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This page lists novels that feature the 1940s London based private investigator Johnny Hawke.

On original publication the early books in the series were described as Johnny One Eye Novels. On later publications the description is Johnny Hawke Thrillers.

Forests of the Night

David Stuart Davies

2000

A Johnny Hawke novel.

"When World War II breaks out, the young policeman John Hawke enlists in the army. His dreams of fighting for his country, however, are cut short after he loses an eye in rifle training. Invalided out of the army and offered a desk job with the police, John sets up as a private investigator in London instead, hoping for excitement and danger. In the autumn of 1940, John is hired to investigate the mysterious death of a young woman. What is the connection between her brutal murder and the fading film actor Gordon Moore? And is there a connection to the runaway boy who may have witnessed something terrible."

Comes the Dark

David Stuart Davies

2006

A Johnny Hawke novel.

"1941. London is suffering under the bombardment of the German blitz. A desperate murderer is using the blackout to his advantage, leaving a string of strangled prostitutes littered around London’s streets. One-eyed self-employed detective Johnny Hawke is drawn into a complex web of darkness, drama and death. He takes it upon himself to infiltrate the Britannia Club, a dangerous underground fascist organisation hell-bent on a Nazi invasion of Britain, and bring them down, single-handedly, from within. As the strands of his investigations come together, Johnny is faced with the greatest challenge of his life, and an ugly accusation: the murderer may be closer than he had ever imagined."

Without Conscience

David Stuart Davies

2008

A Johnny Hawke novel.

"London, 1942. Rachel Howells has arrived in the capital in search of a life of glamour and excitement. But she naively becomes entangled in a web of violence with army deserter Harryboy Jenkins who threatens her into joining his murderous schemes. Trapped in a brutal relationship, she is plunged into despair. Meanwhile the hands of private detective Johnny Hawkes are full as he is hired to investigate the bizarre murder of a transvestite - and delves into London’s secret nightlife to solve the mystery. His progress is slowed by mysterious authorities attempting to warn him off the case and the discovery that Peter, a runaway boy he befriended in an earlier case, has yet again fled from his foster home. Inexorably, the divergent paths of Harryboy and Johnny grow closer together until they collide with terrifying consequences. Harryboy has a tortured past and is without conscience. How far will he go?"

Requiem for a Dummy

David Stuart Davies

2009

A Johnny Hawke novel.

"London is in the grips of the second world war, when successful ventriloquist Raymond Carter begins receiving death threats over the telephone. Threats made even more unnerving as they are in the voice of his dummy, Charlie Dokes. Fearing for his life, Carter calls on the services of private detective Johnny Hawke to get to the bottom of the case. But when a cast member from Carter’s radio show is brutally murdered, Carter soon becomes a suspect in the investigation. Hawke refuses to jump to conclusions and is sure the crime goes deeper than this, but when Carter’s girlfriend is also murdered, even Hawke has trouble finding convincing evidence that supports Carter as innocent... The investigation soon becomes a sinister puzzle, as Johnny Hawke moves deeper into danger."

The Darkness of Death

David Stuart Davies

2010

A Johnny Hawke novel.

"London, 1943. The wartime private detective Johnny ‘One-Eye’ Hawke is dealing with a strange client. He swears he’s seen a ghost – his wife, dead for years, appeared out of nowhere on a tube station platform. Meanwhile, a sinister new protection racket has set itself up on Johnny’s patch, operated by the mysteriously re-invigorated Bernstein gang. Their violence is getting a little too close for comfort... Jonny must solve the strange case of the platform ghost, under fire from the Bernstein gang. But as Johnny searches through the blackout for the elusive Beryl, he also has to deal with the realisation that for the first time in his life he is in love – with Maxine, a costume designer who, thankfully, has been called away from London on work. At least she’s out of harm’s way. Or so Johnny thinks."

A Taste For Blood

David Stuart Davies

2013

A Johnny Hawke novel.

"Johnny’s one time colleague in the police force, Detective David Llewellyn is investigating the chilling crimes of a top psychiatrist and his scheming patient. In the meantime Hawke is on the case of a mysterious suicide in the Edgware Road. The murderous threads of both investigations inexorably become tangled in a thrilling and shocking finale."