Without Conscience: A Johnny Hawke Novel (Johnny Hawke Novels) [Hardcover]

David Stuart Davies (Author)

Book Description

Series: Johnny Hawke Novels | Publication Date: November 25, 2008

Forests of the Night introduced the intrepid John Hawke, an exciting new detective operating in London during the Blitz. Now Johnny Hawke is back in this atmospheric, thrilling sequel.

Set in 1942, Without Conscience finds Rachel Howells in London for the first time, trapped in a web of violence. Her companion, army deserter Harryboy Jenkins, will stop at nothing--not even murder--to enjoy his illicit freedom. Meanwhile, private detective Johnny Hawke is involved in the bizarre murder of one of his clients. At the same time he is trying to find Peter, the runaway boy he had befriended in an earlier case.

Inexorably the paths of Harryboy and Johnny grow closer together until they collide with frightening consequences.

This is a stunning follow-up to the critically acclaimed Forests of the Night and is sure to win Davies a whole new set of fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sherlock Holmes expert Davies relies too much on contrived plot twists in his second WWII novel to feature PI Johnny Hawke (after 2007's Forests of the Night). Sandra Riley, who suspects her husband, Walter, of infidelity, hires Hawke to investigate. No sooner does Hawke learn that Walter is a secret cross-dresser than Hawke witnesses his murder. The heartbroken widow then asks Hawke to find the killer, a probe that intersects with the manhunt for army deserter Harryboy Jenkins, whose crime spree has already claimed the lives of a vicar and a police officer. Meanwhile, Peter Blake, an orphan Hawke once rescued who's targeted by bullies at his school, flees to London to seek out his hero and protector. Davies repeatedly sets up coincidences to advance the plot, including a link between Hawke and Jenkins that leads to Blake's being taken hostage. Those looking for a nuanced view of the English home front on a par with, say, TV's Foyle's War may be disappointed. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

The second Johnny Hawke novel, starring a private investigator in World War II London, again draws effectively on the Blitz-torn atmosphere of the city under blackout, “where everything is reduced to a dim silhouette or a vague shadow.” This time Hawke, who lost an eye in a training accident and was mustered out of the army, gets involved in a murder case that takes him into the demimonde of transvestite society and may have implications on national security. Meanwhile, a psychopathic deserter called Harryboy lands in London, seduces a naive lass from Wales, and embarks on a bloody crime spree. Naturally, all roads lead to a collision between Johnny and Harryboy. As in the first Hawkes novel, Forests of the Night (2007), Davies combines scenes of powerful, character-driven complexity (Harryboy will remind readers of Pinkie in Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock) with clumsy attempts to explain to the reader what various characters are thinking or feeling. Still, this is a steadily improving series, and it’s certain to be enjoyed by anyone who can’t get enough of wartime London. --Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (November 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312382103
• ISBN-13: 978-0312382100
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,678,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable WWII home front crime thriller, November 27, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Without Conscience: A Johnny Hawke Novel (Johnny Hawke Novels) (Hardcover)

In 1942 London, Sandra Riley, believing that her husband Walter is cheating on her, hires private investigator Johnny Hawke to scrutinize his activities. Hawke tails his target and quickly learns that Riley is a closet cross-dresser. Hawke continues his surveillance, but before he can ascertain whether the man is also cheating on his spouse or other deviant behavior, Hawke observes Riley's murder.

Stunned, the grieving Sandra engages Hawke again this time to find the widow-maker who murdered her husband. As Hawke investigates the homicide he witnessed, the cops including the military police conduct a wide spread manhunt for AWOL Harryboy Jenkins, who has killed a vicar and a police officer among his crimes. As the two seemingly divergent cases connect, orphan student Peter Blake flees school and bullies to stay with his hero Hawke, who once saved his life only to be caught at the point of the pending encounter between Hawke and Jenkins.

Although the use of coincidence too easily expedites the convergence of the three males, WITHOUT CONSCIENCE is an enjoyable WWII home front crime thriller. Hawke is terrific as he adapts from surveillance to a whodunit at the same time that maniacal Jenkins is an out of control military deserter. Fans will anticipate their inevitable collision accelerated by Blake's arrival. David Stuart Davies provides an exiting 1942 mystery (see FORESTS OF THE NIGHT for Hawke's previous case load).

Harriet Klausner