It's been a while since I last looked in on the 'Homefront' series and I am so sorry I left it so long. An exciting, thrilling adventure set against the backdrop of a time we don't think about too much; more shame us. Great characters, this authors usual spellbinding twists and turns! Bring on the next, please. My thanks to Netgalley and Allison & Busby for the reading copy.

A spate of robberies in jewellery shops in London ends when an officer is shot. Charged with investigating, the case is personal for Marmion as the shot officer is his daughter's fiancee. The evidence points to a gang of Irish Nationalists who seem to be led by a retired actress. However one of the gang is keen to silence the officer permanently so it is a race against time to find them whilst war rages in France.
I hadn't read any of the other books in the series but that didn't seem to matter as I slipped into the characters easily. I really liked the setting in the London police during World War 1, the book is well-researched and evocative. Essentially it is just a police procedural with a twist, but it is a solid one.

Edward Marston's mysteries are always a treat as they are well plotted and there's a well researched and vivid background.
I love this series and was glad to catch up with the characters, hoping for the best, and trying to guess the culprits.
A fast and engrossing read.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Another exciting episode of these WW1 detectives. They bring alive the London of the era. Great for readers who want to curl up and go back in time. Sadly it looks to be the last in the series.

Really enjoyed Danger Of Defeat. So well written with red herrings keeping me turning the pages.Entertaining smart will be reading more by this author #netgalley#dangerofdefeat.

Harvey Marmion is called to an incident in Limehouse in the middle of the night. Three burglars, at least one with a gun, have robbed a jewelry store and killed a policeman. Another policeman followed them to a house. Marmion picks up his sergeant, Joe Keedy, on the way. Keedy is engaged to Marmion's daughter, Alice. As police converge outside the house, Keedy volunteers to rush the house along with two others. However, he runs into the man with the gun who shoots him in the stomach at a short distance. The burglars have also set fires inside the house, and them had been able to escape via the roof.

To temporarily replace Keedy, Marmion asks to have Burge help him investigate. Although Keedy has come through his operation well, Alice is very upset to find she is not allowed to visit him where she can hold his hand. Instead, she has to be outside the room looking through a window. Marmion and Burge quickly find that a woman has been in several robbed jewelers within a few days of the burglary. They also decide she must be an actress, because each one looks different. They also find out the the head burglar is Irish, and the jewelry is probably going to the free Irish movement.

Will Marmion and Burge find the burglar/killer, before he finds Keedy and gets a chance to kill him? Will Alice and Keedy finally be able to get married?

This is a great British historical police procedural. I thank Netgalley and Allyson & Busby for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Allison & Busby for an advance copy of Danger of Defeat, the tenth novel in the Home Front Detective series to feature Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy of Scotland Yard, set in 1918.

In the early hours Marmion and Keedy are called out to an armed standoff. Three burglars have shot a police constable and retreated to a house in Limehouse. Keedy leads the entry and is shot during the burglars’ daring escape. While Keedy is recuperating Marmion enlists the help of Acting Sergeant Clifford Burge in his hunt for the gunmen and their motive.

I thoroughly enjoyed Danger of Defeat, which is an action packed read with a strong storyline and some unexpected turns. It is told from both Manion and the burglars’ points of view so not everything is a mystery, although the ringleader of the gang’s identity is never revealed until the denouement. It is interesting as a read to compare how Manion goes about acquiring knowledge of them with what they reveal to the reader. It never seems forced or contrived as the reader never knows what they will get up to next, and there are some real surprises.

This is not a long novel so it feels that there are developments on every page, some more welcome than others, but it’s not just a game of cat and mouse as the author devotes a fair amount of time to Keedy’s fiancée, Alice Manion, and her emotional struggles over Keedy’s injury and the potential threat of the burglars coming back to finish the job. I think that the author does a great job of describing Alice’s reactions, a mixture of real upset and the practical solution she finds to occupy her waiting time. There is an optimism that I didn’t expect, but feels natural in her attitude.

Danger of Defeat is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Danger of Defeat is the latest book in Edward Marston’s World War One based crime series starring DI Marmion and DS Keedy and it is another great addition to a wonderful series.

A siege goes wrong and Keedy is shot which leaves Marmion both worried about his colleague and on the trail of the violent burglars.

As useful there are a number of twists and turns resulting in a page turning book that is definitely recommended.

This is right up Grumpy Grandads (we really should stop calling him that !) street. A good old fashioned yarn for those who remember Biggles. Actually, I really enjoy these stories too, just enough excitement , mystery and red herrings to keep the little grey cells going without frying them. We have read quite a few and they still are as good as the first few. A smashing stocking filler.

Although I have read and enjoyed many of Edward Marston’s Railway Detective series, this was my first read of the Home Front Detective books. I wasn’t disappointed.
Detective Joe Keedy is shot and seriously injured during a botched attempt to foil the burglary of a jeweller’s shop. Unfortunately for Keedy, he can identify his attacker. Inspector Marmion, his superior and future father-in-law must work fast to solve the mystery before the shooter returns to finish off the job.
The action moves at a good pace, with details unfolding to reveal much more to the plot than a simple series of jewellery thefts. Set against the backdrop of the First World War, the story also draws on the tensions between Britain and Ireland in the wake of the Easter Rising, as well as referring to the effects of shell shock on returning soldiers. These details give the story a much more gritty realism than some of Marston’s other novels. The characters seem more rounded and finished off. The characters are flawed to an extent, and the happy home life of the Marmions is disturbed by the shadow of Paul who, though absent from the narrative, makes his presence felt through the effect his memory has on his mother. Hints are made that he may have a larger, darker part to play in future novels.
The dialogue can sometimes seem a bit awkward and clunky, for example when the characters relate historical events to each other in order to inform the reader of them. This is quite typical of Marston’s style and happens much less frequently in this book than some of his others.
All in all, I enjoyed this historical crime read. There were enough twists, turns and red herrings to hold a reader’s interest and keep them guessing until the end. I’d definitely recommend it.

Several years ago I read the "Railway Detective" series of books by Edward Marston and found them to be reliably enjoyable, easy reading and well written. I hadn't realized Edward Marston had written another series called The Homefront Detective of which this book, Danger of Defeat, is the tenth in the series! I have not read the others but this had no effect at all on my ability to enjoy the story. There was no need to already be a reader of the series. The series is set during the Great War, the first book is set in 1915 and this latest story is set in 1918, near the end of the War. The stories are based on cases investigated by Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and this latest plot involves a gang of thieves who have murdered a police officer and are being beseiged by the police. When Marmion and his partner attempt to break down the door the thieves are shielding behind, Marmion's partner gets shot and he starts to uncover the secrets behind the gang. I really enjoyed reading this story over the course of a few evenings in bed. The story zips along and is very enjoyable. I'm very pleased to have found a new bingeable series for light, easy reading which is also satisfying. Christmas present book list sorted.