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Book Review

from Cathy (cathyvpreece@aol.com)
Saturday February 15, 2003

The Guardian

Book Review

London's Dark

by James Robinson and Paul Johnson (Titan, £6.99)

London's Dark is indeed dark, both in subject and presentation, with each page teeming with grimy black and white visions of the East End during the Blitz. Illustrator Paul Johnson's mix of newspaper headlines, maps and detailed illustration creates a paranoid setting for this story of romance and murder.

An air-raid warden with a bad heart is sent to investigate the dealings of a local fortune teller, with whom he falls in love. The paranormal voice she's been hearing is that of the man who ran the grocers' off Kennington Lane, who claims he was murdered, though the neighbourhood believes he was killed in an air raid. From there, writer James Robinson works quickly to bring the crime story to a climax amid the destruction brought on by German bombs. More of the lovers, more of the violence, and more of Johnson's imaginative settings would have made it an unforgettable comic.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

(posted 7712 days ago)

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