The Black Mile

Book excerpt: London, 1940: the Luftwaffe blitzes London every night for fifty-seven nights. Houses, shops and entire streets are wiped from the map. The underworld is in flux: the Italian criminals who dominated the West End have been interned and now their rivals are fighting to replace them. Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, the Black-Out Ripper sharpens his knife and sets to his grisly work. Henry Irving is a disgraced reporter on a Fleet Street scandal rag. Genius detective sergeant Charlie Murphy is a fresh face in the Metropolitan police, hunting corrupt colleagues but blinkered by ambition and jealousy. His brother, detective inspector Frank Murphy, searches frantically for his runaway daughter, terrified that she will be the killer's next victim. As the Ripper stalks the terrified streets, the three men discover that his handiwork is not quite what it seems. Conspirators are afoot, taking advantage of the chaos to settle old scores. The murders invade the lives of the victims and victimizers on both sides of the law, as everyone is sucked deeper and deeper into Soho's black heart. Based on a little known true story, The Black Mile is a rollercoaster ride of a novel that was previously the most downloaded novel on the Kindle Store. If you enjoy the thrillers of James Elroy, Peter James and Dennis Lehane, you'll love THE BLACK MILE. PRAISE FOR MARK DAWSON 'A brilliant debut novel from a very promising writer.' Subject 'Ultra-addictive, super-stylish - a viciously good novel.' Toby Litt. 'A talent to be watched.' Birmingham Post PRAISE FOR THE BLACK MILE 'This is far and above the best small/independently published novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading.' The Kindle Book Review 'Dawson has shown himself to be a true master of suspense'. Siobian Minish 'A first class historical mystery.' Luke Walker 'This book is worth it for the arcane London slang alone. Fascinating. If want to get a feel for what it was like during the early part of WWII this will knock you out. If you like character development you'll love it. If you like peeking in on the lives of people in a long gone world -- you really love it.' David E Johnson