My Books
British Gangs 1900 - 1950 (2024)
British Gangs covers a time of upheaval and war during which the public came to fear groups of young men. Much of this fear was whipped up by an expanding newspaper industry trying to increase sales with alarming and salacious stories. The book finds that the gangs were not as big a menace as the public were led to believe, but their activities are no less thrilling or important in the present day. This is a gripping account of one aspect of British working class life.
It covers the better-known gangsters of the time such as the McDonalds, Sabinis and Cortesis, Alf Solomon and Billy Kimber (of Peaky Blinders fame), but also uncovers many stories as they were reported at the time. Car and bus chases, gun battles, shoplifting, violent activity at sporting events, simple street con artists and more are all included in this trove of gang stories, most of which have been forgotten.
The book also looks in detail at female criminals such as Alice Diamond, Mary Carr, Florrie Holmes, Kathleen Cooper and Josephine O'Dare, and the successful nightclub owner Kate Meyrick. They have since become famous in A Thousand Blows on Disney+ and Dope Girls on Hulu/BBC.
From Beyond Belief
Kicking Tin
When private investigators Ted Bird and Betty Abbett are hired by a local shipping tycoon to investigate a smuggling racket, they quickly find themselves in the frame for murder. As Ted struggles to unravel the truth, another man disappears at sea. The net is closing in. Could their client be lying to them? Is anyone they meet being straight? This is a high stakes story of greed, piracy, murder and international intrigue. We're excited to bring you a new gumshoe detective, Edward Bird. Known to his enemies as Ted Bod, he works with his boss, Betty Abbett, to clean up the port city of 1950s Kingstown. That's right, Ted is a totally new British crime hero for the modern reader. In the vein of Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner and James Crumley, Ted is the real deal. This is British Gumshoe Noir for the 2020s.
Ernest Zevon is a London piano man and drug dealer. His life changes when a beautiful saxophonist befriends him in a Soho bar and they tour the country. When Jorja meets Ernest in a bar, he is playing his final show. He has problems with money, drugs and booze, and now his only job has ended. Jorja wants a singer to pair up with so that she can get back into the Soho music scene. But Ernest is a lone wolf. Jorja has her own problems, including her sister and sick son. The four of them make the unlikeliest road trip north to seek their fortunes and change their lives. What could possibly go wrong?
You’re not supposed to get bullets flying in your face in my line of work. I left the bullets behind in the army. Even in the police, bullets were rare, especially before the war. Private detectives are basically desk jockeys who occasionally make house calls. The bits I remember are those days out, when there’s something going on. It has been a month since Betty shot me by mistake at the docks, and everything got wrapped up, apart from a couple of loose ends which I will return to.
This one, if anything, is even worse. A male godfather called Danny lurking in the shadows, and a group of lady crooks even their own mothers struggle to love known as the Forty Kites. Kingstown is getting weirder by the day.
Ted Bird will return...
Ogham Forest (Children)
