Forests o f the Night by
David Stuart Davies
hbk out June 05
Published by Hale
at £16.99
Johnny One Eye, invalided out of the forces when a freak rifle accident causes the loss of his
eye, makes a living as a private detective in wartime London. An anxious couple come to
see him; their daughter Pamela has run away from home. Attracted by the glamour of the
cinema, she has gone against their wishes and left her job to join her friend Samantha
working at the studios. However, when her parents contact the film studios they have no
record of Pamela on the payroll. Johnny has only just begun to follow Pamela's trail when
she is brutally slain and her boyfriend charged with the crime. But Johnny thinks the police
have the wrong man and sets about proving it. Johnny also becomes entangled with a
runaway boy who he wishes to protect from a future in an unforgiving orphanage. A plight
Johnny knows from bitter personal experience. Man and boy find common ground in their
love of the B-movie adventures of hero Tiger Blake. An enjoyable mystery, advertised as
the first in a series featuring Johnny One Eye, from Stuart Davies who has previously written
several novels and a play about Sherlock Holmes. Johnny is an appealing character, a
decent bloke whose disability gives him a more humane outlook on life and an engaging
insecurity. The period is nicely drawn (though I did spot one rogue streetlamp shining
during the blackout) and weaving in the predominance of cinema at the time works neatly
with both background and plot.
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the series creator of TV Blue Murder)
Forests o f the Night by
David Stuart Davies
