The Dockland Killer
(2026)(The third book in the Carroll and Delaney Mystery series)
A novel by Jackie Sharp
London, 1946. The war is over, but the battle for survival has just begun.
When a dockworker is found beaten to death in an alley, Detective Chief Inspector Robert Delaney's investigation leads him into the violent underworld of unlicensed boxing and organized crime in London's Docklands. The victim had been fighting to pay off debts—but to whom, and why was he killed?
Before Delaney can find answers, a second body is discovered: a boxing trainer murdered in the same brutal fashion. Someone is eliminating anyone who might talk, and the trail of blood leads straight into the heart of a protection racket that has its hooks deep in the docks.
For Maggie Carroll, the investigation hits dangerously close to home. Her young twin sons have been spending their evenings at a local boxing gym, finally finding the male guidance they've craved since their father went off to war. But as Delaney's investigation intensifies, Maggie begins to suspect the respectable community figures her boys admire may not be what they seem.
Meanwhile, Maggie's daughter Birdie faces her own crisis. Newly married to Billy Hunter and expecting their first child, she and Billy are drowning in debt on a policeman's meager salary. When Billy begins disappearing at night and coming home with unexplained money, Birdie's worst fears are confirmed: her husband is taking bribes.
As she watches Billy spiral deeper into what she believes is corruption, Birdie faces an impossible choice. Should she protect her husband and the father of her unborn child? Or expose him to Delaney—even if it means destroying her marriage and leaving her baby fatherless?
When the investigation threatens both her sons and her son-in-law, Maggie must navigate a treacherous path between family loyalty and justice. But in the shadowy world of post-war London's Docklands, where everyone has secrets and desperation drives even good people to make terrible choices, the deadliest danger often comes from those you trust most.
As a third victim falls and the killer grows bolder, Delaney races against time to dismantle a criminal operation that has woven itself into the fabric of the community. But exposing the truth will shatter more than one family—and some revelations can never be undone.
Genre: Historical Mystery
When a dockworker is found beaten to death in an alley, Detective Chief Inspector Robert Delaney's investigation leads him into the violent underworld of unlicensed boxing and organized crime in London's Docklands. The victim had been fighting to pay off debts—but to whom, and why was he killed?
Before Delaney can find answers, a second body is discovered: a boxing trainer murdered in the same brutal fashion. Someone is eliminating anyone who might talk, and the trail of blood leads straight into the heart of a protection racket that has its hooks deep in the docks.
For Maggie Carroll, the investigation hits dangerously close to home. Her young twin sons have been spending their evenings at a local boxing gym, finally finding the male guidance they've craved since their father went off to war. But as Delaney's investigation intensifies, Maggie begins to suspect the respectable community figures her boys admire may not be what they seem.
Meanwhile, Maggie's daughter Birdie faces her own crisis. Newly married to Billy Hunter and expecting their first child, she and Billy are drowning in debt on a policeman's meager salary. When Billy begins disappearing at night and coming home with unexplained money, Birdie's worst fears are confirmed: her husband is taking bribes.
As she watches Billy spiral deeper into what she believes is corruption, Birdie faces an impossible choice. Should she protect her husband and the father of her unborn child? Or expose him to Delaney—even if it means destroying her marriage and leaving her baby fatherless?
When the investigation threatens both her sons and her son-in-law, Maggie must navigate a treacherous path between family loyalty and justice. But in the shadowy world of post-war London's Docklands, where everyone has secrets and desperation drives even good people to make terrible choices, the deadliest danger often comes from those you trust most.
As a third victim falls and the killer grows bolder, Delaney races against time to dismantle a criminal operation that has woven itself into the fabric of the community. But exposing the truth will shatter more than one family—and some revelations can never be undone.
Genre: Historical Mystery