Second Violin cover art

Second Violin

An Inspector Troy Thriller

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Second Violin

By: John Lawton
Narrated by: Lewis Hancock
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £30.99

Buy Now for £30.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

 March 1938. The Germans take Vienna without a shot being fired. Covering Austria for the English press is a young journalist named Rod Troy. Back home, his younger brother joins the CID as a detective-constable.

November 1938. Kristallnacht. The Jews leave Vienna - Sigmund Freud with an American escort on a sleeper train, Josef Hummel tied to the underside of a box car.

June 1940. Sergeant Troy is seconded to Special Branch to help round up the 'enemy' aliens, among who are Hummel and his brother Rod. Rod and Hummel are interned on the Isle of Man... Meanwhile a lunatic is killing Rabbis in the East End of London. Troy asks for time off from Special Branch to return to his true calling...Murder.

©2008 John Lawton (P)2008 Oakhill Publishing Ltd. Espionage Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Mystery Police Procedural Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense War & Military Military War Thriller Crime

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Night Soldiers cover art
Protest cover art
Devil in a Blue Dress cover art
The Black Orchestra: A WW2 Spy Thriller cover art
Prince of Spies cover art
Charlie M cover art
The Blitz Detective cover art
The Winter Agent cover art
A Dog Called Demolition cover art
The Book of Ultimate Truths cover art
Billy Liar cover art

Critic reviews

"One of the unsung (at least until now) heroes of the genre, as good as LeCarré." ( Chicago Tribune)
All stars
Most relevant

Where does Second Violin rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

About the middle. Some books I listen to countless times (even crime novels if they are also good novels and beautifully read) but this one is not one of them. It's not bad and the narration is good but the book as a whole is not so engaging that I want to listen to it again soon. I may come back to it later though.

What did you like best about this story?

I very much enjoy novels which take the reader back to the early times of a character first seen in later life. I read the second Frederick Troy book, Old Flames, years ago. I didn't like it and that may have been because of the style and not liking Troy himself. He is younger here and although he is not likeable he has his good points. I also enjoyed the writing style, which is surprising. Lawton is describing horrific events but does it in quite a sardonic way. It shouldn't work but it does, hearing very shocking events described in that way might lessen the impact but for me it made them all the more powerful.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

All of the scenes in the internment camp were very affecting. There is character study, men from all walks of life bonding under pressure, some very funny scenes in the middle of some very moving ones.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's too long for that but I listened to it over the course of three or four days and it never dragged.

Any additional comments?

This may be a novel about a policeman in London during the second world war but the crime aspect is almost peripheral to the main themes. Lawton has shown very well Europe in turmoil and shocking racism both studied and casual.

A good listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found the Second Violin fascinating. True it dealt with the horrors of the Third Reich without pulling any punches but I do not think it does any of us any harm to be reminded of the consequences of racism and bigotry. If you enjoy stories based around the Second World War you will enjoy this audio book!

Gripping!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very good book, full of interesting characters, dark and sombre in places, light and funny in others. A thoughtful, well written and engaging book with a narration that is timed to perfection. Top marks from me.

Best listen I have had for ages

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have not read any of his earlier books and this is the sixth in the series fortunately in Second Violin, Lawton takes us back to the early days of Troy?s career in a story set against the run up to the start of the Second World War. So not having read any of the others does not put you at a disadvantage. However, almost half of this book goes by without any real involvement from our detective. This is a challenging listen it deals with the brutality of the Nazi regime, it brings you face to face with racism and the horrors that took place while Britain tried to appease Hitler it looks at what it means to be British. It has strong language and violence but it is also enthralling.

A typical crime novel this certainly isn?t, wonderfully written and brilliantly narrated it most certainly is. In my view it?s a triumph.

A Triumph

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
found this heavy listening at first but the seconed half was better

second violin

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews