They Drive by Night

The publishers are to be commended for this excellent selection of hardback reprints of largely forgotten British crime thrillers – this title by James Curtis among them.It's a window into the social world of 30s working-class life and the underbelly of petty crime with the slang, attitudes and violence presented in an unvarnished and authentic writing style as the reader follows the protagonist Shorty Mathews; released from prison and pursued by the police for a murder he didn't commit, Curtis also introduces the plot threads of Molly, a prostitute. And the real killer, a deranged, delusional misfit.It's a well-paced and relatively quick read (you'll read it in a day - I did) and a refreshing take on Noir fiction, quite different from the American style of hard-boiled writing.A minor classic, but well worth picking up – I enjoyed it.

A forgotten gem of a novel that reveals a seedier side of 1930s Britain, using language that must have shocked some of its first readers. The main character, 'Shorty' Matthews, has just been released from Pentonville Prison and decides to visit an old girlfriend. When he arrives at her lodgings, Shorty discovers that the girl has just been murdered. He panics and flees, leading to a manhunt across Britain.The plot is standard fare, but what makes this novel so compelling is its insight into working class life and the use of language. So many novels of this era were sanitised, but James Curtis has tried to create an authentic, honest depiction of a part of society that was ignored by many writers. The result is a novel that works on two levels: a gripping, well-paced crime novel and an important social document.

Just discovered the joy of Curtis. A great honesty in his writing and a proper good yarn to boot. The story takes you to a time and place long forgotten. I'm hooked.

Sorry, pinched the title from Jonathan Meades's incisive introduction to this James Curtis novel originally published in 1938. Shorty Mathews has just been released from Pentonville when he stumbles on the body of a murdered prostitute. Fearing his innocence will not be believed he sticks out his thumb and heads north with police in hot pursuit. Meanwhile the real killer is left to his own sinister devices. The Great North Road is the doorway to a world of "coal gas and swill, soot and smuts, bleach and carbolic, drains and lard, Woodbines and belching tea urns."Fantastic read, much more than a period crime/detective thriller. Forensic use of the vernacular and believable characters portray the alternative (but more likely accurate) England of the period than the one presented by the cinema.