Shamus Dust: Hard Winter. Cold War. Cool Murder.

by Janet Roger

Two candles flaring at a Christmas crib. A nurse who steps inside a church to light them. A gunshot emptied in a man’s head in the creaking stillness before dawn, that the nurse says she didn’t hear. It’s 1947 in the snowbound, war-scarred City of London, where Pandora’s Box just got opened in the ruins, City Police has a vice killing on its hands, and a spooked councilor hires a shamus to help spare his blushes. Like the Buddha says, everything is connected. So it all can be explained. But that’s a little cryptic when you happen to be the shamus, and you’re standing over a corpse.

• ISBN10: 1838590439
• ISBN13: 9781838590437
• Publish Date: 28 October 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing
• Imprint: Matador
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

SHAMUS DUST is a brilliant debut gritty noir murder mystery by Janet Roger. Released 28th Oct 2019, it's 376 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a wonderfully well written homage and a gritty superbly plotted PI noir in its own right. The characterization is spot on and believable. This is a very well crafted and engaging mystery. As other reviewers have said, there are nods to Chandler, Cain, Hammett, and the rest of that crew, but honestly, the author's own unique voice is what kept me reading long into the night.

This is a superlative read and a classic PI novel. Bonus points for setting it in London and not the mean streets of LA or NYC.

Five stars. This is a really good one. I will be following this author enthusiastically.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[kimbacaffeinate]

It’s Christmas Morning 1947, post war in the city of London when American PI, Newman receives a phone call from Councillor Drake, asking him to take keys to one of his properties to DI McAlestor and to discreetly discover the nature of the police investigation.

Newman arrives at a murder scene located on the stoop of a church adjacent to the Councillor’s apartment buildings. He soon discovers the victim, Raymond Jarrett is a tenant. One who was blackmailing the privileged. He apparently liked to spend time photographing young men.

The body was discovered by Nurse Greer. Her account doesn’t quite add up and soon Newman finds himself follow clues… but the more he investigates the more bodies keep turning up. He isn’t looking so good himself as someone tries to warn him off the case.

Do you read in color? I read the entire book in black and white. What a gem. If you like hardboiled detective movies, Classic Noir with corruptions, twists, dirty cops, and clever detectives you’ll want to grab Shamus Dust.

From the descriptions of worn-torn London to the trail of clues, characters and twists I found it all rather addictive. It’s a meaty story and meant to be read slowly. I only managed a few chapters an evening. Could it have been less descriptive? Perhaps, but I appreciated being pulled completely back in time. It was like stepping into an old black and white film.

I knocked a half-star off because a few terms jumped out at me that didn’t feel authentic to the period and they Americanized a few words. I prefer terms, spelling and language to be appropriate to the period/place in which the book is set.

Secondary characters from suspects to the police medical examiner added to the tale. For a debut novel the murder(s) and journey to the conclusion were well crafted, believable and well played. The author kept me guessing and had me smiling as all was revealed. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer