WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.840 Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. Great to 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:03.960 be here. So today we're diving into something 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:08.480 pretty dark. Imagine London, but not the glamorous 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.060 side. We're talking shadows, secrets. Yeah, the 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:13.580 kind of stuff hidden behind the, you know, the 00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:16.920 roaring 20s facade. Exactly. And that's the world 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:19.219 of Phil LaComber's novel Midnight Streets. It 00:00:19.219 --> 00:00:22.839 really gets into this like. terrifying underbelly. 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:24.879 It does. It's crime fiction, a detective novel 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.359 for sure. Right. But it's got this edge, this 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:31.640 grittiness about 1920s Soho that doesn't pull 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:34.640 any punches. It really leans into the unsettling 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.000 parts. It really does. OK, so the basic setup, 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:39.020 no spoilers, obviously. Right. Keep a spoiler 00:00:39.020 --> 00:00:41.609 free. We follow this private detective, George 00:00:41.609 --> 00:00:43.829 Harley. He's a war veteran, kind of haunted by 00:00:43.829 --> 00:00:46.530 that. And he gets pulled into this really disturbing 00:00:46.530 --> 00:00:49.210 case. It involves missing children. Which is 00:00:49.210 --> 00:00:51.250 immediately heavy stuff. Yeah, heavy from the 00:00:51.250 --> 00:00:54.289 get -go. And there are these whispers, these 00:00:54.289 --> 00:00:59.609 rumors of strange cults operating sort of hidden 00:00:59.609 --> 00:01:02.020 away. In the corners of the city, yeah. And on 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:04.739 top of all that, there's this hunt for a really 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:07.780 brutal serial killer they call the nursery butcher. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.280 Chilling name. Is it? So, yeah, this is not your 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.659 cozy mystery. It's a proper deep dive into some 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:17.000 pretty macabre territory. Absolutely. And Harley, 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:19.060 our detective, he's got his own moral compass, 00:01:19.180 --> 00:01:21.099 right? Yeah, seems like it. But he's dropped 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:24.819 into this world where, well, morality is blurry. 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:28.260 Lots of shady characters. So many. Criminals. 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:31.819 People down on their luck, but also like wealthy 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:34.959 socialites mixed up in things. Mobsters. It makes 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.299 you wonder how someone like Harley keeps it together. 00:01:37.420 --> 00:01:39.420 Yeah. Stays on the right side of things in that 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:41.280 kind of environment. Totally. OK, so things I 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.290 loved. First off, the atmosphere. Just. Wow. 00:01:44.469 --> 00:01:46.569 Oh, yeah. What about it? Lecomber just paints 00:01:46.569 --> 00:01:49.650 this picture of 1920s London that's so vivid, 00:01:49.769 --> 00:01:52.230 so gritty, you can almost, like, smell the coal 00:01:52.230 --> 00:01:55.310 smoke in the damp alleys. Ah, so it really transports 00:01:55.310 --> 00:01:57.409 you. Completely. It's not just background detail. 00:01:57.450 --> 00:01:59.769 It feels like a character itself, that sort of 00:01:59.769 --> 00:02:02.170 tangible sense of place. That's great. I mean, 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:05.150 those details, like describing a dive bar, the 00:02:05.150 --> 00:02:07.370 Pied Piper, I think it was. Yeah, that place. 00:02:07.469 --> 00:02:11.460 The way he describes the smell, sweat. booze 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:14.520 smoke yeah it just grounds it makes it feel real 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:16.919 that kind of detail really builds the mood doesn't 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:19.080 it it really does and i think that mood that 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.800 sense of place it kind of amplifies the unease 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:24.180 you feel like anything could be happening just 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:27.460 around the corner right danger lurking yeah which 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:30.479 brings me to the second thing i loved the plot 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:34.030 man it's intricate okay Twisty. Very twisty. 00:02:34.030 --> 00:02:35.830 It weaves together all these different threads 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:38.490 that you don't initially see connecting. Like 00:02:38.490 --> 00:02:41.689 you've got these occult rumors and then there's 00:02:41.689 --> 00:02:43.830 this controversial author, Cassina, I think, 00:02:43.889 --> 00:02:46.370 and his strange book. Right. The one about the 00:02:46.370 --> 00:02:49.009 priest and morality based on chance. Yeah. That 00:02:49.009 --> 00:02:52.669 adds a philosophical layer almost. Exactly. And 00:02:52.669 --> 00:02:55.330 even like a medieval tapestry becomes important 00:02:55.330 --> 00:02:57.449 somehow. It keeps you guessing constantly just 00:02:57.449 --> 00:02:59.210 when you think you've got a handle on it. Something 00:02:59.210 --> 00:03:02.719 else pops up. Yeah. It was a real mental workout, 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.419 but in a good way, you know? That skillful writing, 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:07.939 connecting those disparate bits, it makes you 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:10.719 think, is this just random crime? Or is there 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:13.120 something bigger, more complex driving it? Yeah. 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:15.039 How did you feel about how it all came together? 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:17.599 I found it super compelling. It felt like peeling 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:21.280 an onion, you know? Each layer reveals more questions. 