A Henry Johnstone Mystery.

Kith And Kin is the third book in the Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone series. It starts in December 1928 when two bodies are washed up in the marshes of Kent. Henry Johnstone works with DS Mickey Hitchens to uncover what lies underneath this grizzly case. Also, why are the bodies found in such a remote area?

From the outset, Henry and Mickey identify one of the bodies and realise that he had dealings with Josiah Bailey, a notorious London East End gangster. There are flashbacks back to 1918 and 1925, which link up with the events of 1928.

It appears confusing at first, as many characters are introduced to the reader. What is the connection between the low life mobsters, many of whom have served time in prison, and members of the gypsy community?

Suffice it to say all is revealed, but I found that the essence of the tale dragged for me. Usually, I enjoy a gritty plot, especially a historical novel, but for some reason, it didn't quite hit the spot. I can see that Kith And Kin will appeal to many readers, so it's best to judge for yourself.

Galadriel.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

In December 1928 when two bodies are discovered at sea and brought ashore, at Otterham Creek in Kent, Chief Inspector Johnstone and Detective Mickey Hitchens are called in to investigate. When one of the bodies is quickly identified as Billy Crane, a member of Josiah Bailey's East End's gang. Will this be the start of a turf war or connected to something totally different
An enjoyable well-written mystery with interesting main characters. With a writing style that makes it very easy to get involved in the story.

Nicely done and unique historical procedural. With timelines that move back and forth a bit, the main action is in 1928 when Henry Johnstone and Mickey Hitchens find themselves investigating a double murder of well, bad guys. These two don't give up, even when others might have written off the victims as people who are a plague. They are also good characters. I'd not read Adams before so thanks to Netgalley for the introduction. This is well written and just twisty enough.

I was happy to discover a new great author, one who writes well and can deliver a tight and entertaining book.
This book was amazing, everything was perfect and enjoyable.
The plot is complex and engaging, I liked the way the different timelines worked and never created any confusion.
The characters are well written and interesting.
The historical background is well researched and I liked the descriptions.
A very good book.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC

Jane A. Adams writes a tight, image-packed tale, bringing forth all the empathy, joy and angst we are able to spare. We follow detective Sergeant Mickey Hitchens and Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone of the central office of Scotland Yard as they are presented with cases of murder in the chilly sopping wet grey of December 1928 on the mud flats of Otterham Creek in Kent.

Flashbacks to 1918 in Rainham set us up with the gypsy clan of Dalla - Dalina Cooper to family - as she and her children Malina and Kem make their way to the compound on Ash Tree Lane in Gillingham after her abusive husband Manfrid Beaney is murdered shortly after his release from prison, and the family home burned down by the Josiah Bailey mob from London.

Flashbacks to 1925 bring into play Ricky or Rico Clough, who manages to break out of prison and establish himself and his compatriots over the next three years into a strong threat to the Bailey mob.

Sounds confusing, but the timeline changes are well done and the characters easy to keep clear in mind. This is an excellent story, the good folk at Scotland Yard and their families are well defined, and the bad boys kill each other off with regularity. We enjoy Christmas in 1928 London as Mickey and Henry attempt to wrap up this case and tie it with a bow.

I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Jane A. Adams, and Severn House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Coming across a very, very good book by an author one has never encountered before and then realising that she has been around for a while is a shock to the system, and if the downside is that the experience further highlights one’s own ignorance, then the blessing is that as a reviewer and blogger, there is something new to shout about. Jane A Adams made her debut with The Greenway back in 1995, and has been writing crime fiction ever since, notably with four-well established mystery series featuring Mike Croft, Ray Flowers, Naomi Blake and Rina Martin. She began the saga of London coppers Henry Johnstone and Micky Hitchens in 2016, with The Murder Book. Their latest case is Kith and Kin.

The novel has a split timeline. It is mostly set in 1928, but uses flashbacks to earlier events. Two bodies are washed up on the muddy banks of the confluence of the rivers Thames and Medway, on the Kentish shore. Even with the relatively primitive technology available to them at the time, Johnstone and Hitchens realise that the two corpses were not drowned, but stabbed, and then cast into the river. The two sailors who bring the corpses to the attention of the police are then found not to be sailors at all, but henchmen of a feared and brutal London gangster, Josiah Bailey.

I don’t know if the author intended it that way, but the violent paranoia of Josiah Bailey is a perfect echo of the self obsessed madness of a certain Mr Ronald Kray, whose bloodlust has enlivened many a subsequent crime novel – and court report. But I digress. Johnstone and Hitchens have to scrabble and scratch for information, because the dead bodies found on the Kentish marshes are connected to the two most secretive and distrustful communities in the land – Gypsies, and London gangsters. Those groups should not be conflated, and Johnstone does not make this mistake. Instead, he nags away at a connection between the dead men and the cataclysmic events of 1914-1918 – events in which both he and Hitchens were involved, and of which they have indelible memories.

The world of Gypsies remains closed to most of us. We may suffer from Travelers occupying a seafront, a playing field or a car park near us and when they leave behind a mountain of litter and waste we can curse about cultural diversity. This image, understandably negative, can be given a different focus when, as Adams does here, writers remind us of the tight-knit, self-sufficient communities of the old Romany families. The Gypsies in Kith and Kin have a strong sense of honour and a knowledge of the world beyond that which could be imparted in a school classroom.

The period is set to perfection, and Adams skilfully combines past, present and future. The past? There can scarcely have been a man, woman or child who escaped the malign effects of what politicians swore would be the war to end wars. The present? 1928 saw devastating flooding on the banks of the River Thames, a book called Decline And Fall was published, and in Beckenham, not a million miles away from where this novel plays out, Robert ‘Bob’ Monkhouse was born. The future? Johnstone’s sister, who has married into money, has a head on her shoulders, and senses that in the financial world, a dam is about to break – with devastating effects.

Kith and Kin is wonderful. Adams gives us a spider’s web of a plot; we are attracted, drawn in – and then consumed. Johnstone and Hitchens strike sparks off each other; the bond between them has been forged in the blood and fire of the Flanders trenches. We have memorable characters; Sarah Cooper, the matriarchal Gypsy is strong and wise, but remote; Josiah Bailey is as mad as a box of frogs and a hundred times more dangerous; Johnston’s sister is wordly wise, but compassionate and perceptive.

I apologise for preaching to the converted, but for me, Jane A Adams is a new star in my firmament. Kith and Kin is published by Severn House and is out now.