“Spectres in the Smoke,” by Tony Broadbent (St. Martin’s Minotaur, 322 pages, $23.95)
In 1948 London, postwar austerity is in full swing, fascism is on the rise again in certain circles, and MI5 once again calls upon the resourceful Cockney cat burglar Jethro to deal with the nastiness, which if unchecked could undo the brave new order dreamed of by the Labor Party.
With his leftist leanings and quiet patriotism, Jethro, a former merchant seaman turned stagehand whose burgling skills are legendary, has proved to be the perfect spy, able to go undercover in a variety of personas and, best of all, willing to be of service to his government. Sir Oswald Mosley has been recruiting members for his New Order of Britain, and MI5 wants Jethro to penetrate headquarters and seize vital documents. The history of fascism in Britain, including the Duke of Windsor’s pro-Nazi sympathies, is brought into play, as are the Satanism, kinky sex and anti-Semitism certain members of the group indulge in.
Cameo appearances by actor David Niven and author Ian Fleming, and Jethro’s daring rescue of a lissome virgin slated for human sacrifice by the bad guys add to the fun. As cheeky and endearing as ever, Jethro – “a gifted irregular” in the words of MI5 – gets the job done with the same aplomb he demonstrated in his first case, “Smoke,” now available in trade paperback from Felony & Mayhem ($14.95).
“The Red Hot Empress,” by Meredith Blevins (Forge, 351 pages, $24.95)
Annie Szabo, a reporter for an alternative San Francisco newspaper, gets a tip for a story from her eccentric gypsy mother-in-law, Mina, who turns her on to Jimmy Qi, a 12-year-old kid from Chinatown who has the ability to heal by toning, or singing musical notes.
It sounds weird, but he’s the real deal, and after Annie has written him up, everybody wants a piece of Jimmy, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the FBI to an evangelist whose own healing powers have left her. Even Jimmy’s family is threatened in the aftermath.
Fortunately, Jimmy is wise beyond his years and talented in many other useful ways, some of them larcenous. But when people start getting killed over him, Annie and her family and friends spirit him away from San Francisco to her home up the coast for safekeeping.
Jimmy is a great character who can hold his own with the quarrelsome, exuberant, generous Szabo clan, whose numbers are unexpectedly augmented by family members Annie never dreamed existed. And there’s a new love in her life – but their future together must go on hold until the boy’s safety is guaranteed.
“The Vesuvius Club,” by Mark Gatiss (Scribner, 230 pages, $13)
English secret agent Lucifer Box is surely one of the most outrageous fictional heroes to come along since Flashman first deserted queen and country. He’s what you would get if you tossed one part Sherlock Holmes, one part John Steed (from “The Avengers”) and one part James Bond in a cocktail shaker and added a dash of Oscar Wilde.
Aping early 20th-century yellowbacks, complete with period advertisements on the inside covers, this ribald mystery is set not long after the naughty ’90s (1890s, that is). Box’s control is a 3-foot dwarf from whom he receives instructions in swanky lavatory stalls scattered about London. It seems that a mysterious organization bent on killing English vulcanologists is threatening the very existence of the British Empire. The accent might be Eton, but the humor is pure English music hall.
