A House of Knives: the second Breen & Tozer mystery set in the corrupt underground of 60's London

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London, November 1968. The decade is drawing its last breath. In Marylebone CID, suspects are beaten in the cells and the only woman is resigning. Detective Sergeant Breen has a death threat in his intray and a mutilated body on his hands.

The dead man was the wayward son of a rising MP with the ear of the home office - and everywhere Breen turns to investigate, he finds himself obstructed and increasingly alienated. But PR wary politicians can't stop him talking to the art dealer Robert 'Groovy Bob' Fraser; whose glamorous parties mask a spreading heroin addiction among London's young and beautiful.

He begins to see that the abuse of power is at every level of society. And when his actions endanger those at the top, he becomes their target. Out in the cold, banished from a corrupt and fracturing system, Breen is finally forced to fight fire with fire.

William Shaw paints the real portrait of London's swinging sixties. Authentic, powerful and poignant, A House of Knives reveals the shadow beyond the spotlight and the crimes committed in the name of liberation.

Reviews

'A first-rate police thriller set amidst the seamy underside of the swinging sixties ... The totemic year of '68 will never seem the same again' C. J. Sansom. * C. J. Sansom *
'Excellent period yarn that tackles bent police, the dark side of hippiedom and utterly nails the myth of the Swinging Sixties' Sun. * Sun *
'It's a far out read, man. You'll dig it' Weekend Sport. * Weekend Sport *
'Breen ploughs on indomitably, while the British Establishment turns steadily against him. It makes this a distinctive British crime drama, which benefits from a clear moral sense - not altogether common in an era more used to Fifty Shades of Grey' Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *
'Well-drawn characters and a well-told plot keep the action taut and the pages turning' Choice. * Choice *

Author Bio

William Shaw has been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger, longlisted for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year and nominated for a Barry Award. A regular at festivals, he organises panel talks and CWA events across the south east.

Shaw is the author of the acclaimed Breen & Tozer crime series: A Song from Dead Lips, A House of Knives, A Book of Scars and Sympathy for the Devil; and the standalone bestseller The Birdwatcher. He is writing a new crime series starring the character DS Alexandra Cupidi from The Birdwatcher, the first of which is Salt Lane. He worked as a journalist for over twenty years and lives in Brighton.