The London Blitz Murders

Disaster #5

by Max Allan Collins, Anne Flosnik (Reader)

Not even Jack the Ripper killed four women in five days.

A murderer is on a rampage, stalking women on the Blitz-ravaged streets of London. Looking for adult material for her next book, legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie persuades her friend, forensics expert Sir Bernard Spilsbury, to take her to the murder scenes. When the investigation into the serial killings leads to a theater staging one of her works, the creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple puts her sleuthing skills to a real-life test. But will Agatha’s pursuit of the murderer make her the killer’s next target?

A harrowing historical thriller, The London Blitz Murders is a worthy homage to the world-renowned maven of mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Historical, Historical Mystery, Audiobook

MP3 CD

First published May 4, 2004

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[Clint A Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author explains in his afterword that this novel is a love letter to Agatha Christie. He also explains that it's a bit of a deviation from his hardboiled crime novels. I happen to enjoy hardboiled crime, so I probably shouldn't have chosen this as a jumping in point for Max Allan Collins. No offense to Agatha Christie, of course.

It was a short read that had interesting moments in it, and cleverly tied together snippets from history, but it just wasn't what I was hoping. I think the author became too distracted with the fact that his protagonist was The Great Agatha Christie and lost a little of the promise of the title. That being said, he was able to create a convincing portrayal of London living under, and becoming accustomed to, the constant threat of annihilation from above.

The writing was good enough that I kept reading, so that's something, and I wouldn't hesitate to try another of Collins's work, but this one was just okay. 2.5, I guess?

[Eva Müller · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the afterword, Collins talks about how much he admires Agatha Christie and that he disagrees with those that dismiss her whole output as harmless cozy with no depth. I was rather surprised about that because while listening I had the impression that this was written by someone who really hated Christie.

The entire plot happens because Christie has decided that all her books about murders in quaint little villages and posh country estates suck because they're unrealistic. During a dark and brutal war, nobody wants to read stuff like that. They want to read "realistic" hard-boiled crime. And so she wants to shadow an inspector for a while to see how real police work and real crimes look. And yes, I'm aware that in real-life Christie wasn't too fond of her most popular creations, especially Poirot, but throughout the whole book she was incredibly dismissive of her whole work. In the end, she changes her mind...except not really. She watches a performance of And then there were none, sees that the people still love it and goes "Oh, there's still a market for my books. I can continue writing this crap." It doesn't feel like she has a realisation that her work/her kind of crime fiction has valua after all. Her desicion seems to be entirely based on "if it sells I'll write it".

Besides I called the killer the first time he appeared.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think it is a good historical mystery story. the only agatha christie book that i ever read is and then there is none, and i love it! i savored every bit of this book as agatha christie a.k.a. mrs mallowan is the main character of the story. the book is fast paced which is the way i like it. looking forward for the other books in this disaster series!

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though perhaps not one of the better entries in this series, this was enjoyable enough. Agatha Christie is the lead in this book and the author used the real life Blackout Ripper's story for the plot. Listened to the audio version which was read by Anne Flosnik who did not really do much for me.

[Chris Leib · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice diversion. While not the best of the Disaster Series, it wasn't bad. It's always interesting to see how Collins weaves fact and fiction together. The people really existed, as did the event, but often not together in real life. This genre of True Crime Fiction may seem like a misnomer, but is actually quite enjoyable. Any problems I had were isolated regarding Collins' narrative style. Sometimes he can be Captain Obvious with dialogue or even descriptive statements, but these are few and far between. If you're looking for a bit of light summer reading with one foot in historical fact, this and the rest of the series are for you.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Structured like an Agatha Christie novel with a delicacy of touch despite the macabre issue it deals with...and evokes that time and place wonderfully

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fictional interweaving of Agatha Christie into a real series of murders in wartime London

[Ira Therebel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the weakest book in the series. Which is unfortunate because I was looking forward to read the book where Agatha Christie is doing the detective work.

Unfortunately the whole murder story was absolutely boring. A bunch of people died but there wasn't that many interesting clues or anything. The characters were really unspecial, just a bunch of names to keep up with. Even Agatha Christie herself didn't feel interesting and right. And I knew who the murder will from the moment (s)he entered the story.

[AndrewP · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this edition of his 'Disaster' series, Collins puts Agatha Christie in the middle of the Blackout Murders that happened during the WW2 Blitz. As with others in this series, Collins has taken some liberties with the dates but for the most part this is a good account of a True Crime story. He uses the real names of the people involved in the investigation but just adds Christie more into the mix.

A pretty good story and there's a detailed explanation of the whole factual circumstances at the end by Collins.

[Patricia Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie as the protagonist on a murder case that actually happened was very interesting to read.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you get when you combine the "Mistress of Mystery" (Agatha Christie), the "Father of Forensics" (Sir Bernard Spilsbury), and a wartime serial killer known as the "Blackout Ripper"? You get The London Blitz Murders! While it is unlikely that Dame Agatha went around London helping to solve murders, it is not entirely out of the realm of probability; she and Sir Bernard worked at the same hospital during the war, and they were friends. So Mr. Collins' fanciful tale might be closer to the truth than he realizes ...

