M.C. Dutton

An acquitted murderer and rapist is, himself, found brutally murdered and dumped in Epping Forest. DS Jazz Singh is called in to investigate and soon discovers a vigilante group is operating in London, bringing ‘rough justice’ to where they feel that the courts have failed. Singh’s investigation soon takes him into London’s criminal underbelly and, as the bodies pile up, it puts his partner in jeopardy. To save him, Singh may have to make a deal with the devil.

The Godfathers of London is a police procedural with more than a touch of the noir about it. The thing with noir, though, is it isn’t as simple as it seems. It requires a deft touch to maintain the right atmosphere. The best noir can ratchet up the tension from one to sixty with a single piece of dialogue or a simple paragraph and that kind of tension is somewhat lacking here.

Still, there is enough of the hardboiled detective to keep the story interesting. There is a sense of realism to both the police and the criminals, not surprising since author MC Dutton used to be a member of the police force. The police are occasionally comically incompetent and the criminals are often more pathetic than dangerous; justice isn’t always just; and revenge sometimes can be sweet.

DS Jaswinder Singh is a Sikh and we are given some interesting glimpses of a fascinating culture. This, along with the descriptions of London’s criminal underclass, make The Godfathers of London a unique police procedural and well worth the read.… (más)

Det Sargent Jaswinder Sigh of the London Metro Police nicknamed Jazz is thought to have a black cloud hanging over his head . because his partners seem to get killed or hurt. After spending time to get over yet another partners death he comes back to work witrh a new partner Ash Kumar. The officers take bets on how long he will last. Jazz seems to have a little vengeful streak about him. Jass and Ash are embroiled in a murder case involving many deaths and murders, Ash gets into trouble and Jazz helps solve them and walks a fine line between good and bad.
This was a wonderful book with a great storyline and the characters are like criminals and good guys.
Thanks to Net Galley and Troubador Publishing.… (más)