“One is chasing justice. One is chasing the past. Both are being followed.

Deep beneath London, urban explorer Connie Darke stumbles across a mutilated body in the city’s decaying sewer system. Moments later, a strange whistling sound follows her through the tunnels—low, eerie, impossible to trace.

DI Lew Kirby is assigned the case. The victim is a wealthy financier with no clear reason to be underground—and no shortage of enemies above it. As Kirby investigates, Connie uncovers chilling new clues about the unexplained death of her sister. Both are drawn deeper into a world of hidden networks, buried secrets, and obsession.

And someone out there is watching them both, following them both…

As the city’s hidden layers begin to crack open, Kirby and Connie must confront the terrifying possibility that whoever, or whatever, is stalking them has been waiting a long time to emerge.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Whistler by S.W. Kane. The Whistler was published by Thomas & Mercer on 14th November 2025 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of The Whistler but that has in no way influenced my review.

The Whistler is the third book in the brilliant DI Lew Kirby series. A series that I have become rather fond of over the last few years. Now, Kirby isn’t your normal deeply flawed investigator, balancing on a fine line between light and dark, right and wrong. He’s kind of a nice guy (with a hereditary health condition which isn’t really mentioned in this book, so I won’t go into that now) who has befriended an urban explorer called Connie Darke, built a friendship (they’ve been through quite a lot together) and she now rents out his deceased mother’s house. A lot of information that I felt was necessary before I launch into the details! This third book is a corker of a read. Once again, returning to the world of urban explorers.

Connie tries to overcome her sudden fear of small spaces and asks a fellow urban explorer, Mole, to give her a guided tour of the London sewer system (well, a small part of it anyway!). Whilst navigating the tunnels, and avoiding numerous unmentionable hazards, they stumble upon a dead body. The shocking discovery is made all the more sinister by the sound of someone whistling nearby. They, of course, leg it. Mole convinces Connie to not tell a soul about the discovery. Not even landlord/friend Detective Inspector Lew Kirby. And she doesn’t, immediately. But it’s hard to keep a secret like that when you’re hanging out with a bastion of the law. DI Kirby is asked to investigate the strange death. But it seems the urbex community is determined to keep the truth hidden. And they’re not the only ones…

The Whistler is packed full of atmosphere, foreboding and threat from the moment the reader cracks the spine. I thoroughly enjoyed being reunited with Lew and Connie again. What a great book! I would say, before I go any further though, that this is best read as part of the series. You can probably, most likely, read it as a standalone, but it works so much better when you know the characters and what has come before. There is a continuing storyline from the first book, a number of recurring characters and references to past events. So make sure you pick up The Bone Jar, followed by The Drowning Place first.

Connie seems to frequently find herself in a pickle. After she decides to go against Mole’s wishes and report the body, it’s discovered that following a heavy rainfall, the corpse is no longer where Connie reported it to be. It’s been washed away. The identity of the victim is later discovered to be a successful businessman. Which raises the question, what would he be doing in the sewers? (There are other questions too; was he killed away from the sewers and moved underground? Was he killed in the sewer? What was the whistling Connie heard when they discovered the body?) Despite hitting dead-end after dead-end, a link is finally found, but not before a second body is discovered.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Whistler is a cracking addition to what is becoming a brilliant series. I love Lew Kirby. He’s such a great character. In this book Lew’s girlfriend, Isabel, is pregnant, and the imminent arrival of his first child is raising all sorts of questions for Lew. Not only is parenthood looming, but homelessness is too (well, sort of). His beloved barge is about to be sold from underneath him. Just what he needs with a tricky investigation hanging over his head and a new stage of his life about to start. Connie is also a terrific (dare I say) sidekick (assistant?). Her knowledge of and connection to the urban explorer world help the investigation move that little bit faster. Can Kirby and Connie catch the killer before the body count rises any further? Well, you’ll just have to read the book for yourself and find out! A very engaging, compelling police procedural that fans of the genre really should check out. I feel this series deserves a lot more attention than it’s had so far. The urbex angle makes it different to other novels out there. The characters have shown real growth over the course of the three books, and I look forward to more in the future (please tell me there’s more to come!). The plot is fascinating and very intriguing, well-paced throughout. And the London setting, as in the previous books, comes alive on the page. A very enjoyable, dark and atmospheric piece of crime fiction done incredibly well. Sinister, full of threat and impossible to tear yourself away from. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Whistler. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Whistler by S.W. Kane was published in the UK by Thomas & Mercer on 14th November 2025 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

S W Kane has a degree in History of Design and worked at the Royal Institute of British Architects before taking on a series of totally unrelated jobs in radio and the music industry. She has an MA in Creative (Crime) Writing from City University. She began reading crime fiction at an early age and developed an obsession with crime set in cold places. A chance encounter with a derelict fort in rural Pembrokeshire led to a fascination with urban exploration, which in turn became the inspiration for her crime novels. She lives in London.