A Little London Scandal

This is a historical mystery set in London in the 1960's, where we follow a few characters. The first character we follow is a late teenage boy named Nik who is a rent boy in London earning what he can to keep hold of a room he has in part of a house share. He knows the streets pretty well, though one night he gets attacked the same night as another guy is murdered and the police arrest Nik for the murder. We also follow two female characters who are friends, though have drastically different lives. One of these women fights to try and prove Nik is innocent, the other woman suspects her husband may have been involved in the murder. The novel follows the characters through the deep, dark streets of London, that were so different back then.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and it felt different to any mystery I had ever read before. I felt invested in the characters, and loved getting to know each of them. The females in this book were particularly strong women, and I loved following their different directions within the story.

London was a scary place back then, and I feared for characters safety many a time. The novel felt well researched and had great atmosphere and tension. I thought I knew who the murderer was, and I was incredibly far off the mark with my guess. I very much enjoyed all the twists and turns the author took me down, practically sending me on a wild goose chase to keep me away from suspecting the real killer.

I feel the novel had a couple of issues though. Firstly, occasionally the wonderful descriptions of places would slip, which led to it feeling like I was reading about anywhere, and not London specifically. This happened on many occasions, which led to me sometimes being surprised when I was reminded we were in fact in London. My other main problem with the book was that the pacing felt a bit off midway through. I went through a stage of being a bit bored, nothing much was happening and I was having to push myself through. That said, it soon gained steam again and then I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Overall this was an excellent, and surprising read for me. I would highly recommend this novel, and will happily read more work by this author in the future.

I was very excited to be approved for Emmerson’s work and I was even more excited when I realised what a gem of a story it was. Wonderful story telling and fluid writing. Loved it

When a rent boy is found dead in suspicious circumstances, the police are keen for a quick conviction. There are important people involved, not least Richard Wallis whose once promising political career was scuppered by his alleged involvement in an assault on another rent boy. When the bright young man she knows from the café she lives above is arrested, Anna Treadway becomes determined to right what she considers to be a injustice enlisting the help of an acquaintance, Detective Sergeant Hayes. Their quest will take them through all levels of London’s society until the mystery reaches its sad, ultimately shocking resolution.

Set in 1967, on the eve of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, Miranda Emmerson’s novel explores a world in which so many lived in fear of their sexuakity being exposed, all wrapped up in a smart piece of story telling. Anna is an immensely likeable character – brave and compassionate with her sights set on justice, you’d want her in your corner. Readers may remember both her and DS Hayes from Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars, Emmerson's previous novel .Given that this is her second outing, I’m wondering if she and DS Hayes are going to set up shop together for future instalments.

This is such a cracking read! The murder of a rent boy and the subsequent investigation are the mainstay of the story, and the author’s description of the world in which this plays out really brings this story to life. We meet Anna Treadway again, a theatrical dresser, she is struggling to ensure a fair chance for the underdog. Set in 1960s London, but not so much the ‘swinging set’, more the Piccadilly/ Kings Cross darker side of life. This is a story of squats, rent boys, drugs and the hidden gay community. But this is also a story with so much understanding of humanity, I felt real sorrow and despair for the characters and their situation- a situation that is sadly still true today for some. This is a book that really makes you think,encouraging a more sympathetic understanding for the situations people can find themselves in. Absolutely brilliant!

I read that Miranda Emmerson is also a playwright, and this comes across in the way A Little London Scandal is structured. The writer introduces her cast of characters: rent boy Nik, theatre, dresser Anna, MP Richard and his wife Merrian, in London of 1967. The characters lives are connected through pain and tragedy, but there is hope and redemption in this well paced historical tale of corruption, cover up and conspiracy.

London before the law changed on illegality of homosexuality - and a death at opening - concealing their inclinations, a band of people, including govt people, allow the wrong person to be accused of a crime -we hear the story from sympathetic Anna, a theatrical dresser whose boyfriend is away (I learned later that she and BF were in an earlier book - although this story if not dependent on knowing that earlier book - it explains why there was so much attention in this one to their partnership) ... well written with great characters - muted and finally rather sad, this is a nuanced fictionalisation of how things were - and luckily how they’ve changed. The wife of one of the concealed men gets involved too - and is sympathetically portrayed, and her dilemmas are well presented. Very impressive...

Set in the sixties this book gripped me from the first page. All of the characters have a connection.

