Crime books are not usually my forte. If I am honest I am the person who never sees the big final twist and usually the red herrings fly completely over my head. I’m ok with all this because it is rare that I will read the crime genre. However, I decided to give Cover Up by Patricia Hall a read. Mainly, I did this because the book was set in Liverpool during the 60s. As a girl who was born and raised in Liverpool I find books based in my city oddly titillating.

Sadly, the bit that I thought that I would like about Cover Up was actually the bit that I found the most jarring. The use of what is deemed Liverpool lexicon such as “la” and “whack” made me feel uncomfortable as I felt that they were bad clichés.

I don’t think that it helped that I came to the series six books in. The mystery of crooked police, vice and the dark side of the Catholic Church was very well described and as a mystery I cannot say that it wasn’t good because clearly Patricia Hall is clearly a good writer but I don’t think the rest of the series is for me.

Cover Up by Patricia Hall is available now.

It is refreshing to read a book that is not set in the present. Harry Barnard is an interesting character. There has obviously been a lot of research carried out to write this book. Harry's current job collides with Kate's past and Kate is forced to remember events she would rather forget. Kate's past has been horrific in places. Things have happened that a child should never have to deal with. This is an eye opening book in some ways.
I would definitely read another book about Harry.

1960s at its worst and best..

On a night in 1964 a woman is found partially clothed and strangled in Soho Square. Her identity remains a mystery for Harry Barnard, until Kate, his girlfriend, goes to Liverpool to photograph the changing post war city in the grip of Beatlemania. Could there be a link between the dead girl and a prosperous builder?

A very good book. It delves into the depths of dodgy dealings, corrupt police and a religion that holds its parishioners in its firm grip.

The difference between the north in those times and the south is very marked - religion, homosexuality and the growing divide is all touched upon.

The main characters, Harry and Kate, were very likeable and the turmoil of Kate returning to her home town and its bigotry is quite upsetting. The book did come across as a little one-sided on the side of the south but it was well written and although the start was a bit slow and the ending a bit convenient I enjoyed the book very much and will read more books by this author.

Helen

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Cover Up by Patricia Hall

Sergeant Harry Barnard works for the Vice Squad in the Met Police and his patch his Soho. His girlfriend, Kate O’Donnell is a photo journalist trying to establish herself within the sexist system. Kate, A Catholic from Liverpool is ostensibly flat sharing with a girlfriend but more often than not is sleeping at Barnard’s flat.

It is 1964 and the Beatle-mania has hit the UK, particularly in London and Liverpool. Kate is commissioned to cover the ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ premier in Liverpool with a brief to photograph the building boom and redevelopment of Liverpool following the legacy of WWII.

Meantime, Barnard is called upon to discover the identity of a woman’s body abandoned in Soho Square – her lack of clothing and an expensive ring suggests she is not local. Who is the victim and where was she killed and more importantly who is the culprit?

Hall has constructed a plot which finds the two protagonists supporting each other in their separate enterprises and effectively merging the two stories as the investigations continue. What was very interesting was the construct of those in power being able to manipulate events to such an extent that those in the margins were unable to escape. The politicians, the police, the press, the Establishment and the Church all were implicated. Despite the earlier Perfumo scandal corruption was rife.

The characters of Kate and Harry were quite interesting though I must admit I wasn’t totally enthralled by them. Yes, I wanted to know what happened and I was somewhat concerned for them, but I wasn’t totally convinced about their relationship. The writing itself seemed somewhat unsophisticated but as I read further I begin to realise that this was probably to reflect the 60’s where policing was completely different to what we expect now. This was rather like an early episode of ‘The Bill’ rather than an episode of ‘Line of Duty’ but there is nothing wrong with that – just a different style which stands its own ground.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

Detective Sergeant Harry Barnard and his girlfriend, photographer, Kate O’Donnell have gone to the movies to see an Elvis Pressley movie in 1964. When Harry stops at the station to pick up his coat, he gets roped into attending the scene of a murder.

The victim is a woman who has been raped and strangled. While the DCI wants to write the case off as a murdered prostitute, Harry is less sure.

Meanwhile, Kate’s assignment in Liverpool to coincide with the opening of the new Beatles movie A Hard Days Night begins to have shadows of its own. Harry and Kate’s investigations begin to dovetail.

Ms. Hall does a great job capturing the 1960’s in Britain. This is a well written and plotted book. I really enjoyed it, and I enjoyed harkening back to my youth. Although I had forgotten to some degree just how different the cultural ethos was at that time. Were we really so different than we are now in attitudes? It seems we were.

I want to thank Netgalley and Severn House/Severn House Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of Cover Up, the 6th novel to feature photographer Kate O'Donnell in 1960s London.

Kate's boyfriend, DS Harry Barnard, cuts their date short to go and see a dead body which has been left in Soho, badly beaten and strangled. The woman is wearing nothing but silk underwear and a diamond ring so while the location suggests she was a prostitute her rich attire says maybe not. Harry calls on all his sources but no one knows her. In the meantime Kate is asked to return to Liverpool, her home town, to work on an assignment about the city's regeneration to coincide with the premiere of the Beatles film, A Hard Day's Night. What she finds there seems to tie in with Harry's investigation.

This is the first novel I have read in this series but it won't be the last. Crime wise the novel has a slow start as, after the body is discovered and a few desultory questions from Harry, Ms Hall prefers to concentrate on Kate and Harry's relationship and Kate's memories of post war Liverpool. I found it interesting and it kept me turning the pages as it does not seem like filler, more like background. Once Kate gets to Liverpool things really hot up with the usual 60s suspects, dodgy policemen, politicians and planning applications and the pervasive malign influence of the Catholic Church and the Establishment. It would be easy to say there is nothing new in the novel's themes and there probably isn't, but it is very reflective of what was happening at the time and Ms Hall does an excellent job of portraying it.

I think Ms Hall has really caught the era and its thinking because at no time do modern sensibilities intrude, which you often see in historical novels. Harry Barnard may be more sympathetic to homosexuality than many of his colleagues, as an example, but he is well aware it is illegal and is no bleeding heart liberal so he keeps his views to himself. It was a brutal time where the Establishment looked after its own and this is very obvious as the novel pulls no punches.

Cover Up is a great read with a nuanced setting and an interesting plot which held my attention throughout. I have no hesitation in recommending it.