Friday Fiction: A Storm In the Blood by Jon Stephen Fink (January 2011)

From the Past Comes the Present
Review by Kim Cantrell

True story: On January 3, 1911, three unarmed London police officers were gunned down by Latvian revolutionairies. This event would be come to known as the Houndsditch Murders.

Now, author and screenwriter Jon Stephen Fink resurrects the past with a masterfully crafted novel that brings to life a murders long forgotten with his book A Storm In the Blood.

Readers are invited to travel through history with such notorious persons such as Winston Churchill as he oversees the efforts of Scots Guards and other officers to take down the revolutionairies; which exploded into a massive gunfight that went down in history as The Siege of Sidney Street.

Peter the Painter, also known as Peter Piaktow, comes to life on the pages as he escapes with his mistress, a young Jewish refugee and Yiddish theater singer named Rivka. (It should be noted that while much of this book is based on fact, Rivka is a fictional character).

Regular readers know that I’m a huge fan of true crime and history. So if I can find a historical fiction that’s largely based on true crime, it’s my first pick for a fiction read.

That exactly what I got with A Storm In the Blood.

Jon Stephen Fink spent many, many years researching the real life stories behind the main protagonists and the facts surrounding the deadly events that made history in the most early years of the 20th century.

Finks writing is so detailed, so vivid that it was easy to get lost in the characters and scenes. Frankly, A Storm In the Blood has to be the absolutely most engaging fiction I have read in quite some time.

I’m not much for rereading books. I’m kind of a read-it-once kinda gal. But A Storm in the Blood is one that will remain on my bookshelf to be enjoyed in years to come.

I strongly recommend adding this one to your reading list. If you’re a historical true crime fan who doesn’t mind just a tad of creative licensing, A Storm in the Blood is an absolute must read.

To learn more about A Storm In the Blood or to order the book, visit the Cutting Edge Press website.

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