Without Conscience
A Johnny Hawke Novel
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Forests of the Night introduced the intrepid John Hawke, an exciting new detective operating in London during the Blitz. Now Johnny Hawke is back in this atmospheric, thrilling sequel.
Set in 1942, Without Conscience finds Rachel Howells in London for the first time, trapped in a web of violence. Her companion, army deserter Harryboy Jenkins, will stop at nothing--not even murder--to enjoy his illicit freedom. Meanwhile, private detective Johnny Hawke is involved in the bizarre murder of one of his clients. At the same time he is trying to find Peter, the runaway boy he had befriended in an earlier case.
Inexorably the paths of Harryboy and Johnny grow closer together until they collide with frightening consequences.
This is a stunning follow-up to the critically acclaimed Forests of the Night and is sure to win Davies a whole new set of fans.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sherlock Holmes expert Davies relies too much on contrived plot twists in his second WWII novel to feature PI Johnny Hawke (after 2007's Forests of the Night). Sandra Riley, who suspects her husband, Walter, of infidelity, hires Hawke to investigate. No sooner does Hawke learn that Walter is a secret cross-dresser than Hawke witnesses his murder. The heartbroken widow then asks Hawke to find the killer, a probe that intersects with the manhunt for army deserter Harryboy Jenkins, whose crime spree has already claimed the lives of a vicar and a police officer. Meanwhile, Peter Blake, an orphan Hawke once rescued who's targeted by bullies at his school, flees to London to seek out his hero and protector. Davies repeatedly sets up coincidences to advance the plot, including a link between Hawke and Jenkins that leads to Blake's being taken hostage. Those looking for a nuanced view of the English home front on a par with, say, TV's Foyle's War may be disappointed.
