It's the austere 1948 world of post-war, black-market-riddled England, and Jethro, the cat burglar and jewel thief, has been pushed out onto the rooftops of London again by Colonel Walsingham of MI5. And so, forced once again to step out from behind his disguise as a part-time stage-hand in London's West End, Jethro does a creep in Mayfair and sets in motion a tale of dark and deadly dealings that mixes national politics with black magic, orgies of abandon, and blackmail. Things get even deadlier when he stumbles across a royal cover-up and then uncovers a plot to topple Clement Attlee's Labour Government. And always ever present, looming in the background, are the twin spectres of the growing communist menace and a rebirth of fascism. There are even rumors the Americans are poking their noses deep into things and that a mysterious OSS agent is roaming around London with his eagle eye set on someone who looks a lot like Jethro. To top it all, Walsingham comes up with a plan---"in Defence of the Realm"---that calls for Jethro to steal his way into the very heart of English aristocratic circles. However, Walsingham's behind-the-scenes string pulling also has unintended consequences in London's gangland that result in Jethro finding himself up to his neck again in the never-ending battle between two of London's most notorious gang bosses, Darby Messima and Jack Spot. And all this is just a precursor to Jethro having to do a very serious bit of burglary at a certain very grand country house, the success or failure of which could mean England saved from going to the dogs or spell curtains for Jethro. In Spectres in the Smoke, Tony Broadbent has created a dark, shadowy vision of post-war London and spun a truly enthralling tale.

Spectres in the Smoke: A Creeping Narrative

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Broadbent, Tony

Mystery

Minotaur Books

Brought up in one of London’s famed street markets, Jethro the cat burglar is as smart as he is streetwise, which is just as well, as he always needs all of his wits about him to pull off the perfect job and not get caught. After he breaks into the Soviet embassy and steals jewels belonging to the ambassador's wife, Jethro comes to the attention of His Majesty’s Secret Service, who forces him to revisit the place again to retrieve a code book for them. But this is all just a set up for a thief to catch a thief, and it leads to a deadly game of cat and mouse to see who will get to Jethro first: London’s gangsters, MI5, or one of the Soviet’s most formidable secret agents.

The Smoke: A Creeping Narrative

‘The Beatles in Liverpool, Hamburg, London - The People, Venues, and Events that helped shape their music’ covers the all-important early years of the group. It takes you from the 'birth of The Beatles', all the way through to the global phenomenon that the world’s media—with no little irony—dubbed “Beatlemania”. It details: The People. The Venues. The Events. It includes sections on the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, in the USA and Britain; talks about the influence African-American music had on the group; covers the state of 'pop' and the media in Sixties' Britain; and highlights many of the people and the places The Beatles knew, and loved, and sometimes even loathed, in Liverpool, Hamburg, and London… in the span… From 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' to 'Beatlemania’.

THE BEATLES in LIVERPOOL, HAMBURG, LONDON: People | Venues | Events | That Shaped Their Music

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Plain Sight Press

A DISAFFECTED LIVERPOOL TEENAGER BECOMES INVOLVED WITH THE BEATLES WHEN HE’S HIRED TO HELP PREVENT THE MURDER OF THE GROUP’S MANAGER, BRIAN EPSTEIN Liverpool 1961. A city about to explode with the sound of raw-edged rock 'n' roll—reborn. Beat groups outnumber street gangs. Gangs of Teddy Boys terrorise dance halls and clubs with flick-knives and bicycle-chains. Gangsters demand protection money and firebomb clubs that don't pay. But nothing can stop the beat. The beat goes on. The demand for drink, cigarettes, sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll just keeps growing. But The Beatles are going nowhere fast—and they know it. Liverpool's grown much too small. Hamburg has become a drag. It’s the same old grind—day in, night out. The big question: Who can get them a recording contract down in London—get them to ‘the toppermost of the poppermost’? Only two men have vision enough to do it. Sam Leach—a pushy, local, rock 'n' roll mad promoter with towering dreams way beyond his means. And Brian Epstein—the sophisticated, urbane owner of a local record store. A group of rival promoters are plotting to push Sam Leach out of the business for good. The man convicted of beating, robbing, and blackmailing Brian Epstein has not only vowed to kill him, but is about to be released from prison. Everyone, it seems, wants to spoil the party. Into the swelling scene steps art student Raymond Jones, an angry young man desperate to find something—someone—to believe in after the death of his dad in a road accident. Picasso, Pollock, and de Kooning don't have the answers. Neither do Kerouac, Camus, or Sartre. So, just maybe, he'll find his salvation in rock 'n' roll.

