''Gideon's Wrath'' is the thirteenth in a series of police procedural novels by

John Creasey John Creasey (17 September 1908 – 9 June 1973) was an English author known mostly for detective and crime novels but who also wrote science fiction, romance and westerns. He wrote more than six hundred novels using twenty-eight different p ...

writing as J.J. Marric. Published in 1967, it centres on

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

George Gideon of the

C.I.D. Cid may refer to: * Cid (soil) * Cubic inch (c.i.d., cid), a displacement unit for internal combustion engines * Cid, a slang term for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) * Content-ID, a URI scheme (cid:) that allows the use of MIME within email Peop ...

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

Plot summary

''Gideon's Wrath'' sees Gideon wrestling with several major crimes, as well as debating whom to recommend to the Commissioner as his new Deputy Commander; Hobbs or Lemaitre? Attacks are being mounted with explosives on places of worship throughout London. The Dean of St Ludd's approaches Gideon with his suspicions and a plan of action is formulated. As many police as can be spared are posted to guard the churches and synagogues; community volunteers are also placed on guard, much like the firewatchers during World War 2. The attacks stop temporarily, but then resume. Two perpetrators are arrested, but they will say nothing. Gideon eventually discovers that they belong to the ‘Simple Brethren’, a secretive group led and financed by lunatic millionaire Hector Marriott, who sees it as his mission to destroy what he considers idolatry. The group's offices are raided and the members and their intended targets identified. Whilst Gideon visits

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to attend an

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

meeting on gold smuggling, Marriott launches a final lone bombing of St Paul's Cathedral. He is apprehended, but escapes and commits suicide. Gideon also oversees an investigation in which several young girls have been murdered. They are suspected of having been drugged after posing for pornographic photos. Toni Botelli, the main perpetrator, is eventually arrested after a tense stand-off at his premises. A drug smuggling operation is also uncovered.

References

https://www.goodreads.com/series/43219-gideon 1967 British novels British crime novels Novels by John Creasey Novels set in London Police procedurals Hodder & Stoughton books {{1960s-crime-novel-stub

Plot summary

See also

References