Soho dead by Greg Keen.
When it comes to crime fiction, there’s nothing quite like a proper old-school PI. I’m talking about the loner under the lamppost, the cynic in a haze of cigarette smoke, the only guy with the guts to get to the bottom of the sensationally sordid story and expose the ugly truth below.So when PI Kenny Gabriel showed up on my desk, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. (If the afterlife is littered with empty whiskey bottles and unpredictable henchmen.) And the case our down-but-not-quite-out PI finds himself drawn into in Soho Dead—the first in the Soho Series—is as dark and dangerous as you could hope. And personal.
A really good read with good characters. I liked Frank and Kenny. Who I didn't trust was Harry. Surprising twist. 4*.

A nice start to a new series. Kenny's a classic mess of a detective but he's a determined one. This is well written and plotted with a goof twist.

The soho series book 1
by Greg Keen.


A good lengthy read of a book.
A book that you can fall back with and get lost in the story.
The style of writing made this book easy to read and enjoy.

Soho Dead follows down and out of luck’er Kenny Gabriel as he takes a job that he knows he is going to regret.
Anyone familiar with crime novels British or otherwise knows a ‘Kenny Gabriel’, miserable and middle ages with a rumpled suit smelling of stale alcohol. Fortunately, it doesn’t make these protagonists any less entertaining.
Having a slower pace, I would say Soho Dead falls between the categories of thriller and cosy mystery.
Being a brit, I loved the authors use of authentic slag and I am excited to read the next installment to see what hole Kenny is trying to dig himself out of.
A great book for any fans of noir mysteries looking for a steady read with believable characters.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
In between cozies and animal books, we like novel with hard boiled, cynical, darkly humorous heroes. Kenny is one such protagonist . He has seen better days although he never soared to halcyon heights. He earns his keep by finding deadbeats. It is not glamorous but it pays the bills- barely..
Then he gets a call from someone from his deep dark past. The man's daughter has disappeared and he wants Kenny to find her on the quiet. He is a media tycoon who is on the verge of a huge merger. Did his daughter scarper off on her own accord or is there something more nefarious at work. When Kenny finds her body, it becomes clear that it is murder. But who is the murderer and why? She had numerous skeletons in her own closet as does her father and her brother and her ex-husband and ex-lovers. Her public persona is quite different to her personal one and as Kenny peels back all the layers, it becomes less clear as to the perp.
It is a tight, suspenseful story with well defined characters who are easy to visualize. I consider that a mark of a good writer when the reader can "cast" the parts and "see" the character. It also describes Soho well. Soho is a character in the story, both the gritty Soho my Momma remembers from the 1970's to the more gentrified Soho of today. Not only does Soho provide the atmosphere, it plays a pivotal part in the story.
I give this five purrs and two paws up.

Kenny Gabriel is a street-smart, wise-cracking and self-mocking PI. Given another accent, he could be cruising the neon-lit strip malls of 1950s Los Angeles. But his accent, his gags, his mixture of despair and optimism, all have ‘London’ stamped through them like a pink and sickly stick of seaside rock. Gabriel, had he been on the official side of law and order, would have been retired by now, with an enviable pension, a fond reputation down at the local ‘nick’, and plenty of potential back-handers for his advice on corporate security.

But Mr G is all but penniless. His fifty seven years on this fair planet have produced only a tenuous tenancy on a shabby flat in Soho, and a badly paid job chasing down people who have reneged on a hire car contract, or swindled their partner out of the mortgage on their dispiriting semi-detached house in some grim London suburb.

So, when Gabriel answers the door bell one day only to behold the wedge-shaped and granite faced personage of Farrelly – chauffeur, enforcer and general gofer for Frank Parr – he is led, like a naughty boy tweaked by his ear, to Parr’s sumptious office building. To say that Parr – now a respectable media mogul – has something of a history, is rather like saying that Vlad The Impaler was someone of interest to Amnesty International. Parr made his money – loads of it, and of the distinctly dirty variety – by publishing magazines which were not so much Top Shelf as stacked in the stratosphere miles above the earth’s surface.

Parr has a job for Gabriel. Harriet ‘Harry’ Parr – daughter of the boss and senior executive of Griffin Media – has disappeared, and her father wants her found. Gabriel has that unfortunate knack, common with fictional PIs, of finding dead bodies. Not only that, he uncovers a veritable rats’ nest of corruption, violent cynicism and corporate greed.

There’s a definite seam of Raymond Chandler running through Soho Dead. Saying that is neither inappropriate flattery nor damnation by faint praise. The plot has the onion skin quality of the great man’s best books, as layer after layer gets peeled back as we get drawn closer to the heart of things. Gabriel’s wisecracks are not as good as Philip Marlowe’s, but then neither are those of any fictional PI since those glorious days. When Gabriel blags his way into a sex club and is then brought face to face with its lady proprietor, it had me thinking of Marlowe’s legendary encounter with General Sternwood in The Big Sleep.

