Another excellent book in the DI Tom Harper series taking place in 1916, in Leeds, England. The police department is stretched almost to breaking point because of the call-up of eligible men to fight on the European front. Even the Chief Constable is laid low while trying to recover from pneumonia. He is helping Harper as much as he can by having the routine paperwork sent to his home leaving Harper and his men searching for a saboteur and traitor responsible for terrorist acts in the city.

People often wonder if they can begin a series with any of the available books in a series. I can most often give an unqualified *yes* answer to that question, but that's not quite so easy with book #10 in the series. If you do decide to begin here, you will be saved many a furrowed brow by being told that DI Tom Harper and his family own The Victoria pub and they live in the apartment above the bar. This is just one of the many different slants author Chris Nickson has woven into this series that makes it different from most police procedural crime novels. Investigations during this time had to come through leg work, intellect, luck, and general cussedness to solve a crime. All of the returning characters in this series are fully developed and the sense of the danger and uncertainty prevailing in England at this time is like a throb of tension running throughout the novel. This is another excellent addition to the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House Publishing for an e-galley of this novel.

I'm in the middle of my summer historical mystery binge and delighted that Chris Nickson has something new coming out that I can enjoy. Nickson has several historical mystery series. They're all solid reads for lovers of this genre, but I think the DI Tom Harper series is the standout. This series is set in Leeds, England—an interesting change when so many historical mysteries set in England take place in London. The first volumes in the series are set in the 1890s. A Dark Steel Death takes place in 1916, in the midst of WWI. Leeds anticipates zeppelin attacks; the police force is now staffed largely by retirees or newcomers whose physical limitations make them unfit for military service; women are taking on jobs previously held by men; and a significant portion of soldiers returning from the front are suffering from shell shock.

Not surprisingly, A Dark Steel Death is focused on the war effort. It opens with a fire at a munitions factory followed by a possible arson attack on a textile processing site and then by a series of shootings targeting soldiers and war volunteers. The police force is under immense pressure to discover the individual or individuals behind these tasks. Harper finds himself taking on the role of Acting Chief Constable, which means more paperwork, more meetings, and developing the ability to trust officers to get the job done without his shadow hanging over them.

This new title is interesting for a number of reasons. There's wartime media censorship, misreporting of the causes of deaths, and an acknowledgement of police use of force/violence. Harper is also facing a new and devastating personal tragedy—his brilliant, independent wife is experiencing early-onset dementia. A Dark Steel Death keeps readers engaged with this mix of political and personal challenges—and, really, when doesn't life regularly force us to face both of these?

If, like me, you enjoy doing genre-based binge reading, and if historical mysteries are your genre of choice, you'll find A Dark Steel Death to be a very satisfying read. This title will be going on sale September 6, 2022, and you'll want to keep an eye out for it.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

Thanks to Chris Nickson, Severn House and NetGalley for this incredibly exciting 10th Book in the DI Tom Harper series. It was almost impossible to put down, but of course life does go on!

"Leeds. December, 1916. Deputy Chief Constable Tom Harper is called out in the middle of the night.." Well that sounds a bit familiar, but this ends up being a months long stretch of terror for law enforcement and citizens alike. There is a terrorist, with a possible accomplice, wreaking havoc just as his team is depleted due to the ongoing war and manpower losses.

Harper's back is to the wall as this streak of terror keeps on and he has his own personal woes continue. His daughter Mary is recently widowed, but is out on the streets with the war effort and his wife Annabelle has her own battle within her mind.

Thanks to Chris Nickson for the Afterword, where he assured readers like myself how much it means to him that we will be coming along with Tom, Annabelle and Mary. Which, of course, means they are not done with their story yet! So glad to hear that!

A Dark Steel Death is the latest book in the Tom Harper series. Set during World War One, Tom must find out who is the saboteur threatening Leeds. With a thinning team of Police officers, Tom must marshal his forces. His wife's health is failing, and his grown up daughter has lost her fiancé who was fighting in France.

This book is well researched. You certainly get a feel for Britain in World War One. Tom Harper is a likeable character, well drawn by the author. The events in this book are based on a real life incident. A blast at an artillery munitions factory that killed a great number of the women who worked there.

The book is an enjoyable tense romp through wartime Leeds. It gives a light on policing in that period. It's not the policing we have today. The standard of writing is very good. The tension in the storyline keeps building throughout the book leading to a thrilling climax. Can't wait for the next Tom Harper novel.

A cracking crime novel.

The enemy without and the enemy within.......

Chris Nickson brings us into the throes of World War I in Leeds in the UK. It's the cold winds of December of 1916 and the war efforts are taking a toll on the private sector as well as in the military. Men of an older age and females of all ages are working in the factories and in the warehouses to provide assistance to the soldiers sent to the front lines.

Nickson sends a spark into this one from the get-go. Without any warning, there's an explosion and a subsequent fire in the Barnbow munitions factory. Deputy Chief Constable Tom Harper and his men are alerted immediately. What lays before them are the injured and the dead who never made it out of the building. Could this just be a careless accident?

Not long after in January of 1917, a watchman finds paper and matches left inside the Army Clothing Depot. Someone was chased away before setting a fire that could have been a tinder box. And in the coming weeks a military guard is shot dead in front of his post at the East Leeds Military Hospital. From all indication and the precision of the shot, it looks to be the work of a sharpshooter. There's sabotage within the community of Leeds. But who? And why?

We'll visit the changing roles of the people of Leeds brought about by the demands of war. Tom's office has had a great impact with his own men being called up to serve. This weighs heavily with sabotage in the making. And Tom's own family suffers from his daughter Mary's husband serving in France. To add to all of this is the health challenges being visited upon Tom's wife, Annabelle. It becomes more evident as the days unfold.

Chris Nickson never disappoints. His research into the main streets and the back roads of Leeds is flawless and intriguing. The tension kept tightening from the first pages onward. Don't shy away when you spot the #10 on this one. A Dark Steel Death reads perfectly as a standalone due to the precise shaping of this storyline by Nickson. Once again, another winner in the hands of this fine, fine author. Bravo!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Severn House and to the talented Chris Nickson for the opportunity.

It’s December 1916, and the Great War is raging at the Front. The storyline begins in the suburb of Crossgates, Leeds, in the North of England. Deputy Chief Constable Tom Harper has been called to a munitions factory, (Barnbow), where there has been a massive explosion in one of the sheds. The factory was producing shells for artillery. This was war work and the factory was run by women, as most men of fighting age were overseas with the armed forces.
(*Incidentally, on a personal note, this tragic event was real and is well documented. My great aunt worked at Barnbow during this period, and had been on the previous shift prior to the explosion, leaving for home less than 15 minutes before it happened*).

The worry for Harper is, was this explosion deliberate?

Shortly after, there was an attempt by persons unknown, to start a fire at a local Royal Army Clothing Depot. Harper suspects that both these incidents are attempts at sabotage - someone wants to damage the war effort.

With Harper’s team badly depleted, (most of his officers had been called up early in the war, or volunteered), this won’t be easy to investigate, but there’s a traitor loose on the streets of Leeds, and Harper will stop at nothing to bring the perpetrator to justice. However, things are about to get worse!


As ever, with Chris Nickson’s Tom Harper series, the author has carried out meticulous research, coupled with a great storyline, very tense at times, with good old fashioned policing before the advent of technology. Harper is now acting Chief Constable of Leeds, but he’s still down to earth, likes to get involved when the opportunity arises. He has a loving family, - there’s Mary, his grown up daughter, who has already lost her fiancé in the fighting, and wife Annabelle. Sadly though, wife Annabelle takes something of a backseat this time around due to ill health.

A great blend of fact and fiction, together with a gripping storyline, from an author who was raised in the city of Leeds, and researches every detail included in his novels (his love for this great city shines through). All the above make this series a must!