The One After 9:09: A Mystery With A Backbeat

Humor & Entertainment

Pop Culture

If you live with a cat, you live with a teacher, one that watches your every move. When author Tony Broadbent began observing his cat Zuzu in all her daily wanderings, he found she led him to new pathways of thought, new insights, and an unexpected trove of wisdom. In tribute to the beloved little Bombay pussycat he took as his teacher, Tony has collected some of the teachings of Guru Zuzu into this enchanting little book. He has coupled them with illustrations that celebrate all cats, in the simple hope that you may delight in them too. And perhaps, as he did, also find some small measure of enlightenment for the way ahead.

The Timeless Teachings of Guru Zuzu

Religion & Spirituality

New World Library

Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-GBX-NONEX-NONEMicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Cockney cat burglar and jewel thief Jethro is as smart as he is streetwise, but even he has to be a bit nimble to prosper in the austerity-ridden, black-market-riddled world of post-war England. Having barely survived the war, Jethro tells everyone he's gone straight and takes up as a stagehand in London's theatre-land. But the truth is that hiding in plain sight around London's West End is the perfect cover for his diamond capers in wealthy Mayfair and Belgravia. Jethro steals into the embassy of an Iron Curtain power to pinch some fabled Czarist jewelry, but his daring caper brings him to the attention of His Majesty's Secret Service and they blackmail him into going back to retrieve a secret code-book and help a beautiful cipher clerk defect. It;s all a set up for a thieft to catch a thieft that pits Jethro against London's top villains, as well as one of the Soviet's topmost secret agents and assassins.

The Smoke

MP Publishing

Jethro, the renowned Cockney cat burglar and jewel thief, has been pushed out onto the slippery rooftops of London again by Colonel Walsingham of MI5. Jethro does ‘a creep’ in the posh Mayfair house of a certain Baron Belfold that sets in motion a tale of dark and deadly dealings amongst England’s aristocracy that mixes sex-orgies and blackmail with politics. In a tale that not only touches upon a Royal cover-up of the Duke of Windsor’s alleged dealings with Adolf Hitler during the War, but also on the Government’s attempts to root out Fascist sympathisers and Communist moles from the corridors of power in Whitehall.
Meanwhile, Walsingham’s secret string pulling has had unintended consequences in London’s gangland, and has resulted in Jethro’s best friend, Seth, being savagely beaten up by “the Emperor of Soho's” thugs. Seeking retribution, Jethro turns to Jack Spot, another of London's gang bosses, for help and then burgles Walsingham’s house to show him that no deed is ever without its consequences. The burglary leads to a confrontation that results in Jethro again taking action in “Defence of the Realm.” This time, it’s a break-in at the headquarters of the shadowy New Order of Britain Party, a powerful neo-Fascist society with serious political aims. And what Jethro uncovers confirms Walsingham’s worst suspicions, that there is indeed a plot by a secret group of high-ranking aristocrats to bring down Clement Attlee’s Labour Government. Fearing that even MI5 has been penetrated by spies, Walsingham again turns to Jethro for help in tracking down the sinister group’s ‘Keys to the Kingdom’, a collection of Red Books that reveal “who’s secretly who and what’s secretly what.”
The only difficulty being, Jethro has to pass for ‘a gentleman’ amongst the English upper classes. For help Walsingham turns to his old chums, David Niven and Ian Fleming. Then, suitably polished up, Jethro sallies forth with Walsingham’s trusted assistant Simon Bosanquet to tackle “the enemy within.” The trouble is, there’s a mysterious American OSS agent roaming around London that looks set to bugger everything up. And all of this the precursor to a very serious bit of burglary at a certain country house; the success or failure of which, could mean England saved from going to the dogs or spell curtains for Jethro. And if that wasn't enough, if Jethro manages to survive it all, Jack Spot is looking for Jethro to pay off the big favour he owes him by helping to pull off the-never-before -attempted 'Great Airport Robbery’. (And no excuses this time. Jethro’s in the gang proper or he's out of the game, permanently.) As Jethro would say, It never rains, but it pours.”

Spectres in the Smoke

Literature & Fiction

United States

It is 1949. London has endured the war but is plagued by hardship. The Smoke remains tarnished with shattered, abandoned buildings and bombsites. It is a world fueled by coal and driven by steam. Soap is still on ration; fresh meat of any kind is as well. Butter on the black market costs thirty shillings a pound. Life's little luxuries-be it bed sheets or pantyhose or tins of peaches-have the scarcity value of the Crown Jewels. It's the perfect backdrop for Jethro―honest Cockney cat burglar, jewelry thief extraordinaire, womanizer, and rogue―to redistribute the wealth of the upper classes.
The day after thieving jewels from a mansion, headlines scream that the very man Jethro robbed was found dead after falling from the balcony of his home. It's deemed a homicide when the jewels are discovered missing, and Jethro sets off on a search through London's dark underworld to find out who is trying to frame him. Driven by a caustic, unforgettable voice, Shadows in the Smoke is a wonderfully entertaining and evocative read that touches upon police corruption at the very highest levels and the politics of London.

Shadows in the Smoke

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