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In Breen and Tozer’s London, a battle for the soul of the city is being fought between cops and criminals, the corrupt and the corruptible.

London, November 1968. Detective Sergeant Breen has a death threat in his inbox and a mutilated body on his hands. The dead man was the wayward son of a rising politician and everywhere Breen turns to investigate, he finds himself obstructed and increasingly alienated. Breen begins to see that the abuse of power is at every level of society. And when his actions endanger those at the top, he becomes their target.

Out in the cold, banished from a corrupt and fracturing system, Breen is finally forced to fight fire with fire. William Shaw paints the real portrait of London’s swinging sixties. Authentic, powerful and poignant, The Kings of London reveals the shadow beyond the spotlight and the crimes committed in the name of liberation.

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"Insightful . . . An elegy for an entire alienated generation."
Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
"[Breen] is nervy, a true original in his line of work, altogether the most welcome new crime solver in British fiction. . . . You'll never read a better evocation of London circa 1968."
Jack Batten, Toronto Star
"A slow burn . . . Good to the last ember"
Arielle Landau, New York Daily News
"A must read! . . . Shaw's characters are flawed, but never dull. The story moves along at a good clip, with the action building toward a thrilling conclusion."
Philip Zozzaro, San Francisco Book Review
"This critique of the Swinging Sixties is administered by a crackerjack storyteller who adroitly balances likable lead characters, bursts of intense action, and a great ear for office banter that will engage any reader who remembers the era, as well as anyone who has to google 'bell-bottoms.'"
Library Journal (starred)
"A clever caper . . . Shaw has done a very good job indeed of weaving this yarn. . . . Everything here feels authentic.
Brooke Wylie, Examiner.com
"Darkly humorous . . . Shaw perfectly captures London in the swinging 60s . . . Breen and Tozer come across as fallible human beings . . . It's their relationship-both professional and personal-that makes this a winner."
Publishers Weekly
"Shaw skillfully resurrects the 1960s bohemian art scene in London. . . . Shaw improves on this series' strong debut."
Booklist
"Shaw makes the gritty English capital come alive . . . [He] admirably depicts the steep uphill battle for women trying to make a career with the police in the '60s."
Kirkus Reviews

On Sale: Jan 27, 2015
Page Count: 400 pages
Publisher: Mulholland Books
ISBN-13: 9780316246873

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William Shaw

About the Author

William Shaw is an award-winning music journalist and the author of several non-fiction books including Westsiders: Stories of the Boys in the Hood. Prior to becoming a crime writer, he worked at the post-punk magazine ZigZag and a journalist for The Observer, The New York Times, Wired, Arena, and The Face. He lives in Sussex, England.

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