London After Midnight : A Tour of Its Criminal Haunts

London is a fascinating place. By day it is a centre of culture and economy, government and teeming humanity. Even well into the evening, the city does not stop -- the government is used to meeting well into the night (there is a light at the top of the Big Ben Clock Tower signifying that the House of Commons is still sitting; often this light burns until nearing midnight), and the theatre and restaurant districts continue bustling well into the darker hours. However, after midnight, the city begins to slow. Public transport stops, the pubs have closed, and decent folk have returned to their flats, terraced housing, or outlying homes. This is London After Midnight -- a place for the less reputable folk, the criminals and the cads. Many is the author who has used this rich resource as the seedbed for their stories. Peter Haining has compiled a nice collection of stories that show the darker side of London, by giving a literary tour of its criminal haunts. Haining has arranged these stories, recent and older, into two broad categories -- Black Spots and City Sleuths. In the category of Black Spots, Haining has selected stories from such notable mystery authors as P.D. James and Graham Greene. London being the international city that it is, one also finds the likes of Fu Manchu in Limehouse. This section concludes with the ironically entitled, 'People Don't Do Such Things' by Ruth Rendell; alas, people do.Under City Sleuths, no collection of London detectives could be complete, or even seriously considered, without the great Sherlock Holmes by Conan-Doyle. Joining him are the creations of authors such as Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. Searching for the great and the overlooked, these detectives have set a standard that goes beyond the literary -- Holmes, for example, is required reading by the detective forces of many nations. Agatha Christie is perhaps the most translated female author of all time.One of the things that makes this literary tour so compelling is the element that makes many of the typical (and not-so-typical) British mysteries a delight -- they take place most often in real places. Sherlock Holmes' flat at 221b Baker Street might not be there, but Baker Street surely is. Hercule Poirot's Park Lane, Peter Wimsey's Piccadilly, and John Thorndyke's Temple legal haunts are all real, and can be visited on tour in London. In fact, Haining says in the introduction that it was on such a tour that the inspiration for this arose.There are twenty-two stories here, all in short-story format that can be easily read in one sitting; some may be unnerving, as crime, even proper English crime in London, can sometimes be a grisly affair. But those who love a good mystery, it doesn't get better than this.

London After Midnight is great it has some really gorey parts and is extremely intense, it brings the deadly murders to life and will haunt you in your dreams. If you haven't got it yet then you should quickly run to your nearest bookstore and buy one, and it's worth every penny but be carful i'm serious in some parts i would say it would not be okay for children.