Mike Hollow

Saturday 7th September, 1940. The sun is shining, and in the midst of the good weather Londoners could be mistaken for forgetting their country was at war - until the familiar wail of the air-raid sirens heralds an enemy attack. The Blitz has started, and normal life has abruptly ended - but crime has not. That night a man's body is discovered in an unmarked van in the back streets of West Ham. When Detective Inspector John Jago is called to the scene, he recognises the victim: local Justice of the Peace, Charles Villiers. The death looks suspicious, but then a German bomb obliterates all evidence. War or no war, murder is still murder, and it's Jago's job to find the truth.

The Blitz Detective

In the depths of the blackout, the silence of London's Royal Albert Dock is broken only by the lap of inky water against the quay and the occasional scurrying of rats' feet. A patrolling policeman is passing the newly arrived freighter SS Magnolia when something catches his eye. A man is sprawled awkwardly across a nearby barge - with an exotic-looking dagger in his back. DI Jago of West Ham CID discovers the victim was a dock worker by day and a Home Guard volunteer by night - and there are things even his wife, bombed out of their flimsy home in Silvertown, doesn't know about his past. Who wanted to kill him? As Jago investigates, he uncovers a widening circle of secrets ranging across family tensions, the last war, and a far-flung corner of the British Empire. And then there's the mysterious spate of thefts from the dock to contend with.

The intriguing wartime murder mystery

The Dockland Murder

Armistice Day 1940. A young man, Terry Watson, has been found in a back-yard Anderson shelter, battered about the head, and with two white poppies in his pocket and it will take all Jago and his assistant DC Craddock skills to uncover the truth behind the pacifist's brutal death.

The Pimlico Murder

During an air raid, the body of a young woman is found, strangled. DI Jago suspects that she had a secret and was mixed up in an underworld of criminal activity.

The Stratford Murder

First published as Enemy Action September 1940 is finally drawing to a close. With London having endured the Blitz for nearly a month, people are calling for vengeance: Britain should retaliate even harder with their own bombing campaign in enemy territory. But once again the night heralds more destruction. At Custom House, anxious residents dutifully head to the nearest public air-raid shelter as the warning siren wails. When dawn brings the all-clear people disperse, but one man remains – he’s dead, stabbed through the heart. As Detective Inspector John Jago begins his investigation, he discovers that the victim was one of a minority – a pacifist. But why, then, was he carrying a loaded revolver in his pocket?

The intricate wartime murder mystery

The Custom House Murder

Camden Murder

First published as Firing Line October, 1940. Bombs are falling on Stratford when air-raid warden Sylvia Parks sees a house with a light shining like a beacon to the enemy aircraft overhead, violating the strict blackout regulations. With no answer at the door she manages to break in, only to discover the body of a young woman – and she’s been strangled with a stocking. For Detective Inspector John Jago, the scene brings back memories of the gruesome Soho Strangler, who murdered four women in the mid-1930s but has never been caught. Is there a connection? As the investigation develops, it leads him into a web of family jealousies, violence, robbery and the underworld of political terrorism.

September, 1940. As the Blitz takes its nightly toll on London and Hitler prepares his invasion fleet just across the Channel in occupied France, Britain is full of talk about enemy agents. Suspicion is at an all time high and no one is sure who can be trusted. In Canning Town, rescue workers are unsettled when they return to a damaged street and discover a body that shouldn't be there. When closer examination of the corpse reveals death by strangling, Detective Inspector John Jago is called upon to investigate. But few seem to really care about the woman's death - not even her family. As Jago digs deeper he starts to uncover a trail of deception, betrayal, and romantic entanglements...

The Canning Town Murder

An attractive young woman is found dead on a bomb site in the early hours of the morning. At first glance, she is just another casualty of the previous night's air raid, but when the post-mortem shows signs of strangling, DI Jago is called on to investigate. The dead woman is smartly dressed but carries no identity card. However, a local engineering company reports a member of staff has failed to appear at work that morning and the body is quickly identified as that of Miss Mary Watkins. DI Jago's initial interviews yield little fruit, no one can think of a reason why Mary would be murdered, but as the investigation continues DI Jago starts to uncover a trail of deception and betrayal.

Fifth Column

This is collection of poems, discussion themes and meditations is designed for individual or group study, and can be used as a resource for public speaking. It covers a wide range of theme and scriptual reference.

Mike Hollow

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