Midnight Streets by Phil Lecomber bring back the atmosphere of the classic noir and echoes of hard boilded even if it’s set during the golden age of whodunit and puzzles. It’s another take on London during the 20’s, less townhouses and more poor and sleazy places.
It’s an excellent read and a great historical noir. Hope to read another soon.

It is 1929 and the Cockney private detective George Harley saves a young girl's life. The act begins an investigation that brings Harley to such disturbing places he could never have imagined. A series of grisly murders against children are occurring in Harley's part of town. Scotland Yard has asked Harley to keep them informed and to be their eyes and ears on the ground. But palling up with the Dicks at the Yard puts George in a precarious spot as he doesn't want the locals, who have been willing to keep him informed, to think he's too deep in their pockets.
But ... children! Dismembering children! Even in this community "peopled with lowlife ponces, jaded streetwalkers, and ... a world of grubby bedsits, all-night cafés, egg and chips, and Gold Flake cigarettes" (according to Goodreads) there needs to be a reconciliation with morality. This is George's neighborhood and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. But it won't be easy. Anyone willing to do what they've already done is not afraid to get Harley out of their way.

As is evident by my recent reading list, I enjoy this period in literature and I especially like 'noir' mysteries. Everything about this sounded right up my dark and narrow alley!

But not every book, even those with exciting themes, is for every reader, and this book was definitely not for me.

I found the writing itself to be a hard slog for me. I'm tempted to say it is 'over-written' with odd conversations between people at times:


"You know, Reverend," said Morkens, hoping to diffuse the atmosphere a little. "Your question of whether man needs divine authority to set his moral code has a precedent in ancient history, of course. Polybius, in The Histories, says that a scrupulous fear of the gods was the very thing which kept the Roman commonwealth together."
Ruxton nodded in gratitude. "There you are, then."

I recognize that a lot of this is on me and my expectations. When I see 'noir' and I see the era of this story, I'm expecting something darker in tone, in narration, not just in the crime itself. And I'm also expecting shorter, snappier dialog that keeps the story moving at a brisker pace. Again ... me and my expectations.

Considering the crime(s) and George Harley's getting involved I did expect there to be more imminent danger for our hero, but was again disappointed. There's danger, for sure, but it never feels as though our hero was going to meet the same fate as the children.

Looking for a good book? Midnights Streets by Phil Lacomber is a slow-moving P.I. story set in the late 1920's London.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A noir story more than anything else, this is one of the grittiest, harshest stories I’ve read recently, one that checks several triggers. Child abuse and killing, deviant sexual behaviours, underworld involvement, and more. There are indeed many disturbing episodes, yet the author manages to make them ‘affordable’, if you know what I mean. Maybe because they are always filtered through Harley’s personality, I could read through these tough episodes, managing to keep a distance as a reader, enough to be able to read. Which, if you ask me, is a testament to the author’s writing skills.

The characters are extremely strong, especially the main cast. Solidly built characters who always act according to their temperament and never bend to the necessity of the story. Harley is a very simpatetic lead. It’s very easy to root for him, who always tries to do the right thing, even in the midst of so many wrongs and is exceptionally resourceful. I like this kind of character. So, I wonder where the author will bring him, considering what happens at the end (which I’m not going to tell you!).

It’s a very strong, choral story, with the right amount of quirkiness: Harley lives in the house his uncle left him, a manor with an extensive library. This man, who was an accomplished amateur scholar, disappeared years ago without trace… and I won’t deny I do wonder whether he is going to appear again.

Not a story for everyone, I will say. But if you can get past the grusomeness, it’s well worth reading.

I definitely enjoyed this one. It has good pacing and cool intrigue. I'll write a longer review soon.

Interwar London in all its gritty darkness
—
Occupying an unexpectedly open sweet spot between Golden Age crime from Britain and gritty American gumshoe noir, this first entry in the Piccadilly Noir series goes at it from the first page, with characters easily descended from Dickensian London into the city’s interwar milieu. Working class private detective George Harley is on one of his usual missing persons cases, but solving it leads him deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of arcane ritualists and macabre murders that hark back to the mystery around the Ripper. The truth that Harley uncovers is even weirder than he expects or has ever faced, and it’s only with the aid of friends and loved ones that he finds a resolution. Your usual crime novel this is not.

There’s almost a whiff of fantasy to it, a bit like the Glass Books of the Dream Eaters or The List of Seven, but it’s set firmly in the seedy bars and dives of the other London, the darker, sweatier, mustier London of streetwalkers and ponces, criminal gangs and cops on the take. And the book rocks along from the first word, introducing memorable characters with hidden connections to the strangenesses at hand, and in a world full of uncertain loyalties, the twisting plot is deliciously and deviously immersive and inventive. You can feel the cobbled streets beneath your feet, the scent of unwashed bodies around you, the blood that’s leaking from the curtain…

Four and a half stars.

Macabre but piqued my interest!

