“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
— Samuel Johnson
As a London exile, now happily settled in the heart of England, one-hundred miles from the mayhem of The Big Smoke, I’m not sure I agree with Samuel Johnson entirely. Like most major cities, London is as exhilarating as it is energy-zapping. Crazy and cosmopolitan, and yet sometimes lonely and aloof. That said, there’s a reason why I set my Cat Kinsella series in London. I began writing it shortly after moving back to the West Midlands, and I was, for want of a better word, homesick. I was missing the lights, the action, the tube, the queues, the theatres, the pushing, the shoving. I missed it all.
For centuries, writers have been capturing the essence of the English capital. From Chaucer and Shakespeare through to Dickens and Orwell, to the more contemporary works of Sebastian Faulks, Nick Hornby, Zadie Smith and Helen Fielding. Here’s a look at a few of my favourite crime & mystery novels set in the city I once called home.
King Solomon’s Carpet, by Ruth Rendell (writing as Barbara Vine)
Any London-based list should surely start with this curious, unforgettable tale from the queen of crime herself. The carpet of the title is London’s underground network and the story focuses on the fractured lives of the people who frequent it. However, it’s no mean feat that in a novel featuring a dozen or so perfectly drawn misfits, all congregating in a dilapidated townhouse, each carrying their own burden or secret, London itself—or its underground rail system—is the dominant lead throughout; a constant presence, through which each character finds thrills, danger, work, love, obsession. An extraordinary story that won the Crime Writer’s Association Gold Dagger in 1991.
Blood & Sugar, by Laura Shepherd Robinson
Blood & Sugar is an astonishing debut. A meticulously researched historical thriller that’s been lauded by the likes of CJ Sansom and Andrew Taylor. Set in Georgian London, the story centres around the port of Deptford, now a part of the city, but back then, the lawless heart of the Atlantic slave trade. This brutal world is seen through the eyes of Captain Harry Corsham—a war hero on the cusp of a political career—as he moves through the town-houses, brothels and back alleys of Deptford in his quest to solve the murder of his friend, Tad Archer, an abolitionist. Shepherd-Robinson excels at giving us a visceral sense of place. Every sight, smell and sound of 1780s London flies off the page.
The Long Firm, by Jake Arnott
The London gangster cliché is a stalwart of many a crime thriller; charismatic, violent, and always sharp-suited. In many ways, Harry Starks, the complex anti-hero of Jake Arnott’s debut, is no different. And yet in every way that matters, he’s in a league of his own. Harry isn’t just charismatic, he’s magnetic. He isn’t merely violent, he’s a sadist. He’s also a club boss, a porn king, a sociology graduate, and a homosexual Judy Garland fan. He also longs for legitimacy, seeing himself as more of a statesman than a common criminal. Harry’s world is the West End of London with a fair slice of the action taking place in Soho during the swinging sixties. Arnott excels in bringing to life the dark underbelly of 60s London, populated by down-on-luck aristocrats, glamour girls and police officers on the wrong side of the law. London has never felt seedier, or more enticing.
The Poison Tree, by Erin Kelly
Erin Kelly’s debut is an expert character study; a suspense-filled story about the intensity of female friendships and the magic of falling in love for the first time. In the summer of 1997, Karen, a high-achieving, strait-laced graduate, meets Biba, a beautiful but damaged actress, along with her doting brother, Rex, and the three form an intense bond that will end in murder before the summer is out. London, specifically Highgate (North London) swelters and shimmers throughout this novel, taking on an almost magical quality. The crumbling mansion where Biba and Rex live, and where Karen revels in her new exciting world, is a distinct character in itself—dank and imposing; a spooky oasis in the heart of Queen’s Wood.
London Rules, by Mick Herron.
“London Rules might not be written down, but everyone knows rule one: Cover your arse.”
I’ve chosen London Rules, the fifth in the Jackson Lamb spy series, simply because of the obvious nod to the capital, but frankly, any of these novels can be picked up for a lesson in how to blend character and setting and lace it with a huge dollop of humour. The series follows the misfortunes of a number of exiled M15 agents (exiled for good reason) and at the heart of the rabble is head spook, Jackson Lamb—foul-mouthed, obnoxious with questionable personal hygiene standards. London Rules follows Lamb’s crew on the trail of a terrorist cell, with Herron perfectly capturing the zeitgeist along the way. Brexit. Addiction. Trial by media. Nothing is off limits. I defy anyone not to enjoy this series.
Never Be Broken, by Sarah Hilary
Never Be Broken is the sixth outing for Hilary’s enigmatic and empathetic DI Marnie Rome, and while any of these novels could fall under the category of Classic London Crime, this latest offering takes things to another level. Children, teenagers, are dying on London’s streets, groomed by gangs and discarded when no longer of use. But when a white, middle-class girl from a ‘good’ part of town becomes the latest victim, finally—shamefully—the city takes note. The story is bleak but sadly realistic. In fact, it feels brutally topical at a time when knife crime and gang-related violence is at an all-time high in the capital. Hilary has earned a reputation for never shying away from tough issues, and here she lays bare a city poisoned by criminals. A city at boiling point. A city mourning its young while trying to find a brighter way forward.
