The Smoke: A Creeping Narrative

Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary read
Review: "The Smoke" is a very troublesome book, in that once begun, I found I couldn't put it down. Sleep only won out at 3am on the first night, and 2am the next - when I turned the last page. The richly drawn post-war London setting gives the book a certain edge - foreign yet familiar, lending an undercurrent of danger and uncertainty even to everyday life. It was a time well-suited to British wit and temperament, which the author used to good effect in both dialogue and commentary. If you like language, you will love this book.

The characters - from spy masters and mob bosses to waitresses and diplomats - are genuinely superb and well crafted. I found I most enjoyed how the book was able to illuminate so many fascinating topics through dialog and characterization. Life as a cat-burglar on the boundary between the underworld and civil society, the emerging cold war between erstwhile allies, the economics of the black market during a time of deprivation - all these and more were brought to life in a plot that draws the reader forward with riveting action and human drama. This book is both a pleasure and a thrill. Do yourself a favor, and give it a read.

Rating:
Summary: cleverly drawn thriller t
Review: After serving in the Merchant Navy, former creeper (cat burglar) Jethro insists he has gone straight using the skills he learned during World War II to earn a living as a stagehand in London's West End theatres. No one who knows Jethro from before the war believes he can resist the lure of a caper. Several of his underground cronies have even tried to enlist Jethro's help on jobs.

Jethro serendipitously plies his real profession creeping quietly into places to rob jewels. He successfully enters the Russian Embassy and takes jewels belonging to the ambassador's wife. However, His Majesty's Secret Service observed his activity and recruits (perhaps blackmailed is more accurate) him to perform a special service for them. He must steal a code book from the Soviets but by accomplishing his assignment, not only will the espionage world from both camps seek him out but so will the police and the mob.

Though the theme has been used in numerous novels and movies, debut author Tony Broadbent refreshes the plot through a strong cast of characters including London. Jethro is a wonderful creeper and the secondary ensemble from seemingly every walk life in the SMOKE (slang for London) wanting to exploit his talents are fully developed making the novel worth reading. Also London circa 1947 is so vividly described, the audience will feel they are there. All this inside a cleverly drawn thriller that overcomes a slow meet the players beginning leave the reader demanding more novels from the obviously talented Mr. Broadbent.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: Applause, applause for The Smoke and Broadbent.
I was hooked after the first paragraph and like other reviewers then began to portion it out on a daily basis.
I lived in London for many years and was thrilled by the geographical accuracy and life style portrayals which are as real as I knew them in the late sixties and seventies. During this era you could still walk into any pub or cafe and meet these peolpe, overhear snatches of conversation and at a glance see post war London etched on the faces of the older punters. I loved the way characters "appeared" on cue and moved in and out of the plot, leaving you wondering what their story was or could be, where they came from and were going to.
Oh, and by the way Buggy Billy was a real person who I knew and who sadly died recently. He was a friend to my wifes parents for many years and they remember the market stall days of London. For those of you who think that it stretches the bounds of credibility, a coster monger selling bug powder, should also posess a British Museum Libary readers ticket, think again. It is true, I was a guide in the British Museum for a number of years and he was a regular reader. MI5 and MI6 in the fifties and sixties is pretty much as it is portrayed - my father was attached to the Ministry of Defence for 30 years.
10 out of 10 for authenticity, story line, character creation and inter-spection.
My only issues is - when is the next book out and how will Broadbent follow it up?

Rating:
Summary: A cute premise, but the joke soon wears thin
Review: I liked the idea of this book - a bright cockney thief in 1947 gets blackmailed into working for British Intelligence to steal Russian secrets -but Broadbent's constant "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" attitude becomes increasingly annoying as the book runs on. The principle characters rapidly become cartoons -and not very believable ones at that. Somehow in the course of a stint in a "college" in Southhampton?? & four years in the Merchant Marine??? the supposed Cockney hero Jethro has become a cultural snob, endlessly piling on the bon mots & never ever losing his cool -as he observes the villain getting his face sliced off while being simultaneously roasted to death, Our Hero (who has himself just been horribly tortured)of course has an appropriate Shakespeare quote to hand. I DON'T think so! Seth The Sidekick is equally unbelievable as an unbeatable Master of Marshal Arts, always there Just In The Nick Of Time. It would appear that Broadbent has read a slough of what used to be called "Penny Dreadfuls", later "Shilling Shockers" & now, with inflation, doubtless "Pound Pummelers" in any case cheap trashy stories for thirteen year old boys & has tried to move the genre into the 21st Century while keeping his characters in the mid-20th. (there is also more than a hint of Monty Python envy in this book, but the Pythons knew when to get in a zinger & when to shut up) I have a horrible suspicion that this is intended to be the first of a series. Please Mr. Broadbent, if this is your Evil Plan work on character development & realism & make up your mind just who these fellows ARE!

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating study of post-WWII London, spies & criminals
Review: Jethro does pretty well for himself in post-WWII London. Between his part-time job working as a stagehand, and his real career as a burgular and jewell thief, Jethro has comfortable wealth, good friends, and plenty of women. A big heist at a foreign embassy looks like it'll set him up for life--with plenty of diamonds, a gold Rolex, and a couple of books that look like they might be worth something. But the books are more than collector's items and the British secret service becomes involved--with a new mission for Jethro. British intelligence is only one of Jethro's problems, though. Leaders in the London mob have no problem with Jethro's acts, but they intend to be cut in for their share. Things quickly become complicated.

