Why a Booktrail?
1968: London. A city split in two. Broken in two some would say.
A House of Knives (Breen and Tozer 2 )
What you need to know before your trail
When the wayward son of a rising MP is mutilated and burnt in suspicious circumstances, DS Cathal Breen dodges political embargo and death threats to pursue the case. Meanwhile it seems that notorious art dealer Robert Fraser may provide the only clue – if only he will talk. Breen has an awful lot of searching in the grimiest parts of the city from the very bottom all the way to the very top.
Travel Guide
Swinging London
The picture of the flower power hippies and the happy go lucky sixties is not the one painted in this book. Rather this is the real insight into that decade and attitude of the people in it. The hippies here for example are not the peaceful, flower power purveyors they would have us all believe but have rather different aspirations. The Sixties it would seem were an excuse for all of the sexism, racism to be unleashed at once and no one batted an eyelid. Love and Peace were the signs, but the truth was much darker.
The police are portrayed not as the force against evil but the force which was as dinosaur like as it could be. Where the old school ruled the roost and closed ranks if any outsider threatened it. The streets were becoming lawless too. The police routinely dealt out their own form of justice and closed ranks when under threat, and when drugs were on the streets and their use was becoming more widespread. This is the setting within with the police have to deal with some high profile and shocking crimes.
You can visit the pub where they have leaving drinks or the hotel where they have their Christmas ‘do’.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: A House of Knives (Breen and Tozer 2 )
Author/Guide: William Shaw Destination: London Departure Time: 1968-9
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