Crime Novels Set In London

InsideSoap · 04/03/09 - 00:07

I read a lot of crime novels/psychological thrillers etc but have always read mainly books set in the US. I recently started reading books by UK authors though, and whilst I couldn't get into Knots and Crosses (Ian Rankin), I did enjoy Cold Granite (Stuart MacBride) although felt it could have been a bit shorter. But that's Scotland. I'm now onto my fourth Mark Billingham book and I am addicted, but don't want to rush through them all as I like to read a book or two before going onto the next in a series, so what crime novels/psychological thrillers etc would you reccomend that are set (mainly) in London, with a focus on the city. I'm hoping there's a good few out there, as the Tom Thorne books are great so something similar to that would be good. I'm just too lazy to look myself and hate standing round in the library reading blurb after blurb and having no luck.

ironjade · 04/03/09 - 07:17

Derek Raymond's Factory Novels (and most of his others), John Creasey's "Gideon" series (if you're after vintage stuff),

mocha-latte · 04/03/09 - 07:41

Last year 'Waterstones' were giving away a guide to all the fiction books written that involved London.

It was in the form of a folding London street map.
maybe worth asking if they still have some

[Deleted User] · 04/03/09 - 08:33

Barbara Vine wrote the excellent King Solomon's Carpet

Nasalhair · 04/03/09 - 11:39

Christopher Fowler's novels about two elderly detectives, Bryant and May, are all set in London. In order, the series goes "Full Dark House", "The Water Room", "Seventy-Seven Clocks", "Ten Second Staircase", "White Corridor", "The Victoria Vanishes". They're also quite quirky, and good fun.

Fatwaz · 04/03/09 - 16:07

simon kernick's crime novels especially the first couple,are set in and around london.the business of dying and the murder exchange are very good.layer cake is a superb london set crime novel that was made into a good film of the same name starring daniel craig,the authors name escapes me at the moment though.

as for rankin's knots and crosses,trust me that is the first book so it won't be as good as his later novels, from the black book onwards is some of the best crime fiction written imho

ironjade · 04/03/09 - 18:25

Fatwaz wrote: »

simon kernick's crime novels especially the first couple,are set in and around london.the business of dying and the murder exchange are very good.layer cake is a superb london set crime novel that was made into a good film of the same name starring daniel craig,the authors name escapes me at the moment though.

as for rankin's knots and crosses,trust me that is the first book so it won't be as good as his later novels, from the black book onwards is some of the best crime fiction written imho

James Hawes is the author you're trying to recall.:)

kimindex · 04/03/09 - 18:29

This was a fairly good one:

Laura Wilson. The Lover

Review
'The uneasy atmosphere of blackout London is finely conveyed, the dark alleys, the crowded air-raid shelters, the forced cheerfulness and the ever present threat provide the perfect setting. The many moral and socio-sexual issues embedded here never distract from the total effect of this gripping novel.' NEWBOOKSMAG

TANGLED WEB
'This is a noir novel in the vein of Graham Greene which looks at how the psychological pressure of war may lead people to lose their moral compass. But most importantly this is a gripping story of several lives - the victims and the killer. No one is better at getting inside characters and and creating bone-chilling atmosphere than Laura Wilson, and here she shows that her place is right at the pinnacle of crime fiction.' --

Autumn, 1940, and London is in the grip of the Blitz. An unidentified female corpse is discovered in an alleyway in Soho - the fourth to have been found in a matter of weeks. Rene is a Soho prostitute with a young son to support. She's learnt to cope with the air-raids, but each night on the streets is a terrifying ordeal as the killer begins to pick off her friends. Lucy is a young, middle-class office worker living with her family in Clapham, struggling to make sense of things as her peaceful suburban life degenerates into chaos. Jim is a fighter pilot, handsome and much admired for his heroism in battle. The killer instinct makes him perfectly suited to the daily challenge he faces in the skies of southern England, but the strain is beginning to tell. In ordinary circumstances, their paths might never have crossed, but in war-torn London, anything can happen. One night a bomb falls, with terrifying consequences for them all...

jabegy · 05/03/09 - 00:38

Mo Hayder wrote a couple of good ones centred in London

The Treatment and Birdman

kimindex · 05/03/09 - 08:57

Natasha Cooper's crime novels are set in London mainly:

http://www.natashacooper.co.uk/trish.html

Inkblot · 05/03/09 - 09:15

Some of PD James's novels are set in Notting Hill. I remember one where the villain drinks in the pub next to Holland Park tube (can't remember the title of course!).

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles writes mostly historical fiction but she also has a series set in Shepherd's Bush featuring a detective called Bill Slider. They're good on local detail - every time I come home on the bus I see places mentioned in the books - and well-written. I don't know why they aren't higher-profile in the crime fiction world; maybe it's because crime isn't her main source of income, if you see what I mean.

kimindex · 05/03/09 - 09:25

Inkblot wrote: »

Some of PD James's novels are set in Notting Hill. I remember one where the villain drinks in the pub next to Holland Park tube (can't remember the title of course!).

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles writes mostly historical fiction but she also has a series set in Shepherd's Bush featuring a detective called Bill Slider. They're good on local detail - every time I come home on the bus I see places mentioned in the books - and well-written. I don't know why they aren't higher-profile in the crime fiction world; maybe it's because crime isn't her main source of income, if you see what I mean.

I've wondered about reading one of her crime ones. Is there one you can recommend?