Poor Nik suffered at the hands of bullies as a child because he was "different" he is working the streets of London. as a male escort/prostitute, his friend who understand and supports him, Anna, as his friend whom he met in a cafe.
Mp Richard was a part in killing charlie be it an accident, his wife is Merrion.
Barnaby Hayes is a policeman who with Merrion put the pieces together.
These characters have a sad existence. This book focuses on homosexuality and the tragedy that some people have to face.
It is a powerful and sad book on changes in society.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. x

When you request a book from NetGalley, written by an author you don't know, you take a risk that the blurb and/or reviews written by others are an accurate reflection and that the book will be something that you like. That was the situation I was in with this book. I was a little bit unsure and didn't know whether I would be thrust into a seedy version of the London underworld. Its not like that at all. This is a fantastic, fast paced, well researched, well written novel with a great storyline.

Nik is a teenager, working on the streets of London. Anna is his acquaintance who he knows through a local cafe. There are two timelines describing Nik's story. In one he is aged 15, being bullied at school and eventually thrown out by his parents. In the current timeline, in 1967, he is 19 and living in London, getting by by selling himself on the streets. He is arrested one evening as he is close to the scene of a murder and although there is no evidence, he is charged.

This book takes you back to the sixties and the prejudices that surrounded homosexuality. But it also exposes you to kindness and goodness within people. Anna goes out of her way to help Nik in the most extraordinary way which left me wondering whether I would ever have attempted something similar. And then there is the perspective of the MP, Richard and his wife, Merrion. Is he the good, hardworking, family man he appears to be or something else altogether? And then there is the kindly policeman, Barnaby Hayes, who together with Anna, pieces everything together. This book makes you think about society and how it has changed, not just in terms of attitudes towards sexuality but also race, religion and the way we live our lives today. It was a great read. I didn't realise there was a previous book featuring Anna - I will definitely read that and I will be looking out for another one in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'd read (and loved) 'Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars' a while back, but picked 'A Little London Scandal' up without realising that it featured the same characters. It doesn't matter too much if you haven't read the first book, but you would be missing a treat.

In this book, the sixties are swinging, but for Nik and the rent boys based around Piccadilly Circus, all is not so bright. Police raids and violence threaten their livelihoods and the murder of one of them, Charlie, near an exclusive gentlemen's club, cause them to come under some unwelcome scrutiny. When Nik is arrested for the murder, Anna Treadway, dresser at the Galaxy Theatre in Soho, steps in to prove his innocence. Her investigations take her into the heart of seedy London but also reveal corruption within high society.

This is another great read. The 1960s setting is lively and well-researched and Anna herself is an appealing protagonist. It is quite sad in places as the prejudice against gay men is depicted and the reader is shown that the 1960s were not all about free love and tolerance as they have been presented. The early pages are a little slow, but once the story really gets going then it is addictive! I raced through the majority of the book and will be keenly looking out for more titles in the series.

One of the many attractions if this book is that it is a reminder of how things have moved on. Set in the 1960s,the homosexual upper class men and their rent boys are breaking the law. The whole idea of homosexuality is socially unacceptable. That is the life Nik finds himself falling into as his father ejects him because of trouble at school. Then he gets caught up in a murder charge for which he has an alibi no one has examined.. Fortunately,he knows Anna who supports his cause as an official police person. She also knows the wife of a member of Parliament who is known to dabble in the gay scene. The story moves to an unexpected ending. The basic story line is not hugely original but it is handled sensitively and with well drawn characters. It makes important social statements and Isis an informative catchup on the history of that decade.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and 4th Estate for the advance copy of this book.

Having finished the book I have discovered that this is the second novel featuring several of the main characters; perhaps more detail is given in the first novel but I found that I just didn't get to know Anna so I couldn't really understand why she felt that she wanted to get involved with the people involved with the incident(s) at the heart of the story. Her relationships left me confused and I felt it unlikely that she would be be accepted quite so easily into the various groups of strangers she encounters.

Having said this I did enjoy the read; the author's research gave an authenticity to the locale and her descriptions of clothes and styles seemed spot on. It's just that everything and everyone seemed rather cold and distant, and to be honest I wasn't particularly invested in the outcome.

A great read. Drags you through gritty damp back alleyways into scenes of secret rent boys and quick tricks .Takes you on a mystery trip after a body is found weaving back stage theatre and meeting places of MPs and men only clubs. Gives of a good feel of the sixties, atmospheric and smoky. Who did the deed? Read and find out.