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:24.580 Synology. And the third thing, the protagonist, 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:28.199 George Hartley. I was really drawn to him. What 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:32.479 about him specifically? Well, he's complex, shaped 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:35.039 by the war, trying to do the right thing in this 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:37.860 morally gray world. He's got this sharp wit, 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.159 almost cynical sometimes. The hard -boiled detective 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:43.039 trope, yeah. Kind of, yeah. But underneath, there's 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:45.960 this strong sense of justice. He's not just observing 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:48.560 the bad stuff. He reacts to it, wants to fix 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.180 it, even if it's dangerous. You feel that core 00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:54.000 integrity. That's key. The war background adds 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:55.919 depth, too, doesn't it? Maybe gives him a different 00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:00.000 perspective on suffering, on, well. On the darkness 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.639 people are capable of. I think so, yeah. It definitely 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:05.139 fuels his drive. Okay. But it wasn't all perfect 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:07.900 for me. The critiques. They didn't quite land. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:10.580 Well, one thing, and it's maybe a consequence 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:12.819 of that intricate plot. Yeah. There are a lot 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:15.240 of characters. Ah, okay. Hard to keep track. 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:17.939 Sometimes, yeah. You've got the club owners, 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:21.259 informants, police, society figures. It builds 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:23.800 a rich world, which is great. Right. But I did 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:25.839 find myself occasionally having to pause and 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.019 think, okay, who was that again? How do they 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:31.389 connect? It felt a bit like juggling sometimes. 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:34.389 That can happen with complex narratives, especially 00:04:34.389 --> 00:04:37.790 ones aiming for that realistic, crowded city 00:04:37.790 --> 00:04:41.209 feel. Everyone brushes shoulders. Did any minor 00:04:41.209 --> 00:04:43.149 characters still manage to stick with you, though? 00:04:43.370 --> 00:04:46.589 Oh, definitely. Even some of the seedier ones 00:04:46.589 --> 00:04:49.170 felt quite memorable. Harley was the clear anchor, 00:04:49.310 --> 00:04:51.370 though. But yeah, just keeping the web straight 00:04:51.370 --> 00:04:53.730 took focus. Fair point. A tradeoff for complexity. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.500 The other thing is, and this is more of a heads 00:04:56.500 --> 00:04:58.839 up for potential readers, it gets pretty dark. 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:01.620 How so? The book doesn't shy away from the grim 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:04.519 stuff, the themes around the missing kids, the 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:07.019 hints about what the nursery butcher does. Some 00:05:07.019 --> 00:05:09.560 descriptions are quite unsettling. Right. It 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:11.660 sounds like it really delves into the depravity 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:14.060 Harley's up against, not just theft or standard 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:18.160 crime, but something... Exactly. It underscores 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:20.680 the stakes and the real evil he's facing. So 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:22.699 sensitive listeners or readers might find some 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:24.579 parts disturbing. It's definitely not for the 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:26.819 faint of heart. Good to know. It sounds like 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:28.899 those darker elements are integral to the story 00:05:28.899 --> 00:05:30.620 it's telling about that world, though. Absolutely. 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.060 They feel necessary for the story. Just be prepared. 00:05:34.300 --> 00:05:38.939 Gotcha. All that said, weighing the incredible 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:41.939 atmosphere, the complex plot, the great protagonist 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:45.139 against the slight character overload and the 00:05:45.139 --> 00:05:47.759 darkness. The final verdict. I'm giving Midnight 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.120 Streets by Phil LaComber a solid four out of 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:53.180 five stars. Nice. Sounds well -deserved. A gripping 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:55.420 read, but maybe have a lighter book on standby 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:58.300 afterward. Uh -huh. Maybe. It's a really strong, 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.240 atmospheric crime novel. Highly recommend it 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:03.699 if you like that kind of deep... intricate, slightly 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:07.319 dark historical mystery. Cool. A compelling dive 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:10.759 into 1920s London's shadows. Okay everyone, that 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:13.399 about wraps up our deep dive into Midnight Streets. 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:15.740 Hope you found it interesting. If you enjoyed 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:19.019 exploring this shadowy world with us, please 00:06:19.019 --> 00:06:21.920 do hit that like button and subscribe so you 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:24.439 catch our future deep dives. Yep, helps us out 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:26.540 a lot. And if you want to grab a copy of the 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:29.300 book for yourself, we've put an Amazon link right 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:31.730 there in the description below. Easy peasy. We'd 00:06:31.730 --> 00:06:33.850 also genuinely love to hear your thoughts. What 00:06:33.850 --> 00:06:36.970 was your favorite bit of our discussion or maybe 00:06:36.970 --> 00:06:38.870 the most intriguing part of the book if you've 00:06:38.870 --> 00:06:41.490 read it? Yeah. Drop a comment. Let us know what 00:06:41.490 --> 00:06:43.649 you think. Favorite moment. Most chilling discovery. 00:06:44.050 --> 00:06:46.769 Absolutely. Let's get a conversation going in 00:06:46.769 --> 00:06:49.569 the comments. Your shares and comments really 00:06:49.569 --> 00:06:51.550 help other people find the show and discover 00:06:51.550 --> 00:06:54.149 books like this. Keep the discussion alive. Thanks 00:06:54.149 --> 00:06:56.350 so much for joining us today. Yeah. Thanks, everyone. 00:06:56.449 --> 00:06:57.170 Catch you next time.