Second Violin (Inspector Troy Thriller #6) [Hardcover]

John Lawton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008

John Lawton adds another spellbinding thriller to his Inspector Troy series with Second Violin. The sixth installment in the series, Lawton’s novel opens in 1938 with Europe on the brink of war. In London, Frederick Troy, newly promoted to the prestigious Murder Squad at Scotland Yard, is put in charge of rounding up a list of German and Italian “enemy aliens” that also includes Frederick’s brother, Rod, who learns upon receiving an internment letter that despite having grown up in England he is Austrian-born. Hundreds of men are herded by train to a neglected camp on the Isle of Man. And, as the bombs start falling on London, a murdered rabbi is found, then another, and another. Amidst great war, murder is what matters. Moving from the Nazi-infested alleys of pre-war Vienna to the bombed out streets of 1940 London, and featuring an extraordinary cast of characters, Lawton’s latest brings to life war-torn London. In this uncommon thriller, John Lawton delivers a suspenseful and intelligent novel, as a good a spy story as it is an historical narrative.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lawton's engrossing sixth entry but the first chronologically in his Inspector Troy thriller series (Black Out, etc.) chronicles the major events leading up to WWII--Germany's annexation of Austria, Chamberlain's peace efforts, Kristallnacht--while providing a disturbing picture of anti-Semitism and class frictions in England at the time. As part of Scotland Yard's murder squad, Insp. Frederick Troy investigates a series of slayings of London rabbis, but various subplots equally intrigue, notably one that unfolds in an internment camp for Germans, Jews and foreigners--including Troy's Austrian-born brother, Rod--rounded up after Britain's entry into the war. At one point, Troy and a lady friend discover the "aphrodisia of war" in Hyde Park, a spot popular with couples for copulation during the blitz. Lawton does a fine job of incorporating such lesser known period details into his saga, though some readers may find he relies too often on deus ex machina for their taste. (Nov.)
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Review

“One of the joys of reviewing crime fiction is that now and then one comes across . . . an author whose writing sets pulses racing and the jaded responses tingling. . . I entreat you, dear reader, to search out John Lawton and cherish him to your bosom, for he is truly an original.” —Irish Times

“Weaving complex characters and plot threads from Kristallnacht to Fleet Street, [Lawton] builds a suspenseful story that long remains in the reader’s memory.” —Library Journal

“An excellent WWII historical thriller . . . Fans will appreciate John Lawton’s brisk expanded Frederick Troy thriller that fascinatingly goes back a decade plus from the usual Freddie Troy police procedurals.” —Midwest Book Review

“Smart and gracefully written . . . It has been Lawton’s achievement to capture, in first-rate popular fiction, the courage and drama—and the widespread tomorrow-we-maydie exuberance—of that terrible and thrilling moment in twentieth-century history.” —Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; First Edition edition (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087113991X
• ISBN-13: 978-0871139917
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #550,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunner of a read, June 9, 2008

By 

W. Salomon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Second Violin (Paperback)

I received a pre-publication copy of this book amongst six. Being in the US, I had never seen Lawton's work, so I picked it, and was immediately sucked into the time and place. Lawton's characters are human, well-developed and fascinating; his descriptions of setting and events at the time superb. Having a real affection for the UK, I was immediately drawn into the dialogs, at times with dictionary in hand. Be assured, I will read the rest - if I can find them here!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspector Troy at the Beginning, 1938-1940, February 22, 2009

By 

Douglas S. Wood "Vicarious Life" (Monona, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Second Violin (Inspector Troy Thriller #6) (Hardcover)

Second Violin is the sixth book in John Lawton's Inspector Troy series (see for example, Bluffing Mr. Churchill (Frederick Troy Novels)). The events in this book occur chronologically earlier than the previous books in the series. (For that reason, I read this book first, which may or may not be the best way to enjoy this book). The story begins in Austria with Hitler's Anschluss in 1938 and ends with the Battle of Britain in the autumn of 1940.

Frederick Troy is a sergeant in Scotland Yard's elite murder squad and Second Violin tells the reader how got there. Troy is the son of newspaper lord and Russian émigré Alexei Troy. He could have done anything (or nothing at all, for that matter), but he chose to become a beat cop. The denizens of Stepney Green, his patrol beat, see him as a toff out slumming.

Frederick Troy's brother, Roderick, is a foreign correspondent for their father's paper. He witnesses the horrible events of Kristallnacht in Austria before being put on a plane and sent packing by the Nazis. While brother Frederick is assigned police duty rounding up aliens for internment, Rod he finds himself more directly involved in the camps than anyone imagined possible. Freddie manages to take on a murder investigation when three rabbis turn up dead.

In perhaps the book's strongest element, Lawton examines the brutal treatment of Jews in Austria through one Josef Hummel, tailor, and the subsequent rounding up and internment of aliens, including not only Hummel, but also long-time London residents who turn out to have been born in a foreign country.

While I recommend reading this book and intend to read other books in the series, I cannot give Second Violin five full stars. Lawton jams too many disparate story lines and a few stand alone bits (like Sigmund Freud) that leave the reader feeling a bit disjointed. (I should also add that it may be that some of the things that seem like loose ends, but may not be so untidy if one has read the previous books in the series). I also found that reading this book made a nice companion for the most excellent Foyle's War: Set 1 (The German Woman / The White Feather / A Lesson In Murder / Eagle Day) TV series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars as a Historical Novel, 1 Star as a Mystery, August 15, 2009

By 

A Central Illinoisian in Chicago (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Second Violin (Inspector Troy Thriller #6) (Hardcover)

If you're looking for an engrossing account of a variety of people affected by the buildup and beginning of the second World War, this is the book for you. I found the main characters, their lives, and their situations fully engrossing and the historical detail both fascinating and convincing.

However, I began reading the book seeking a mystery, and while there are some murders, there is no investigation to speak of, and certainly no conclusion. There are, however, a veritable school of red herrings. One has the sense that the author, pleased with his character study, decided not to pin the murder on any single character (there are several suspects, none of whom seem to have actually been capable of committing the crime) and allow the book to conclude.

Final opinion? I enjoyed it and will recommend it to those interested in WWII Great Britain. I can't recommend it to anyone seeking a mystery or thriller. Obviously, Harriet Klausner never actually *read* the book before she reviewed it.