Black Out: A Novel (Hardcover)

by John Lawton (Author) "In the London borough of Stepney very little remained of Cardigan Street..." (more)
Key Phrases: warrant card, Diana Brack, Tite Street, Scotland Yard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Just out in paperback, this terrific thriller by a British filmmaker begins in WWII London, where a well-connected young police officer named Frederick Troy tries to find out why scientists working on a secret project are disappearing and dying. Their fate has something to do with one of the nastier villains in recent fiction, a rogue American OSS agent, but it isn't until the war is over that Troy discovers the truth in ruined Berlin. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Lawton's first novel, a conventional thriller set in London during the last months of WWII, concerns a Scotland Yard detective's entanglement with MI5 and the OSS as he tracks down the killer of scientists studying the Nazi atomic rocketry program. Sergeant Frederick Troy, a crack sleuth whose feelings about England are mixed for family reasons, is called to solve a murder with no more evidence than a severed arm dropped in front of a boy by a dog. The arm, it turns out, belonged to a refugee German scientist working for British intelligence. Some of the plot elements and turns here are overly familiar: characters who fake their own deaths; sexy women who turn out to be spies; the way everyone seems to be following everyone else; a conspiracy that goes right to the top. Curiously, certain other events are nearly inexplicable?such as when, after imprisoning a female suspect for three days and exposing her to a decaying corpse in order to break her will, Troy releases her, and the two fall in love. Many of Lawton's characters are men, often large, impressive and gruff, including a surly boss, a swearing forensics expert and a sharp young assistant, while his women tend to be wily, or standard types like the friendly whore named Ruby. And his prose, which rarely leaps and never soars, too often tends toward the corny ("the grotesque puppet that was death"; "It's over. It was over years ago"). Nevertheless, blessed with a brisk pace, this novel is likely to keep readers turning pages, though they occasionally may pause to wonder why. (May).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; American Ed edition (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067085767X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670857678
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,152,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars London Calling, September 28, 2002

By	A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Black Out (Paperback)

This first book in the Troy series left me rather torn. On the one hand, it's a gripping page-turned stuffed with great characters and atmosphere, all set in London just prior to D-Day. On the other hand, the plot relies on so many coincidences and contrivances that one's suspension of disbelief is sorely tested. Like the Berlin detective Bernie Gunther in Phillip Kerr's excellent WWII trilogy (collected as Berlin Noir), Lawton's D.S. Troy is a wonderful character. Born in England to upper class Russian Jewish parents, he doesn't believe in Queen and country, but pursues a broader notion of justice. As a young Scotland Yard whiz-kid, he tries to unravel a series of murders and disappearances tied somehow to former German scientists and the American military.

The downside is-and I give nothing away by saying this-that too many central figures in the story are connected to Troy's personal life. One victim lives above his closest police friend, another is known to his uncle (who just happens to be a scientist working in military research), another central player is known to him from childhood, and another important character has a past history with Troy as well. Not to mention the climax, in which Troy's well connected brother plays a key role. It gets to be rather a lot to ignore, and the worst part is, there isn't really a need for all those connections to be there!

Fortunately, Lawton provides ample detail and atmosphere to keep everything enjoyable. His portrait of the tough conditions in wartime London, and the privileged place of the American military there is striking. Food rationing, bombing raids, dense fog, rubble-strewn streets, tough East End children, it's all highly evocative. Similarly, he provides a picture of England's simmering domestic political situation that will come as a surprise to many American readers. Every character springs to life under Lawton's pen, from Troy's keen subordinate, to his canny superior, to a hooker with a heart of gold, and bluff American officers. My own favorite is the cross-cursing Polish forensics expert.

Coincidences aside, the book is exceedingly well-written, and it's shame Lawton isn't better known in the US. A second Troy book, Old Flames, is set in 1956, a the third, A Little White Death, in 1963-neither of these had yet been published in US.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best spy series I've ever read, March 6, 2003

By	"fawltymac" (Reston, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Out (Mass Market Paperback)

Unfortunately for U.S. readers, Lawton's publishers are just now getting around to introducing this series to us. Fortunately, for those of you who like the series (I'm a huge fan) and are willing to deal with currency exchange rates, you can go to Amazon.co.uk and get the rest of the series in paperback (Riptide, A Little White Death, Black Out and Old Flames). As I recall, Riptide (1941) is really the first book in the series, followed by Black Out (1944), Old Flames (1956) and A Little White Death (1963), even though they weren't written in that order. For the reviewer who thought Troy encountered too many coincidences, well that's life in England. Families are connected in many odd and different ways with other families and it's alway who you know, not what you know, that propels you along in life. With a little more background information about Troy, his detective life might be a little more believable. This is really an outstanding series with fully drawn characters, feelings, motivations and situations. In addition, you will meet the most prominent characters in each book and get to know and understand them even better. If you find you really like Troy, please get all the books and read them in order. This is a wonderful series that I can't recommend highly enough for Brit/spy/good story fans.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great atmosphere, but ..., January 20, 2003

By	Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Black Out (Mass Market Paperback)

There are just too many coincidences. Half of the cast of characters in this World War Two murder mystery seem to have direct personal connections to Detective Sergeant Troy of Scotland Yard. For me, this made the whole story too contrived. And I would criticize the sex scenes as being a bit gratuitous and unbelievable, not being quite integrated with the rest of the narrative.

Although I had heard encouraging things about John Lawton's novels, this -- my first exposure to him -- let me rather disappointed. I think in the future I will stick with Alan Furst instead.