Forests of the Night (Johnny Hawke, Book 1)

By all accounts, Pamela Palfrey was plain and painfully shy?the sort of girl that few people miss in the best of times. And with Nazi bombs nightly raining down on London, and hundreds dying every day, these aren?t the best of times. This is particularly true for Johnny Hawke, who lost an eye?and his dreams of a military career?to an accident in basic training. Though he has set up shop as a private investigator, Hawke is doing little more than nursing his feelings of inadequacy until the Palfreys hire him to find their missing daughter. It soon becomes clear that Pamela was nursing some secrets of her own, and Hawke?s passion for the case deepens as he comes to sympathize with the young woman?s dreams?which, like his own, have been painfully thwarted.

Praise for "Forests of the Night"
"Wartime London is beautifully evoked in a plot as crafty as the black market . . . a book you can truly call a thriller."---Peter Lovesey, author of "The Last Detective" "The engaging debut appearance of wartime private eye Johnny Hawke breathes new life into the traditional British mystery. He's a hero with a heart."
---Val McDermid, author of "The Torment of Others"
"A neatly crafted crime novel offering an unusual perspective on wartime London, by turns dark and poignant."
---Andrew Taylor, author of "The American Boy"