A Death in Bloomsbury
The Simon Sampson Mysteries #1
by David C. Dawson
Published: November 10, 2021
Publisher: Park Creek Publishing
Genre: Historical Mysteries
Blurb:
Everyone has secrets… but some are fatal.
1932, London. Late one December night Simon Sampson stumbles across the body of a woman in an alleyway. Her death is linked to a plot by right-wing extremists to assassinate the King on Christmas Day. Simon resolves to do his patriotic duty and unmask the traitors.
But Simon Sampson lives a double life. Not only is he a highly respected BBC radio announcer, but he’s also a man who loves men, and as such must live a secret life. His investigation risks revealing his other life and with that imprisonment under Britain’s draconian homophobic laws of the time. He faces a stark choice: his loyalty to the King or his freedom.
This is the first in a new series from award-winning author David C. Dawson. A richly atmospheric novel set in the shadowy world of 1930s London, where secrets are commonplace, and no one is quite who they seem.
My Review:
A Death in Bloomsbury is set in London around the 1930s. It starts out with Simon Sampson making his way home, he takes a shortcut through a back alley. The fog is so thick that he can barely see his hand right in front of his face.
Up ahead he hears a disturbance not sure what he heard he carries on. When he reaches the spot where he thought he heard this disturbance he finds the body of a woman.
He retraces his steps back to the street where a police call box is waiting. By the time he reaches the call box and the police arrive and they make it back to the woman she has disappeared. Needless to say, the police don’t believe that there ever was a body, to begin with. Simon tries to convince them that there was someone there.
Simon is a very carrying person and works hard to find this woman and prove there is a crime and to obtain justice for this woman. And that someone had to come back and take the body. The question now is who is this woman? Who attacked her and why? Where did the lady go? Who took her?
Despite what this case could mean for Simon he looks into it anyway. Investigating the disappearance of this woman could reveal Simon’s other life. A life that he works very hard to conceal. His secret, he likes men and he lives in a time where that could cost him everything if he is ever caught with a man in his bed.
Once I picked up A Death in Bloomsbury I was lost between its pages as it drew me in deeper and deeper with each turn of the page. It was written in such a way that I could see the London fog all around, I could hear the sound of the horse’s huffs as they walked on the cobblestone of the streets of London or that is how I imagined it to be.
I could see Simon as he was walking down that alley surrounded by all that fog with the sound of the carriages and the horse’s huffs in the background. I could see him holding out his hand so he wouldn’t walk into anything or anyone as he slowly made his way down that alley. It reminded me of some of those Sherlock Holmes movies or TV shows.
I so enjoyed all the characters as they were all so very special and unique in their own way. I loved trying to picture the characters and their way of dressing especially Bill.
A Death in Bloomsbury is a fast-paced and intriguing read that had me hooked from the first page. It is packed full of mystery and suspense. Awe, I think I have already mentioned the fact that the descriptions were spot on and so fantastically written making it come to life right on the page.
A Death in Bloomsbury is the first novel I have read by David C. Dawson but it won’t be the last. I can’t wait to check out more of his work. I am sitting here writing this review, calmly, quietly, and anxiously awaiting the next Simon Sampson Mysteries story to appear.
In the meantime I would like to suggest that you grab a copy of A Death in Bloomsbury and take walk into the past, a past filled with mystery, suspense, and love today!
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