The Underworld Of New York
The Death Beat by Fiona Veitch Smith is a marvelous cosmopolitan historical novel set in 1921. It is the third book in the Poppy Denby Investigates series but can be read as a stand-alone.
Once more the reader is enthralled by the bravery of Poppy Denby as she goes to great lengths to solve crimes, fighting the injustices of the day.
The action moves from London to New York via the Olympia, a sister ship of the Titanic. New York of the 1920’s has crime ridden streets with prohibition and unscrupulous men taking advantage of illegal immigrants and desperate young women. The 1920’s saw people fleeing from a war torn Europe to America in search of a better life.
Poppy Denby gets caught up in the murky underworld of seedy producers and political figures as she stumbles on murder, blackmail and rape. There are still people out there determined to shine lights in a dark world.
Once more Fiona Veitch Smith has written an entertaining novel where fiction blends with historical figures, adding an air of familiarity for the reader as we can ‘place’ the action in historical time.
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This is a cracking series that would make a perfect television series… any producers out there fancying a new project?…
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
JULIA WILSON