I really enjoyed the historical elements in this mystery novel, it had everything that I was hoping for and enjoyed about the genre. It had a great premise and the characters worked in the 1936 setting. I enjoyed the mystery going on and how the historical elements worked. Jason Monaghan does a fantastic job writing this it worked in the Agents of Room Z.

Tense mood throughout, never knowing whom to trust or whom not to. The reader really better watch their back right along with Commander Clifton and his Room Z cohorts. Although this is historical fiction it seems some 'writer's license has liberated some of it but not to worry, it is interesting and even amusing in parts despite the ominous atmosphere.

I did find some parts a bit draggy but British folks may well understand the story more fully, I think, as the time frame and setting is the King Edward VIII era with his would-be frowned upon marriage and subsequent abdication, coupled with the 'bogeymen' of facists, communists Russians, and Jews.

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~

September 2023

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the complimentary review copy sent by NetGalley and the publisher.

Author Jason Monaghan delivers an action-packed story of espionage and intrigue in this historical mystery where MI5 informer Hugh Clifton becomes the leader of Department Z, the sinister fascist intelligence unit determined to undermine the government. The Blackshirt Conspiracy takes you to 1936 Britain, where agent Clifton interacts with familiar leaders of pre-World War II.

Without missing a beat, this story deftly interchanges fact with fiction, intertwining the two until the reader is convinced that history as we remember it was but a heartbeat away from an entirely different outcome. A thought-provoking glimpse into what 'might have been.'

This book is obviously about Mosely's Blackshirts and their attempts to influence and infiltrate pre-WW II English society. The subject matter has real potential, but I felt that the writing was somewhat "rushed" and would have hope for more character development. As it was, I found I didn't care much for the characters themselves, and hoped that the story line would compensate....for me, it did not.