Force of Darkness – hidden history of the Blackout

My new book will be published on 20 August. It contains new angles on the case of Gordon Cummins, the women who crossed his path and these shattering wartime years in London…

A Daily Mirror journalist who interviewed me last week about Force of Darkness said he found passages about the Second World War home front particularly interesting.

I was delighted that all the research had paid off because, as someone who studied history at university and heard all about the war from relatives when I was a child, the desperate years of conflict in the capital had always fascinated me, too.

Although Force of Darkness is about a notorious wartime crime and investigation, I think many readers would agree that true crime only really captivates if it also about the people affected and the period and place.

The Mirror man also asked why I had written in depth about the lives of women who feature, victims and survivors.

The reason was simple. Their lives were relatable and affecting. One came to the West End looking for romance; one was passing through London for a single night on the way to a new job as a chemist; one sold sex after her husband died in debt and left her and her daughter penniless.

These and several others had to be recounted to do justice to a case Scotland Yard said had ‘no parallel in the history of the Metropolitan Police’.

The book took me several years to research and write, and I must thank the History Press for their support in bringing it to publication. The journey led me from dusty archives to Wandsworth prison, where I saw what was once the condemned cell and gallows.

By the way, I must say even one morning in a modern UK prison was sobering and bleak. If you can, don’t commit any crimes.

The book is available for pre-order now. If you’re tempted by this extraordinary case and the lives of women who lived during this national emergency, do pick up a copy (see tab above).

Pre-ordering is a great way to support books, original research and authors, and in these AI-driven times, that’s a result.