. It's fascinating to read how people coped with so little, even in areas of filling in public service positions such as policemen since so many of the young men were called up to serve in the military. Lawton describes the diverse ways of making coffee, when the real thing was not available...and the reader can 'see' the disgust on the faces of people trying to make do with such an unsavory mess. Lawton's writing is exciting and he jumps from one problem to another. You would think his young detective would learn to be more observant after being hit more then once. Lawton is an equal opportunity author...his women can be just as nasty as the men in this book. A word of warning for those who are picky about this...Lawton's language is very 'colorful' though it is not on every single page. He also likes to fill in the sex scenes a little more then I prefer... Karen Sadler
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good little thriller
Review: Pretty good little wartime thriller. You care about the characters. Nice twist or two. Unfortunately, the writer has that nasty little British elite thing about stupid Americans, don't you know....
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Summary: Murder and mystery in war-torn London
Review: Since previous reviewers have accurately pin-pointed the shortcomings of the rather contrived plot, let me just add a couple of things in the book's favour. John Lawton has done his homework in describing life in London during and immediately after World War II. The picture he paints is almost photographic in its accuracy. If Norman Rockwell had been a British author, instead of an American painter, I think this is how he might have written. With a strong lead character in Detective Sergeant Troy, and some real gems amongst the supporting cast of pro-Communist Russian immigrants, upper class Britons and working class Londoners, carried along by a strong story line, I couldn't ask for much more. I read the book without knowing that John Lawton was a documentary film maker, but it doesn't surprise me. The book is highly visual and I imagine would make an incredible film
Rating:
Summary: An excellent WWII, London murder mystery.
Review: The backdrop is World War II. London is under attack from the air, but on the ground life, and death, go on. Are the murders and disappearances tragedies that would have happened whether there was a war or not? Is something else afoot? Spies? Traitors? Societies elite or societies rejects? It appears to be up to one outstanding detective to resolve, but why is he not at the front with the other able-bodied men, and is he in way over his head?
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Summary: On My All-Time Great List
Review: The Booklist review excerpt is right on. If you love dark (but wryly humorous), tightly written, historical thrillers, this is for you. I can't imagine why this didn't make a much bigger splash in the US. The story and writing are absolute top rank. It is no exaggeration to compare John Lawton's writing skill to John Le Carre's.
Rating:
Summary: Great atmosphere, but ...
Review: There are just too many coincidences. Half of the cast of characters in this World War Two murder mystery seem to have direct personal connections to Detective Sergeant Troy of Scotland Yard. For me, this made the whole story too contrived. And I would criticize the sex scenes as being a bit gratuitous and unbelievable, not being quite integrated with the rest of the narrative. Although I had heard encouraging things about John Lawton's novels, this -- my first exposure to him -- let me rather disappointed. I think in the future I will stick with Alan Furst instead.
Rating:
Summary: Great atmosphere, but ...
Review: There are just too many coincidences. Half of the cast of characters in this World War Two murder mystery seem to have direct personal connections to Detective Sergeant Troy of Scotland Yard. For me, this made the whole story too contrived. And I would criticize the sex scenes as being a bit gratuitous and unbelievable, not being quite integrated with the rest of the narrative. Although I had heard encouraging things about John Lawton's novels, this -- my first exposure to him -- let me rather disappointed. I think in the future I will stick with Alan Furst instead.
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Summary: Problems in War Ravaged London
Review: This book (and all the others in this series) evoke a strange response in me. I agree with the critics who harp on the ineptness of the detective, Frederick Troy, although I am drawn to his outsider status in class conscious Britain. Troy is invariably (in each of the books) presented with a mystery which he attacks with gusto if not great success. His dogged pursuit of these solutions always involve a rising body count, murky relations between MI5, MI6 and the regular police, and his rather strange family (brother an interned war-hero soon to be MP - uncle a noted physicist who harangues the mob in Hyde Park on pacificism on a regular basis). And then there are Troy's affairs with people who could/should be suspects in the case. So our doggedly determined inspector lurches from clue to clue, stirring things up which often involve him in physical harm, eventually to arrive at the conclusion which does not really end anything except know we and he know who has done the murder(s). Along the way he has sex with people he should not which often involve him in even more murders and detection. Troy is described a a smart, up and comer at the Yard, but his work in this book (and the others in this series) do not show him in a very positive light. One hopes that his other cases (not reported) are solved much more expeditiously and show him as the "smartyarse" to which he is often referred by his Polish coroner friend. But even with these problems in the narrative and the detective, I find Troy an extremely appealing character and the atmospheric description of war-torn Britain fantastic. This is not a great series of mysteries but is an eminently readable series with interesting characters, involved plots, and quirky human relationships. The other books continue in the same vein with murder laced with espionage in a cold war setting.
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