Editing oversights found in the Kindle version of The London Blitz Murders:

Page 24, Thank you ma'am. / Thank you, ma'am. ; 32, counter with bunsen burners beneath / counter with Bunsen burners beneath ; 34, Another fan eager to meet "the mistress of mystery?" / Another fan eager to meet "the mistress of mystery"? (question mark should be outside quotes) ; 36, his digs in Ninevah / his digs in NINEVEH (proper spelling) ; 44, You are truly a one of a kind / You are truly one of a kind (omit "a" after "truly") ;

Page 46, The St. James? / The St. James. (not a question) ; 67, was it a soldier or sailor who charged into the breech? / was it a soldier or sailor who charged into the BREACH? ; 118, her fur coat; and her rubber hot-water bottle / her fur coat, and her rubber hot-water bottle (replace semicolon with comma) ; 145, Agatha decided not take offense / Agatha decided not TO take offense .

[Vultural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collins, Max - London Blitz Murders

Bit of a change here, musings from my short-lived participation in a book club.
Collins, better known for hard boiled mysteries, delves into cozy pastiche.
Based on a real life spree killer, the Blackout Ripper, the plot follows a trio of sleuths (DCI Edward Greeno, forensic expert Bernard Spilsbury, and Agatha Christie) hunting for an escalating murderer.

The plot jogs along, with neat touches: life under blackout, the crowded arrival of thousands of Yanks, and circumstances of working girls with limited options.

Not a book of any great depth, but a quick page turner, nevertheless, and a fun beach read.
West End buffs will appreciate the “actresses” who worked the Windmill Theatre …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w0ZD5...

… as well as tried out for ongoing rehearsals of Christie’s new production, “Ten Little Indians” (“And Then There Were None” for Americans).

Differences between Agatha Christie and Agatha Mallowan are interesting, though old hat for serious Christie fans.

I had a problem with the “voice” of this. Despite watching documentaries of Christie, despite seeing her likeness at Madame Tussaud’s, I still kept picturing - and hearing - Joan Hickson.
So much so, I wondered if Collins inadvertently used the actress as his template.
Could have been me, though.

[Gintautas Ivanickas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Įdomus eksperimentas - paimta reali byla. 1942 metais viso labo per šešias dienas Blackout Ripper'iu pramintas žudikas nužudė keturias moteris ir dar dvi kesinosi nužudyti, bet tos sugebėjo ištrūkti. Paimtas realus asmuo, neturintis nieko bendra su ta byla ir įpintas į tos bylos tyrimą. O kaip kitaip, jei tas asmuo - detektyvo karalienė Agatha Christie.
Gyvenime dažniausiai viskas kur kas paprasčiau, nei pripainiotuose detektyviniuose romanuose. Ir čia autorius visaip stengiasi išspaust tos "knyginės" intrigos, bet kad nelabai yra iš ko.
Iš esmės gavosi knyga apie Blackout Ripperio paieškas ir sulaikymą. Ir dar truputį - apie Agathą. Bet tos dvi temos gana darniai sugyveno. Ir viena kitai stengėsi netrukdyt.
Toks skystas ketvertas iš penkių.
Sumanysit skaityt - neguglinkit Blackout Ripper'io - bus žiaurus spoileris, nes jis, kaip ir daugumas kitų veikėjų, knygoje vaizduojamas tikruoju vardu.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Max Allan Collins, but this is not one of his better works. It feels underwritten, as if he struggled to find a voice so far distant from his own that he could not make out the words. If you find the concept intriguing, I recommend the first two books in the series, Titanic and Lusitania Murders, respectively.

[William Yeager Sr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books I've read, I can only say that this book is on my shelf as on of Thebes. So well written, so well researched, and very well blended real characters from history. All characters woven into this book would have been proud of the way they were portrayed. My complements to the author and hope to read all of this series with as much pleasure.

[Simone Sutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it 🤩 I cut my teeth on Agatha Christie. I love her books. This book hooked me like one of hers 💜💜 the setting was fabulous and descriptions were not overwhelming. I hadn’t decided “who done it” until the gas mask 🥸 thoroughly enjoyed the read! I’m going to try another one of his books. Hopefully it is as engaging as this one 🥰

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded down from a 3.5

Perfectly fine. There was some interesting info on Agatha Christie and the London Blitz, and it exposed me to the true crime case of the Blackout Killer. The overall mystery wasn’t too elaborate and more focus seemed to be on the history and describing what was going on at the time than the mystery at the core of the novel.

[Mary Greiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing like great literature, yet a fun jaunt to WW II England, and the opportunity to observe Agatha Christie solving a real murder. The solution was not as satisfying as a true Christie mystery, but the audiobook provided amusing listening while driving in traffic.

