London, Burning: 'Richly pleasurable' Observer

Anthony Quinn builds rich, engaging, believable characters who stay with you long after the final page has been turned. Deftly plotted, London, Burning offers a vivid evocation of late seventies London that has intriguing parallels with the world we live in now, but this isn’t a book which operates as allegory, it is much more generous and warm hearted and involving than that. I started reading it the minute it arrived and only paused for meals until I’d finished it. Might just start it again from the beginning. I love all of Anthony Quinn’s novels - I think he is a magnificent writer - but this may well be his finest yet.

Anthony Quinn grew up in the same era (but not the same area!) as myself, and he's clearly a fan of my favourite band, The Clash, who he thanks in his Acknowledgements. Of course, you don't need to be a fan of The Clash to enjoy the book, they just enjoy a few passing mentions. It took me a while to get my head around the four main characters, which meant that the story took a while to get going, but in reflection this was probably because Quinn takes the time to fully introduce them. The young female cop, the young male teacher from Newry, the thirty-something female reporter and the middle-aged male theatre director are all distinct and all have their stories to tell. Their threads all overlap in one way or another and this is what binds London, Burning (another paraphrased Clash reference) together. The background theme of Britain in crisis due to terrorist attacks, trade union unrest and unstable politics is woven well into the story rather than being tacked on. Quinn's style makes this an easy read for the most part, although he does enjoy throwing the odd highbrow word in to make a simple working class boy like me grateful for the Kindle dictionary. As the novel progressed, I got a real feel for the characters and what they were about. An enjoyable read, especially if you lived through the time period in question.

This is a fictional account of a time when the country was in the grip of strikes, an unstable government, police corruption and terrorism. There’s not a gripping storyline but a compelling reenactment that supplies a punch for the reader.It’s the 1970’s. The happenings towards the end of the decade are told through 4 characters, from different backgrounds- a newspaper reporter, a theatre impresario, a professor of literature and a detective with the Metropolitan Police. As the storyline progresses a connection between the characters develops.I found the book completely enthralling as I remember most of the events well. The scariest were the bombings by the IRA. However, the strikes affected everyone countrywide in one form or another.For those of us who remember the years it’s an interesting dive back into the past. Younger readers will, maybe, think some of the events are untrue unless the subjects have been covered in modern history lessons. Whatever: I recommend this well written book that is enlightening by way of a tale.

I have read most of Anthony Quinn's books and enjoyed them. London Burning gives us a great reminder of London just before Thatcher came to power - the days of multiple strikes, rubbish building up in the streets and so on. The storyline is good, focussing on several characters whose different lives start to intertwine.I had become invested in the characters (quite a slow burn) when the book ended abruptly, almost as though Quinn had got bored with his narrative and decided to bring it to a premature close. I was left feeling dissatisfied, and for that reason enjoyed this book less that most of his others.

Great characterisation, plot and superlative story telling. The narrative resurrects an era by the use polished prose and draws the reader into the world it describes. The characters are well drawn and thought out and there is a relentless energy about the plot which manages to explore and navigate a disparate array of issues along the way - facilitated by the seamless coherence of a master craftsman. A superb, hugely enjoyable and thought provoking read. I have read The Rescue Man by this author too which is a tour de force. I will now read everything he has written. Thank you Anthony Quinn !

Extremely disappointing, trivial, bitty, no real plot and characters which no-one could possibly be interested in they are so thinly drawnA total waste of time - written for the royalties?

Generally OK, but the cultural references seemed a bit clumsy and contrived and the plot didn’t really convince - not really for me

Really enjoyed this book! First in ages that had me hooked, wondering how the characters (well-written) would interact. A great read.