Black Out: An Inspector Troy Thriller (The Inspector Troy Novels, 1)

I read a review of John Lawton's latest in the Spectator and bought it straight away, ate it up, thoroughly enjoyed it, and started in on Black Out. Lawton's hero Troy is a well-bred, slightly alienated and rather good young copper on the Metropolitan Police's murder squad in 1944 London. The story is cracking, intrigue and multiple murder of German scientists centred on Ike's command post in Grosvenor Square. MI5 also get a look in. The presence of a bombed out and depressed London is presented beautifully. The characters are human with their anger, frustration and affection faithfully portrayed. And it's all rather exciting. The style reminded me of another author... Then I recognised a bit player - a fat man, big, bald, in Heavy Rescue gear, looking after a pig in a ruined garden square in Chelsea. He was none other than an unnamed Magersfontein Lugg, the uncouth manservant to Albert Campion, who appears in this guise in Margery Allingham's 'Coroner's Pidgin', published in 1945. I liked this respectful and funny homage very much. Lawton is not quite as funny as Allingham, but nearly as sly. Allingham can be annoying, Lawton is not. I thoroughly recommend fans of classic crime fiction to give Lawton a look, so long as they don't mind the authentic swearing and sex that Allingham and Sayers delicately skipped over. Neil Adams, Hong Kong

The best part of this book is its description of 1944 wartime London, which features the sleuthing of Scotland Yard Detective Sergeant Frederick Troy. While most able men of that time were in the military Troy gets to pursue his passion of being a homicide detective in the rubble of the London Blitz. When bodies start appearing, apparently not related to the war itself, Troy is off on an odyssey which soon takes on international intrigue. Lawton writes a very good book. Reviewers who compare him favorably to Le Carre are not wrong. Through subtle plot turns and skillful characterization Lawton gives the reader a satisfying experience. The plot is a complicated one, but Lawton is quick to keep the reader on track up and through the ending. That ending, however, requires a little suspension of disbelief but Lawton somehow makes it at least a little plausible. For me, however, that is a minor gripe. So what if the destination was a bit of a stretch. The journey was most enjoyable.

This is an excellently written book with strong characters and an exciting story line. The authors attention to detail builds mind movies and is hard to put down, he keeps you on your toes trying to figure out who the good guys are and what the bad guys are really up to. He weaves a great story into the historical aspects of the period in which he set the book. You wonder why with such praise I only gave the book three stars? The explicit sex and some of the characters language. There should be a warning so an unsuspecting buyer doesn't buy a book with offensive content. As I read I was looking forward to reading the complete series only to have this uber talented writer ruin it for me. I can handle the violence which was a part of that time in history as it's a necessary to tell the story, even the sex could be alluded to, not described in detail.

The writing in this mystery is really superb. There are even some nice little allusions to "real" literature embedded in it. The characters are interesting, one wants to know them better and there are enough twists and secret lives behind them to keep you waiting till the end. One gets a feeling of craftsmanship about this mystery. It avoids the trite and conveys an atmosphere of wartime London that feel very immediate and overwhelming. A great read.

Lawton’s come up with another interesting but damaged hero, this time a Scotland Yard murder sergeant, wrestling with his identity and future.Set predominantly in London, Sgt. Troy doggedly pieces together clues to link a string of murders and disappearances. Set in an around the build up to D Day, where tension between what’s right vs what’s necessary for National Security and the inevitable suspicion between civilian and military interests are high. While somewhat the case in his earlier series, the thing that bugs me most is the very dated 2 dimensional portrayal of women, at least in this book, who are basically all avid, make the first move sex maniacs. In a book that seems to go out of its way to inject obscure period detail, from pajama fabric to long vanished restaurants and nightclubs, seems a little out of tenor with both the 40s and now. And yes, Berlin and black market coffee also play a role, in a nod to his earlier series.

Do you want to feel the German "Air raids" over London?Do you want meet a detective who does not have all the answers but whose frailty and honesty makes him someone worth discovering? You will find him here.This tale is one of duplicity ,deceit and perseverance on the part the O.S.S.The British Secret Service,Nazi's and Communist agents.It is also a story of a British policeman trying much like Foyle to maintain an ethical code while his superiors and the enemy seem to feel that winning the war is all the justification anyone needs .I am not willing to give spoilers but you will taste a flavor of an era where death can come in an Underground "Tube station " or on the street from a bomb or a bullet.You will not find melodramatic overkill in Lawton's work but a cleverly laid out storyline that will leave you feeling that our author is a damn fine mystery writer at his best.Well done

Good story with Lawton's twists. Brings back war time memories and gives a good picture of war life in London's East End. Lawton's Troy downplays, and is negative of, the English character, their thoughts and their actions of this time so much so that I think it's a combination of pride and reality. (Work that one out.) Downside is that Troy is a bit of a superman to sustain his escapes and bashings. He weaves a good cast of characters; good, bad and really unpleasant.