Children being lured or stolen from the streets of Soho and subjected to the wiles of a crazed organisation called Ancient Order of the Unicursal based on an ancient occult order. A forbidding, gutsy novel noir complete with the gumshoe English equivalent and a host of shady characters.
The time frame is between the wars, 1929.
Private detective George Harley becomes involved as a consultant with Scotland Yard, supposedly to be kept quiet. Of course there’s the bent Detective who’s trying to take the glory, even if the case is more complicated than Inspector Detective Quigg could even dream. There’s always someone who’s been bribed, or pressured and closely guarded evidence is released by the newspapers.
Harley is ex MI5. His girlfriend Cynthia Masters is a gem, from an upper middle class, slightly bohemian family.
Harley’s acquainted and friendly with the various gangs around Soho. However the people in the Ancient Order circle are chilling psychopaths, including one German contender.
I was sympathetic with Harley as he tries to seperate fact from fiction.
The end is induces a chilling note and I’m left wondering. One case is closed but it seems another closely related is going to draw George Harley to new investigations.
Grim and dark, a London on the eve of World War II. Nasty things are trying to be summoned by those who would.

A Titan Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

This was the first book in the Piccadilly Noir by Phil Lecomber and I have to say I already need another! I’ve recently, well over the past three years, gotten into crime fiction and I have to say that I adored this. The setting, the way it’s written, the pacing and plot just everything ticked all my boxes.

It’s dark and gritty, it really gives you a feel of the time period or at least what we expect the time period to have been like. I adored the plot and how it was paced but most of all I enjoyed the characters. The writing was perfect for the genre and all in all this was the perfect start to a new series and I certainly will be following it.

As always thank you to Titan Books for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

The first in The Piccadilly Noir Series and this is a very dark tale centred around private detective George Harley set in London SoHo district in the late 1920’s. Working as a private detective Harley has previously been in the army and MI5 and still has flashbacks, verging on PTSD about some of the things he’s done and seen but that doesn’t stop him getting involved in the most horrendous of investigations. Brought up in the area Harley is well acquainted with the cities underbelly of gangsters, corrupt police, prostitution and sordid nightclubs, but this case is a step further. Written in the style of the Golden Age it was an immersive read.

Briefly, after saving a girl who was being abducted Harley finds the attempt appears to be related to a number of terrible murders, with the child victims horribly staged. Asked by a member of the police force to investigate, off the books, Harley agrees to help search for a missing boy and to investigate the murders.

There are a lot of characters so I did find it a bit of a slow burner and I must reiterate that there are some very disturbing scenes of child abuse so be aware. That said I really enjoyed the book and the main character. The red herrings were good, I didn’t guess the killer until it was revealed, or the sadistic and cruel motive. An atmospheric and emotional thriller with some loose end that are obviously leading to book two. An intriguing and entertaining read.

Phil Lecomber's Midnight Streets has a promising concept, a working-class detective in 1920's Soho. There aren't many of those about, especially in British mysteries. The book is a bit uneven -- there are some wonderfully-drawn characters and clever scenes, but the scenario is lurid, and the writing can be heavy-handed (did we really need it explained that "happy dust" is cocaine?). Still, there's enough here that I hope the book is a success, and that the series will gain in strength as it continues.

Phil Lecomber’s Midnight Streets invites readers into the shadowy alleys and smoky clubs of late 1920s Soho, delivering a gritty and immersive Golden Age crime thriller that eschews the polished parlours of classic whodunnits for the grimy streets of working-class London.

George Harley, a Cockney private detective, finds himself drawn into a tangled web of danger after saving a young girl from an abduction attempt. The stakes are quickly raised as he discovers the incident is tied to an incendiary book and a series of gruesome murders, dragging him into a deadly game of wits with a vicious killer. Harley’s uneasy alliance with Scotland Yard adds tension to his position in Soho’s underworld, where gangsters and informants are as threatening as the mysteries he’s trying to solve.

Lecomber’s London is richly atmospheric, painted in shades of smoggy greys and flickering streetlights. From the razor-wielding gangsters to the weary streetwalkers, the supporting cast brims with vivid characters who bring Soho’s underbelly to life. Harley himself is a compelling protagonist—gritty yet sharp-witted, with just enough heart to keep readers rooting for him as he navigates a world of betrayal, violence, and moral ambiguity.

The novel’s strength lies in its attention to historical detail. Lecomber skilfully recreates 1929 London, capturing the language, culture, and tensions of the time. The contrast between the glitz of upper-class crime fiction and the stark realism of Harley’s world adds depth, making the narrative as much about the era as it is about the mystery.

Midnight Streets is a gripping read that blends the hard-boiled detective tradition with a distinctly British flavour. Fans of historical crime fiction and atmospheric mysteries will find plenty to love in George Harley’s debut adventure. Lecomber’s Soho feels so real you can almost hear the rattle of trams and the clink of pint glasses—and it’s a place you won’t soon forget.

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