Breathe cover art

Breathe

a killer lurks in the worst fog London has ever known

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Breathe

By: Dominick Donald
Narrated by: Martyn Ellis
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About this listen

 London, 1952. Dick Bourton is not like the other probationer policemen in Notting Hill. He's older, having fought in Europe and then Korea. And he's no Londoner, being from Cotswold farming stock. Then there's Anna, the exotically beautiful White Russian fiancée he has brought back to these drab streets and empty bombsites. She may as well come from a different planet.

The new copper also has a mind of his own. After an older colleague is shot by a small-time gangster they are chasing in a pea-souper fog, something nags at Bourton's memory. He begins to make connections which his superiors don't want to see, linking a whole series of deaths and the fogs that stop the city in its tracks.

Desperate to prove himself and his theories, Bourton fails to notice the fear which his mysterious bride is doing her best to conceal - and overcome.

Soon both Anna and Bourton are taking dangerous paths into the worst fog London has ever known...

(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd©2018 Dominick Donald Crime Thrillers Historical Fiction Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime England

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Critic reviews

An outstanding debut . . . Donald combines historical events and fictional characters to superb effect, in a novel that deserves to win prizes.
The combination of thriller plot with pervasive moral uncertainty reminded me at times of le Carre. Historically fascinating, too. All in all, this is one of the finest debuts I've read for a while. (Andrew Taylor, author of Ashes of London)
Remarkably accomplished . . . the most appealing, original protagonist I've read for some time . . . Donald's depiction of the city's thickening gloom is splendidly evocative . . . A very impressive debut' (Alison Flood)
Dominick Donald's portrayal of the difficulties and dangers faced by Londoners is superb . . . Breathe is a hugely impressive debut.
Dominick Donald is an exceptional writer. His depiction of post-war London is beautifully detailed, as are his descriptions of the lethal fogs that left the city gasping for breath. On top of that he has peopled his nail-biting story with a rich variety of characters, many of them coppers, who might easily have stepped out of a Dickens novel. Gripping to the last page, it's a mystery unlike any other I've read. (Rennie Airth)
A brilliant book, an extraordinary mix of fiction and fact so real it will make your skin crawl. The sights, sounds, grit and desperation of postwar London hang over every step into the poisonous mysteries of the fog. Close the windows, pull up the duvet and keep the light on. (Tom Harper)
Atmospheric and intriguing
This subtly woven mixture of fiction and fact, which partly draws on the notorious case of 10 Rillington Place and the serial killer Reg Christie, casts a magical spell, and even includes a moving love story. It is a stunning debut from a former academic, security expert and journalist. You can smell the fog and feel the breath being sucked out of your body as you struggle to understand what is happening in the darkness
Dominick Donald sustains the tension beautifully over the course of this long book, depicting his smoggy setting so well that your eyes sting while your pulse races.
Gripping
This debut will keep you absorbed for nights on end . . . Dominick Donald combines tangy depiction of ration-era London with a strong historical context, featuring among many vividly realised scenes, a chase through the Underground that will haunt your commute for weeks.
Dominick Donald's novel is a remarkably convincing re-creation of a London that, although well within living memory, has vanished forever. Rich in detail and dialogue that successfully resurrect the period, it's a thriller that holds the reader's attention (Nick Rennison)
All stars
Most relevant
Donald is a good writer who can capture atmosphere and weave a plot.

But he needed an editor here who was ready to cut the book quite savagely to a more manageable length.

less would have been (much) more

a good book that could have been a great one

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If you like your narrator to sound just like an Alan Bennet impersonation then this is a book you will enjoy. The various characters, especially the females were hilarious but I don’t think that was intentional. Book is also too long. Boris Starling did a much better job.

Glad that’s over.

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A long but absorbing listen full of interesting characters and events, although I'm never keen on real/well-known people's motives and actions being fictionalised in order to advance a novel's plot ... an amazing narration with some unusual quirks that really enhanced the storytelling, e.g., telephone conversations that actually sounded like telephone conversations ... fascinating insights into life in the UK after WW2 (and the Korean War) and into the obstacles faced by stateless people ... this Audio book was so good that I will definitely listen to it again.

Wow ...

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This book is so well written and read that I listened to it through the night. Couldn’t stop wondering what was going to happen to Dick Bourton and his mysterious and beautiful Anna. The atmosphere of drab 50’s London in the Great Smog, with a serial killer perhaps just an arm’s length away is captured brilliantly.
Can’t wait for a sequel.

Amazing performance of an excellent debut thriller

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Donald's clearly extensive research about London in the smog years makes this a truly evocative and gripping novel. The commonplace persona of mass murdererer Christie is reanimated brilliantly. I was unconvinced by the final chapter, however. And Martyn Ellis dramatises this perfectly.

Compelling story and narration

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