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Summary
Summary
In hedonistic 1960s London, a police detective investigates the unexpected connections between two suspicious deaths: a call girl and a rock star.
In the summer of '69, the hard-living rockers of the British Invasion still rule London when former Rolling Stone Brian Jones is found floating in the pool of his palatial home. On a quiet residential block that should be far removed from the swinging party scene, Detective Sergeant Cathal Breen investigates the murder of a young woman. But the victim, known professionally as Julie Teenager, was a call girl for the rich and famous. Her client list is long, and thick with suspects-all rich, powerful, and protected. As DS Breen hones in on his prime target, he receives a pointed warning: Watch your back.
Fortunately, Breen doesn't have to work alone. His keenly intuitive, deeply moral partner Helen Tozer, despite the pregnancy that's interrupted her policing career, can't help being drawn into the case of a girl used and cast aside.
Tense and dramatic, unfolding at a blistering pace, Play With Fire is a gripping police thriller set in the darkly technicolor world of the 1960s.
Author Notes
William Shaw is an award-winning music journalist and the author of several non-fiction books including Westsiders: Stories of the Boys in the Hood. Prior to becoming a crime writer, he worked at the post-punk magazine ZigZag and a journalist for The Observer, The New York Times, Wired, Arena, and The Face. He lives in Sussex, England.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
British author Shaw's solid fourth mystery starring the Metropolitan Police's Det. Sgt. Cathal Breen (after 2016's A Song for the Brokenhearted) opens with the discovery of the body of guitarist Brian Jones, the former Rolling Stone, in his swimming pool. Later, some investigators suspect Jones didn't die of natural causes, but his death has nothing to do with the main plot: Breen's investigation of the murder of a prostitute who called herself Julie Teenager, whose body was concealed on top of an elevator in her London apartment building. Though the dead woman, actually 26-year-old Lena Bobienski, had many clients, Breen is surprised to learn that Scotland Yard's vice squad has no file on her under either name. A press report claiming that her johns included members of the establishment suggests the reason Bobienski was officially unknown to the police, despite the beat constable's awareness of the nature of the traffic in and out of her building. The serious injury or death or three more people raises the tension. Fans of Deborah Crombie will be pleased, but those expecting a substantial look at the Jones case will be disappointed. (Aug.)
Kirkus Review
An earnest policeman investigates a lurid murder in the swinging London of 1969.Julie Teenager is a thoroughly modern call girl, a gauzy confection in pink and white calculated to excite the fantasies of London's stodgy middle-aged salarymen as they realize history has treated them cruelly. The Beatles! The Rolling Stones! A moon landing! Oh, to be young in that shifting moral climate. And Julie Teenager can give them a taste of it. When Julie (real name Lena Bobienski) is brutally murdered, Cathal Breen of the London CID is assigned to sort it all out. Julie had a small roster of regular clients, and Breen begins with them, uncovering identities, checking alibis; there is some internal interference, which suggests that perhaps one of Julie's clients was a police official. Then MI6 becomes involvedperhaps Julie was working for a foreign government or assisting an agent of one. Julie's maid, Florence, who helped schedule her appointments, is at first difficult to identify and then vanishes. Breen is not making much progress, but he is attracting the disapproving notice of police higher-ups. His investigation takes place against the background of '60s London, and as a representative of the "establishment," Breen is often confronted with unexpected situations. One especially tasty moment occurs when he interviews the editor of OZ, the alternative newspaper Julie advertised in. The editor refers to "Germaine," who writes about sex, and readers with long enough memories will see the young Germaine Greer testing her abilities. The contrast between the predictable stuffiness of "proper" London and the vivid, if irresponsible, liveliness of the new generation is generally well handled and rewarding. Breen and his partner, Helen Tozer, are deftly presented and believable, but the many mysteries never quite cohere, and the resolution is somewhat unsatisfying.A fun visit to a bygone era, though not without flaws. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
It's 1969, and London is peering into a new age defined by rock music, free love, and the Cold War. Old-school copper Cathal Breen and his girlfriend, former WPC Helen Tozer, anxiously await their first child's birth. In the meantime, Cathal investigates the beating death of Julie Teenager, a prostitute who drew clients by masquerading as a young teen. And Helen, unable to resist the lure of unanswered questions, is drawn toward the rumors of foul play surrounding former Rolling Stones member Brian Jones' supposedly accidental drowning. In 1969, London's sex and music scenes often intermingle, and Helen veers into Cathal's case when she discovers that a female driver employed by Jones and Teenager has also been attacked. Any hopes Cathal had of his case shaping up to be an easily solved crime of passion are crushed when Teenager's secretary is murdered, a dirty cop sabotages his case, and MI6 threatens to halt his investigation. Teenager's violent, evasive killer and Cathal and Helen's evolving, unsettled relationship create a new level of suspense for this must-read series of detail-saturated procedurals (introduced in She's Leaving Home, 2014).--Christine Tran Copyright 2019 Booklist