“The woman in the armchair had too much bone structure and not enough skin. Her short hair was grey, but she had young eyes. Time, and whatever had ravaged her face, had spared them, a pair of emeralds pushed into a parchment skull.”

Gabriel is terminally weary, but he forces himself forward as he runs the gauntlet of blows from men and women who are more powerful and less honorable than he is. In the end, he survives, but ever diminished by the deeds of those who share his stage. All that remains are memories and phantoms.

“For a while, I wandered the streets of Soho, as I had on the day I’d first visited forty years ago. Doorways whispered to me and ghosts looked down from high windows.”

This is a brilliant start to what I anticipate will be a highly regarded series. Soho Ghosts is due out in 2018, but in the meantime, trust me when I say that Greg Keen (right) drags the tarpaulin off one of the oldest established crime fiction genres, dusts it down, gives it a thorough service, polish and tune-up – and delivers something that not only gleams, but purrs with power and authenticity.

Kenny is a skip-tracer (fancy word for a detective). He was summoned by his previous employer Fran Parr to find his missing daughter, Harry Parr. Now, Kenny is on a witch hunt. Will he able to find her?. That's the story about.
I was intrigued by the protagonist of the novel, Kenny. I was hoping, he would be fit muscular ready-to-take-on-anyone kind of guy. Either his ability to remember things or his curious instincts or both make him a typical detective. He would have faced situation most effectively( a situation which requires muscle power) if he was not old.
One thing which I find odd was Kenny is not a very discreet person. He tells people the whole story what he has found out to one who threatens him or nearer to him. Secrecy is not his cup of coffee.
But I was not entirely disappointed, as Kenny turns out to be three years away from hitting sixty years of age with a spectacular sense of humor. He is like a wine, tastes better with age
His some of the humorous lines take you on a fun ride.
"Check out the knicker drawers and medicine cabinets of half of the country and you'll find something designed to quicken, thicken or the lengthen the sexual experience."
"These days, leaving your financial information unshredded is one remove tattooing your bank details across your forehead."
The way in which author describes a particular evidence means to readers is very useful.
The author does not use some fancy adjectives at each and every page. The writing is crisp and brilliant. The characters are nicely woven into the plot and each chapter keeps your interest in the story.

Overall, it was a wonderfully written novel, I would love to read upcoming series.

Kenny Gabriel is 57-years-old (for the record it's not the new, hip, "fifty is the new thirty" kind of thing - Kenny just got old). His best friend died a week ago, he's got forty-three quid in the bank, he's a former journalist turned low-rent private detective except he's actually more of a skip tracer. Kenny is not at the cutting edge of his profession. Some might go so far as to say that Kenny is barely competent at what he does... Kenny doesn't really care.

During this time of mourning Kenny is approached by someone from the distant past. When Kenny knew Frank Parr almost forty years ago he was a smut-peddler, he ran clubs, girls, and had begun publishing certain "gentlemen's magazines". Parr has long since gone legit, he is now the seventy-ninth richest person in Britain and his grown daughter, Harriett (who prefers to be called Harry), is missing. He wants Kenny to track her down. Kenny. Who is old, tired, barely competent and has less than fifty quid to his name.

Since the fee is enormous - and he can really use it - Kenny accepts the job without giving it too much thought. Actually, he gives it considerable thought... after he's already accepted the j0b. Why would someone with Parr's kind of money and influence hire Kenny? Parr says it's because he knows Kenny can keep his mouth shut and be discreet. Fair enough. And so the game begins...

Soho Dead is a gritty, noir crime story. There are some interesting twists and turns, Kenny Gabriel is a great character of the low-rent, barely getting by private detective variety. The world created by author Greg Keen rings true for the situation. Most all the characters are well drawn and interesting. Well done! I look forward to the follow-up book.

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys darker crime fiction. It's not a thrill a minute but the story unrolls at a decent pace and there should be enough action and intrigue to satisfy most readers.

Soho Dead contains violence, explicit sexual situations, and adult language. While not the most dark or troubling story ever written it is most definitely not for the faint of heart.

***Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title.

This is the best private investigator story I have read in a very long time. brilliant twists and turns throughout which will keep you hooked to the very end. This story takes you old school Soho which is just fantastic!
GRIPPING.THRILLING.SEEDY.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with this novel. I found Kenny to be a subpar detective and a pretty boring, depressing character. the romance subplot also felt predictable and boring. I found this very hard to get into and I'm not sure it it was just the slow pace or the fact that we get the story narration from Kenny's thoughts but none of it worked for me. By the end I can't say I was all that surprised or cared to much about the outcome. This isn't a series I'll be following