Author Tony Broadbent does a wonderful job depicting London in an era where victory has led to exhaustion rather than a sense of victory. Rich in the slang of London and London's underworld, THE SMOKE (thief cant for London itself) is completely convincing. Jethro's criminal behavior is quirky but sympathetic--he tells himself that he only robs from those who can afford it. In THE SMOKE, they're mostly Russian spies anyway, so no problems.

I felt that the second heist was a little undermotivated and less than brilliant and one critical character seemed just a little too conveniently available, but the strong opening chapters and the exciting conclusion make up for a multitude of sins. I couldn't put THE SMOKE down and now find myself looking forward to the next novel by this first-time author.

Rating:
Summary: The bar has been raised for historical mysteries!
Review: Like many fans of mysteries, I'm always on the lookout for a new author to read. When I came across Tony Broadbent's book, I knew I was in for a treat. A superbly researched novel by an author with an ear for dialogue and its rhythms. Given this, I found myself reading more carefully, just so I wouldn't miss a word. Then I started portioning out the pages so as to make the experience of reading THE SMOKE last as long as possible! In it, post-War London was brought to life for me by the most charming assemblage of characters. Spend a little time them and soon they'll feel like family; for at the heart of this mystery IS a story about family and good friends, about sacrifice and loss, about finding a few people in your life to trust and to share with. When I finished this amazing novel, I did something I never did before, I started reading it again. I didn't want to let go of the characters just yet. I hope Mr. Broadbent treats us all to a long-running series, and given the starred Kirkus review and starred and boxed Booklist review I recently read, I can indeed hope.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed But Fun
Review: The cat burglar turned hero isn't exactly an original idea, "The Saint" did it a long time ago in print, on TV (from 1962-69 starring Roger Moore), and in film (including a series of British films in the late '30s, a few French versions in the '60s, some made for television films in the late '80s and a lame 1997 Hollywood version starring Val Kilmer). Here, however, the hero/cat burglar operates in London ("The Smoke") in 1947, when postwar austerity made England a very bleak place indeed. Unaffiliated with any criminal gangs, Jethro is a master "creeper" who keeps a low profile and has never been nabbed. Told entirely in first-person narration, the story details how he gets tangled up with both a nasty mobster and British Intelligence.

London comes alive through Jethro's eyes, and it's a wholly convincing portrayal of the postwar era, with low morale due to widespread rationing (clothes, food, alcohol, tobacco) and the psychological scars of the war. A cockney who fled London for a career in the Merchant Marine and then the Merchant Navy only to return and start a new career thieving, he's a sympathetic figure. Of course he only steals from the rich, who are likely to be insured, and he spreads his wealth generously among friends and family. But when he inadvertently steals from a Russian spy, it leads to the unbalancing of his carefully tailored life.

The book is strong on details, both in terms of description and slang. The author has obviously gone to a lot of trouble to get the period lingo right, and it is fairly well sustained throughout, but at times comes across just too campy. One minor annoyance is that he provides a glossary at the start, but then when using slang terms in the text, awkwardly pauses to explain them the first time they appear, interrupting the flow. A few phrases get overused as well:"a thousand years ago" gets trotted out far too often, for example. The campiness of language underscores a broader fault with the book, which is one of tone. At times the book is a warm fuzzy celebration of camaraderie and family, right down to a scene of everyone standing around the piano signing. At other times, especially the first third, it's a very detailed and suspenseful caper story. At other times it's a London gangster story. At other times it's a dawning of the Cold War thriller. And at other times it's a standard action-adventure piece. These shifts in tone leave the entire thing a little wobbly in places.

And while the book is certainly enjoyable, there are other flaws as well. More than once Jethro's bacon is saved by an very weak deus ex machina. Another problem is the general cartoonishness of some of the characters, especially his sharp-tongued sister, cabbie brother-in-law, most of the gangsters and spies, and police. One other potential problem is that the typeface is awfully small and hard to read. Still, the setting is interesting, and its flaws are probably easily ignored by those looking for a light read. If the idea of a postwar mystery appeals to you, check out Didier Daeninckx's A Very Profitable War, set in 1946 Paris, and Phillip Kerr's A German Requiem, set in Berlin and Vienna in 1947.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, Funny, and Smart!!!
Review: Wow!
What a refreshing voice in the mystery genre! This book would make a great gift for that avid mystery reader dying for a new voice. Tony Broadbent nails it with his ability to not only show me a time and place I've never been, but also allow me the experience of creeping right alongside him. His style allows a three-dimensional approach to reading. I could actually see, taste, and smell The Smoke! Broadbent's witty on-liners rival those of the modern master of mystery, Harlan Coben. You will not be disappointed by this new voice!

The Smoke left this reader wanting more. So, get busy writing, Mr. Broadbent!!!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, Funny, and Smart!!!
Review: Wow!
What a refreshing voice in the mystery genre! This book would make a great gift for that avid mystery reader dying for a new voice. Tony Broadbent nails it with his ability to not only show me a time and place I've never been, but also allow me the experience of creeping right alongside him. His style allows a three-dimensional approach to reading. I could actually see, taste, and smell The Smoke! Broadbent's witty on-liners rival those of the modern master of mystery, Harlan Coben. You will not be disappointed by this new voice!

The Smoke left this reader wanting more. So, get busy writing, Mr. Broadbent!!!