Inkblot · 05/03/09 - 09:41

kimindex wrote: »

I've wondered about reading one of her crime ones. Is there one you can recommend?

The first book was Orchestrated Death which introduces the main characters who recur in subsequent novels. Maybe the best thing, if you don't mind omnibuses, is to get the Bill Slider Omnibus (ISBN 978-0751526769) which comprises the first three books in the series and costs £7.69 on Amazon. Unfortunately she appears not to have a mass-market publisher for the crime books now and the latest (Game Over, 2008) is already out-of-print, and I haven't even bought it yet!

kimindex · 05/03/09 - 09:46

Inkblot wrote: »

The first book was Orchestrated Death which introduces the main characters who recur in subsequent novels. Maybe the best thing, if you don't mind omnibuses, is to get the Bill Slider Omnibus (ISBN 978-0751526769) which comprises the first three books in the series and costs £7.69 on Amazon. Unfortunately she appears not to have a mass-market publisher for the crime books now and the latest (Game Over, 2008) is already out-of-print, and I haven't even bought it yet!

Thanks. I'll get it. What a shame! Other people have recommended her too. Perhaps it's the association with historical fiction, as you say (is it romantic historical fiction).

[Deleted User] · 05/03/09 - 17:43

Martina Cole's novels are usually set in London/Essex. You may like them if you're not too fussy.

ayrshireman · 05/03/09 - 18:00

My favourite novel:

'The Burden of Proof' by James Barlow (1968). A forgotten gem.

gboy · 05/03/09 - 21:22

One or two Ruth Rendell novels (not the Wexfords) are set in London: 'The Rottweiller' and 'Lake of Darkness' to name two.

Also, Minette Walters 'The shape of Snakes', 'The Echo' and 'The Chameleon's Shadow' are all based in London. 'The Echo' in particular is a good book about Docklands in the 1990s.

Denise Mina's second book 'Exile' is partly set in London.

kimindex · 06/03/09 - 08:50

ayrshireman wrote: »

My favourite novel:

'The Burden of Proof' by James Barlow (1968). A forgotten gem.

Was this reprinted as Term of Trial? If so, I have it, but haven't read it.

http://www.answers.com/topic/term-of-trial-1

I expect I should read it, then! I always meant to get round to it. I bought it second hand in Brick Lane or somewhere.

[Deleted User] · 06/03/09 - 09:22

London Boulevard by Ken Bruen - a cracking read.

Super · 06/03/09 - 19:31

I'm reading Tom Thorne now by Billingham i'm onto Lifeless in the series, however I prefer Stuart Macbrides novels as I find the characters a lot more appealing to read about where as the like of Holland and Kitson don't do it for me as much.

Ruby Red Shoes · 06/03/09 - 19:35

The book I'm currently reading (and have just posted in the current read thread) is set in London - "Dirty Game" by Jessie Keane. It's set in the East End in the 1960s and is about various gangs.

ayrshireman · 06/03/09 - 23:34

Was this reprinted as Term of Trial? If so, I have it, but haven't read it.

http://www.answers.com/topic/term-of-trial-1

I expect I should read it, then! I always meant to get round to it. I bought it second hand in Brick Lane or somewhere.

Hi, that link is incorrect. Term of Trial WAS the name of both novel and film. They've got their Barlow novels mixed up...

Barlow wrote Burden of Proof in 1968, and its a crime novel. It was also turned into a classic British gangster film in 1971, 'Villain', with Richard Burton, Nigel Davenport, Donald Sinden and Ian McShane.

James Barlow tragically died in 1973 at the relatively young age of 52 from illness.

http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/villain.html

kimindex · 07/03/09 - 00:15

ayrshireman wrote: »

Hi, that link is incorrect. Term of Trial WAS the name of both novel and film. They've got their Barlow novels mixed up...

Barlow wrote Burden of Proof in 1968, and its a crime novel. It was also turned into a classic British gangster film in 1971, 'Villain', with Richard Burton, Nigel Davenport, Donald Sinden and Ian McShane.

James Barlow tragically died in 1973 at the relatively young age of 52 from illness.

http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/villain.html

Ah, thank you. I'll look out for it.

gboy · 10/03/09 - 00:04

Mark Pearson's 'Hard Evidence' is a good London-based crime book. The follow-up novel 'Blood Works' is out in August.

Inkblot · 10/03/09 - 15:13

Come to think of it, Bleeding London by Geoff Nicholson. It probably doesn't qualify as a crime novel but it has a Pulp Fiction-style structure and its plot leads the reader all over the capital. It's definitely worth picking up a copy in the charity shop, or one of the very cheap copies on Amazon.

[Deleted User] · 18/03/15 - 17:55

Hi,
I need a help with my BA paper. My main idea is to write about the image of London's Docklands in contemporary detective novel. I was thinking about books of P.D. James ''Original Sin'', ''Certain Justice'', Minette Walters's ''The Echo'', however at this moment I'm stuck with any ideas. I don't know what should I focus on and which books to choose. One of my previous ideas was to compare 19th century Docklands (Doyle, ''The Sign of the Four'') with contemporary ones, but I was advised by my supervisor not to do it. Then, he said that I should have a look at P.D. James AND Ruth Rendell (''Asta's Book''). Now I'm really confused and lost, so if any of you can give me some tips, ideas or references I would appreciate it

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Crime Novels Set In London

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