[Fatheya El-Marsafawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the Disasters series by Max Allan Collins because of the unique way he blends historical facts and famous crime fiction authors with murder mysteries. Since this novel featured Agatha Christie, it is the best of the series for me.

[Steve Bivins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars

I really had this book for several weeks before I decided to give it my undivided attention. I must say that Max Allan Collins did a good job with this book. I was entertained. Four stars

[Judy Zell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans of Agatha Christie will enjoy this mystery in which she is a major character and helps solve some real murders. Historical fiction with a lot of well-researched info about her life, how live theater went on in bombed-out London during the blackouts, and the Blackout Ripper

[gloria miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read. I enjoyed evenly. Would recommend to my sister and friends.

Enjoyed this book a great deal. Would recommend it to my sister and friends. Had a great plot line. Use of facts was great.

[Araych · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collins cleverly inserts Agatha Christie into the search for the Blackout Ripper who killed at least 4 women during the WW II London blackout. Yes, the Blackout Ripper was real. I love the idea but I found the book slow and not up to his usual high standards. 2 stars -- just OK.

[Simone Padfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

As a fan of Christie i thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well written, a great plot. And great characters. Well done Mr Collins

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tons of fun. Really enjoyed this one.

[Trish]

Wow, this is badly written, and the author hadn't done his research. I gave up 10% in as life's too short to read something a shoddy as this.

[Mysteryfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book got an extra star for its meticulous research. Sir Bernard and Mrs. Max Mallowan / Agatha Christie were historical figures, as was the Blackout Ripper. Collins has created a wonderful mystery around the events.
Personal note: this was the 1200th book I've read since I started keeping track on Goodreads.

[Harold Shaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Other than for Poe's marvelous "Murders in the Rue Morgue" probably the earliest mystery writer that I ever read was Agatha Christie, so this book had a special place in my heart. I have been a big fan of her works and of her, one of the few authors that I have ever read biographies of. From what I've read Collins' portrayal of her seems authentic and utterly believable. Like most readers, I'm sure, I like to "cast" the characters in any book in order to make it come alive even more. This is one reason I believe why I'm not a big fan of audiobooks. Listening to one person read a book to me is okay if I'm 4 years old and it's a bedtime story but i like the different personalities that different voices give to the characters, so until they get a nice big cast together and actually make a production out of audiobooks, I'll stick to reading thanks. Throughout this book my Agatha was played by Angela Lansbury and the visual I imagined was as she was during the "Murder She Wrote" years.

In any event this entry in the "disaster" series tells the true tale of a series of "ripper" like murders that actually took place during the war years in London. Although Dame Agatha was living in London during those years and indeed working at a pharmacy as part of the war effort, in the same building as Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the father of modern CSI techniques she didn't actually take a part in the investigation as she does in the book. Otherwise, as usual in this series, Collins and his staff have done their research diligently and made the portrayals as accurate as possible while take sufficient fictional liberties to make it a cracking good mystery with just enough red herrings to throw the reader off the track until the final pages. Get it, read it, see if you can figure out whodunnit before the final reveal.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The London Blitz Murders" by Max Allan Collins offer the reader an interesting protagonist; by day, she’s Mrs. Mallowan, hospital pharmacist, however, by night, she’s Agatha Christie, queen of crime. "The London Blitz Murders" is an enjoyable historical mystery which has Agatha Christie as the sleuth and not just the famous writer. It is book #5 of a series called "The Disaster Series."

Collins does an excellent job of creating characters who seem very real. Still, the book is fiction, yet many of the characters and the situation is based on an historical event. Here with Agatha Christie as the protagonist on a murder case that actually happened made the novel interesting to read. The antagonists is, of course, to be discovered; however, it is the elusive historical Blackout Ripper. During the event, she enlists helps from the Yard's forensics expert Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the father of modern CSI techniques. While not an expert by any means, I know that much of the material on Christie is factual. It is obvious that Collins has done extensive research on this event and on Christie.

The novel was a nice diversion. It is interesting to see how Collins weaves fact and fiction together. The people really existed, as did the event, which made the story fascinating. For a nice diversion and an interesting mystery, give "The London Blitz Murders" a try.

[Sally Sugarman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two of my favorites together. I have been an admirer of Sir Bernard Spilsbury since I read The Scalpel of Scotland Yard years ago. I also think Agatha Christie has been under rated as a writer of mysteries. Yes, I figured out who did it fairly early on but Collins wasn't trying to outdo Christie, just to pay homage. There was also an opening night of one of Christie's plays and as a theatre goer, that was fun. I also liked that when early in my reading I went to check the facts in the fact chapter that Collins has with all these books, there was a warning to the reader not to read that chapter until after finishing the book. Obediently, I went back to the mystery and enjoyed every minute of it. The story was based on an actual case and the detective and Spilsbury were actually involved. Of course, they kept newspaper shy Christie's involvement a secret. Or at least that is what is fun to believe after reading the book. Collins does a great job describing war torn London.