The City in Flames (Stefan Gillespie Book 5)

I enjoyed this book as I have enjoyed all of the books in the Stefan Gillespie series so far but it is not one of Michael Russell's best. The series concerns the adventures of a Protestant Hiberno-German Special Branch detective working in Dublin and living near Baltinglass during the Emergency or WWII as the rest of the world outside Ireland knows it. In most of the books in the series Gillespie visits a foreign city to investigate a big crime, he has been to Borgos, New York, Nazi Berlin and Lisbon. In this book he is in London. At the same time he usually solves another smaller crime closer to home, often due to an insight he has whilst abroad. The thing I absolutely love about the books in this series is the feeling of time and place. This leads to the first reason I was disappointed with this book, a song. Towards the end of the book Gillespie and the German spy talk about a line from the song 'Rifles of the IRA'. Now I am pretty sure the words were written by Dominic Behan in the 60s and popularised by the Wolfe Tones later. It is a bloody annoying anachronism! Frankly, I am surprised Russell made this mistake, he is usually very good on modern Irish history. The second thing about the book that disappointed me was the feeling that this was not as lovingly crafted as it's predecessors, it is a bit of a pot boiler. In summary it's ok but not Russell at his best.

This series of "The City of/in ..." books is such a readable series of books; and after Danzig in "... of Shadows", New York in "... of Strangers", Spain in "... in Darkness", and Berlin in "... of Lies", it's now 1940 and the turn of Blitz-torn London as the "The City In Flames"Once again there are two parallel mysteries for Stefan Gillespie to solve, one at home and the minor story, and one overseas and undercover in County Camden, an alleged hotbed of IRA emigres and as serendipity would have it home to a German spy in the form of "Vera Kennedy" (and that's it for plot spoilers if you want more you can read the precis).Once again this is a book that weaves fiction with a raft of historical detail and discussion of Irish politics, the latter this time focussing on the difficulty of Irish neutrality in a time of war. Although pacier than the earlier books, this book lacks the plot complexities in particular of the first three stories (looking at my review of "The City of Lies" I note that I made a similar comment after reading the fourth episode in the series but this is weaker still) as Gillespie darts around both Eire and England entirely unfettered by the war (was that possible?). Whether the apparent compromise of complexity for pace is a good thing or a bad thing you'll have to judge, but despite the nice twist in the tale I felt less fulfilled at the end of the book than I had after the previous books, hence the four stars (although to be fair that's four stars against the other books in the series and not the book itself which is a five-star romp).Also like it's immediate predecessor this book has the feel of having been written to be read as either a part of a series or as a standalone that doesn't require and knowledge of Gillespie's backstory, but if you haven't read any of the previous books then I would recommend reading them in order particularly as the earlier books are, I think, stronger. That said I am still looking forward to Gillespie's next adventure wherever that may take him.**Plot spoiler: it's going to be 1941, it's going to be Malta, it's going to be "The City Under Siege" and it's going to be out soon, that's the staycation read sorted!

The whole series of books have been very enjoyable. A good read as well as being historically accurate. Look forward to reading the rest of the series!

This is a series that somehow gets better and better, even when at the end of each book you think it's one of the best things that you have ever read.More than just a crime series, it covers the most turbulent times in living memory and the plots of each book acknowledges that. Having said that, even the most prosaic parts of the books are extremely well written and grasp your attention.Without a wasted word or character this is a series that deserves reading and I would recommend it to everyone.

Storyline has a believable hero in Stefan Gillespie. The Author has went to the trouble of being geographically accurate which to me is a sign of an Author who cares about his Readers. I am now on Book 5 and have enjoyed allthe storylines so far. Great escapism and an enjoyable read.

I'm really enjoying this series. The basic story is good but what rises it above the normal is the background of Ireland's neutrality during WWII and the impacts this has. Add to this the IRA at odds with the Irish Government and causing problems in Northern Ireland and the mainland and you have a great background to events. The characters are all interesteing

Just a terrific piece of writing. Like all the books in this series it’s a skilfully constructed mystery, but the author’s great skill is to use his historical setting without descending into gobbits from Wikipedia or primary school didacticism. Engaging, believable characters in a wholly credible fiction which is constructed with fine, clear prose.

This is the 5th book in the series and sadly nowhere near as good as the previous books. I was disappointed. However I still hope to read book 6 and hope it can be back to the high standard of books 1-4.