In the aftermath of the Second World War, Danny McRae has been demobbed from the Special Operations Executive and has turned his talents to private investigation. Clients are few and far between, though, and even by post-war standards he is not doing very well. Then in comes Kate Graveney, an upper-class woman who says that she thinks she’s killed a man. A promising start to a case, and she pays cash in advance.

In addition to being demobbed and living a precarious existence, Danny is plagued with migraines, blackouts, and memories of his time at Dachau concentration camp. The memories are horrifying, the migraines are painful, but the blackouts are terrifying because they also seem to coincide with attacks by a serial killer who seems to fancy himself the new Jack the Ripper. Danny isn’t a killer, is he?

This was a vivid, occasionally disturbing book. Post-war London is a grim place indeed, and it is not sentimentalized in these pages. And Danny’s post-traumatic stress is certainly not glossed over. That said, the solution was a little weird for my tastes, and there were some parts that were probably too disturbing (namely how one of the women is killed).

Nevertheless, I would suggest you try this book if you’re interested in books set in London post-WW2, the private-eye genre transplanted to England, or maybe the Red Riding series by David Peace—both that series and this book feature similar sets of murders, they have a similar atmosphere, and both feature corrupt coppers. ( )

The book is dampened by a lack of originality from beginning to end. The new Ian Rankin? Not by a long stretch...

If you’re looking for an easy, predictable story this novel will suit you, but if it’s excitement and originality you’re after perhaps it’s time to reconsider.

The fact that Gordon Ferris is being seen as the new Ian Rankin spoiled it for me, ie, my expectations were set too high.

There are as many twists and turns as a corkscrew. I felt dizzy and not in a good way...

It’s not exactly awful, or terrible, it’s just… meh.

Contrivance raised to the nth-power... ( )

Truth, Dare, Kill by Gordon Ferris is an interesting take on the noir genre. Set in 1946 London, the story moves along at a good pace and kept me involved and wanting to know the outcome. The main character, Danny McRae is a scarred war veteran who had been a SOE Agent during the war, one who had been captured, tortured and spent time in Dachau. Although he suffers from amnesia and recurring blackout spells, he is trying to establish himself as a P.I.

He is approached by a mysterious woman who tells him she may have killed someone and wants him to ascertain if this is indeed what happened. The dead man turns out to be Danny’s ex-commander and one who Danny would like to find to help him fill in some of his blanks. A short investigation reveals that this man is dead, but Danny decides to dig a little deeper as something seems a little off. Meanwhile there is a serial killer at work in the area, targeting prostitutes and suspicion falls on Danny. Danny himself wonders exactly what he is getting up to during his blackouts.

There was one element to the story that set my teeth a little on edge but as it was near the end of the book and there was a half-hearted attempt to explain it away, I decided to just let it slide. In the end this retro-mystery was a little weak but interesting enough that I will read the other Danny McRae story that the author appears to have written before he moved along to another series. ( )

A different crime story, not wholly convincing, set in post-WWII London. Danny McRae, former SOE operative, returns to London after being badly scarred physically and mentally by a period in a German concentration camp, Dachau. Working undercover in Avignon he was betrayed to the Gestapo, badly beaten but has no clear memory of what happened. Back in London he becomes a private detective, drawing on a pre-war career as a policeman. A woman asks him to investigate the possible death of his former SOE controller, which embroiled him in memories of his past and challenges his own assumptions of what happened. ( )

"Truth Dare Kill" is the first in a two book series ("The Unquiet Heart" is #2) about Danny McRae, a WWll vet, ex-cop, now fledgling PI. It's 1946 or thereabouts and London is slowly emerging from the rubble - so is Danny. He has a head injury that is healing slowly and along with it he is amnesiac with respect to certain events that occurred at the time of his capture by German soldiers in France. The story starts in classic Chandler fashion.....Danny sits in his office staring at the walls when in walks a stunning blonde. She wants to verify that her married lover is in fact dead. And so this book blends three themes that strongly appeal to me - crime investigation, London, pre/post WWll. And does it well. No where near John Lawton's magnificent seven book series with the same background, but a good job nevertheless. A well told story, interesting characters, and solid but not great writing. I will read book #2 in this series. These two books were published 2007-08 and then a different series, Douglas Brodie, 3 books 2011-13, followed, that one taking place in Scotland, also post WWll. ( )