Phil Lecomber's historical crime thriller ,"Midnight Streets" is set in the gritty and squalid environment of 1920's Soho.

When Private Detective George Harley saves the life of a young woman he is delighted to be asked to investigate a seemingly linked series of murders by the police, this turns out to be a definite case of be careful what you wish for. Harley plies his trade around post WW1 Soho ,a former soldier and "spook",something he's reluctant to talk about, he's no saint and grew up with many of the mobsters he treads carefully around while conducting his investigation.

This is an excellent tale that brings the almost schizophrenic world of old-time Soho to life,the bustling retail area where the gangsters,prostitutes and all forms of lowlife surface after the shops and offices have closed down for the day, the drug dealers and pimps who start work after the butchers and greengrocers have closed and the office girls gone home.
The action is continuous and frequently shocking as Harley finds himself between rival gangs of thugs, the strange and deranged and with bent coppers thrown into the mix for good,or possibly bad,measure.

I really enjoyed this book,not least the references to things that are not generally known ,the child workers sent to Australia and the various esoteric orders that were popular at the time. There are real historical characters in the plot as well as some who are very obviously based on real people. The story does take a little while to take off as there are so many characters I initially found it quite hard to keep track but once it got going I was hooked.
This is the first book in a series,and one I'll definitely follow.