The London Blitz Murders [Paperback]

Max Allan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2004

London, 1942. The German Blitz has devastated the city, but its citizens have something worse to fear: a modern-day Jack the Ripper. Investigating the case is renowned pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury with assistance from England's First Lady of Crime, Agatha Christie.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (May 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425198057
• ISBN-13: 978-0425198056
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,301,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Max Allan Collins is a New York Times bestselling author of original mysteries, a Shamus award winner and an experienced author of movie adaptions and tie-in novels. His graphic novel ROAD TO PERDITION was made into a major motion picture by Tom Hank's production company, Playtone.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars World War II England, July 10, 2009

By 

Lyn Reese (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The London Blitz Murders (Paperback)

Collin's character is Agatha Christie who, while helping the war effort by working by day in a hospital, links up with renowned pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury in his investigation into a series of Ripper-style murders committed under the cover of London's numerous blackouts. London's women, already strained and anxious because of the wartime inconveniences, are terrified. With every blackout, a murderer might be lurking in the darkened alleys or shelters to claim another victim.

Collins is careful to let us know where the lines between his fiction and Christie's factual life intersect, and points out that many of the characters in this novel were, in fact, real people. Information about wartime hazards and the ways Londoners adjusted to them is artfully described, giving readers a sense of life in England's "homefront" during these devastating years.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IT IS A GREAT NOVEL!, December 11, 2007

By 

Kouji Onoue "BOOK BUG" (JAPAN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The London Blitz Murders (Paperback)

It is another great historical mystery by Collins.It's for Fans of Christie and Mystery story Fan! Recommend!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should have been a *far* better book, May 20, 2008

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The London Blitz Murders (Paperback)

This is a kind of fun little murder mystery (only 260 pages), set in London in February 1942, and featuring Agatha Christie Mallowan, doyen of mystery novel writers. But actually, the most interesting material is the setting and the recounting of day-to-day life on the British home front during the blackout -- though not actually during the "Blitz," the title notwithstanding. However, the mystery itself, as Collins narrates it -- it's based closely on a true series of sex murders -- is actually rather lightweight and completely twistless. The author, in fact, introduces the killer early on and makes the case against him halfway through. Like any good mystery reader, I immediately began watching for red herrings -- but there were none. And the identified character did, in fact, turn out to be the killer. There was almost no puzzle, either for the police or the reader. Collins seems also not to have given much thought to the quality of his writing this time out; as a longtime professional editor, I longed to take a blue pencil to his not infrequent awkwardnesses of expression, his frequent overuse of pet phrases (often in the same paragraph), and the jerky pacing of the background story. With a little work, this could have been a much more entertaining story.