Great story Wartime spies

This is the fourth time I’ve started rereading the entire series (including Troy and Wilderness). For this review of the first book, I’m assuming I already know the events of the later books, which reference events that happen after or before Black Out. I clearly remember finding this book in a bookstore back in 1996 (or so), on a rotating shelf—a time before Amazon when you had to hunt for books in physical stores. I was immediately drawn in by the author's writing style and the unexpected situations that kept the plot engaging. I also appreciated that this World War II book, set in London, didn't focus on the typical villains—the Germans or Russians. At the time, I noticed what many other reviewers have criticized: a reliance on coincidences and an ending that felt rushed, leaving questions unanswered about the characters' fates. However, after becoming familiar with the entire Troy and Wilderness series, I’ve come to accept that these loose ends often get addressed in later books. In the second book, for example, we learn what happens to a character after Black Out, while in some later books, certain plot threads, such as Troy’s personal consequences, are left unexplored. Rereading Black Out after finishing the series has its advantages. For one, I can focus on the details without worrying about the plot twists. With the knowledge of subsequent books, I can also spot connections between this one and others, even if they weren’t written in chronological order. For example, Black Out references events from Riptide and Second Violin, which are set before it. It’s unclear whether this was planned from the outset, but reading the books in the order they were written (which I think is best) allows you to track the evolution of the characters. Some who were once minor characters, like the woman in Black Out, become more important later on. When I first read Black Out, I found Troy’s behavior towards the two girls and some of the sex scenes a bit out of place. However, after reading the earlier books that cover events before Black Out, these scenes make more sense within the broader context. I’m giving this book 5 stars, although I think it is worth 4.5, as some of the later books in the Troy and Wilderness series deserve an even higher rating. Lastly, I’ll say that Lawton is not Le Carré neither Le Carré is Lawton . Looking forward to rereading the second book next.

Un roman étonnant de par sa qualité d'écriture, d'une intrigue haute gamme et cerise sur le gâteau une description de Londres sous les bombardements comme rarement on a pu le lire. Les personnages sont criants de vérité et surtout ils évoluent dans la vraie vie, ici pas d'intrigue pour l'intrigue, pas de suspense pour le suspense mais intrigue et suspense dans un contexte historique et social et c'est la force de ce roman passionnant que j'ai pris plaisir à engloutir. Beaucoup de critiques ont loué la traduction mais ne parlant pas l'anglais il m'est difficile de porter un jugement toutefois à lire ce livre en français on est face à un grand travail et on ne louera jamais assez les traducteurs et leur importance. Combien d' auteurs ont été non pas trahis mais "émasculés" comme Jack London dont les éditions Phébus ont revu et complété la traduction. Un livre que je vous conseille vivement et j'attends la suite des enquêtes du sergent Troy avec impatience comme j'attends les nouveaux David Van.

Packed with rich context about the deprivations of living in bombed out London and its surrounds during WW2, Black Out is high level historical fiction, a classic noir thriller blending espionage and basic police work. Inspector Freddie Troy, he of upper class sensibilities, follows his instincts and the clues in investigating the discovery of a severed arm at a disused bombsite. The unfolding net of deception and multiple murders is assiduously crafted, pushing Troy into indulgent liaisons with questionable women, multiple surveillances of those not who they purport to be, and chasing vague leads down dark rabbit holes. Author Lawton blends Russian cultural influences and over-here U.S. tropes into a narrative leaning on the quirky idosyncracies of his main and walk-on characters, but his overriding skill is putting the reader deeply in situ and, after all the bad-guy hunting, delivering a satisfying and vengeful outcome, all loose ends tied up.

Me gustan muchisimo las novelas de este autor, que ademas de reflejar la epoca y de ser realista y critico, mantiene una tension y un interes que no decae nunca con la trama. He leido todas las novelas de Troy y me han apasionado todas.