Thank you very much to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it; from the first page, I wanted to know what was next, from meeting the characters - Nik, Anna, Hayes, Merrian, Richard - to how they’re all connected in a way that is both tragic yet also, in some cases, life-changing. The undercurrent of just how scared so many of the characters were of the fact they’re homosexual is still something many people can relate to, even with the way society is changing. At first, I wasn’t sure of the relevance of Anna’s relationship with Louis, but as the book drew to a close and I thought on it more, I realised that it represented the fact that, what you’ve done in the past or where you’ve come from, does not automatically decide your present or your future. And then I realised also that this was the case of all the characters; from Nik and his turbulent childhood at the hands of high school bullies, to Richard pleading with Merrian to not tell anyone about his somewhat accidental yet somewhat intentional role in Charlie’s death. Charlie and Nik got justice; I hope that, post-ending, Richard got his too. Overall, it’s sad - and the ending is sad, but the final scene is very apt for that purpose, but there is just this little glimmer of hope.

n a followup to 2017's Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars, which saw theatrical dresser Anna Treadway investigates the disappearance of one of her actresses, A Little London Scandal picks up Anna's life two years later in 1967 when she is standing up for a young man wrongly accused of murder. It's a hot summer ('The auditorium sweated as one - like some vast coach party packed into an Italianate sauna'). Working again with Sergeant Barnaby Hayes, now assigned to the Vice Squad, Anna is brought face to face with the seamier side of Swinging London: the shadows where sex, drugs and politics merge. There's a claustrophobic sense to much of the story, even the outdoor parts, a composite of smoke, sweat and the importance of looking the other way, of not seeing inconvenient things - whether breaches of the law or social convention, or the wretchedness of outsiders sleeping under bushes and selling themselves on the streets and in the clubs.

Anna's young friend Nik Christou is one of these outsiders. He's a rent boy, triply unlucky. First because he is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Secondly because he is obliged to make his living by selling himself to men on the streets of the West End, breaking the law and risking punishment for both him and his clients if caught (although wealth and status has a way of protecting its own). And finally, he is unlucky because he is in this situation due to abuse and neglect in his hometown of St Anne's, near Blackpool. The flashbacks explaining just what had happened to Nik were heartbreaking, showing a baffled, confused child let down by school and parents and simply left to sink or swim by his own efforts. And he's not about to get any help now from a police force that is corrupt, prejudiced and overly respectful of the wealthy and powerful ('we let the club have a quiet word with all the men to ask if they'd seen or heard anything').

Nik does, though, have a good and stout hearted friend in Anna Treadway. I loved the way that Emmerson portrays her: definitely "posh" despite her slightly shady past and humble job, deceptively meek in demeanour but ready to use her background mercilessly (for example to sweep into a police station and ask question or to blag her way into the Dorchester). Watch how she's given short, hesitant, mild sentences which can seem almost excessively eager to please - but then reveals a sharp mind, steps ahead of everyone else and not afraid to deliver a devastating judgement.

Anna is missing her partner Aloysius ('Louis') Weathers who has returned to Jamaica to sort out an inheritance, and his absence from the story (apart from correspondence with Anna) does rather leave a hole, compared to Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars. In a sense, his not being at the centre of things is understandable - the earlier book looked at issues of race in 60s London, while A Little London Scandal explores the position of gay men, before the legal reforms later in the decade. So we see a familiar pattern of events as rising junior Minister Richard Wallis is threatened with exposure, the News of the World raises its ugly head, blackmail is whispered. The book explores the lives of the young men at the sharp end of all this, with an acute sense both of hypocrisy at every level ('Perhaps gentlemen's clubs are closets for the overly design-conscious...') and of the real damage being done to almost everyone involved by the secrecy and fear of exposure.

Caught up in the same events is Merrian, 'the Wallis wife' as she is introduced to us. She's in the impossible person both of knowing a great deal about her husband and at the same time of consciously "not knowing" about him. A generous and idealistic person herself, she's at an impasse and she doesn't know where to turn. I think that Emmerson is brilliant in the way she brings Merrian to life - her hopes and fears, background and love, all bound up in her history with Richard and her life with him now, which is turning out to be something quite different from what she thought.

Richard himself isn't a completely unsympathetic character. While I didn't like him, I could see him, too, as a victim and as someone who had made choices, gone a certain way, and found it quite different from what he expected. Which is probably true of all of us, but for a politician, expected to be influential and make a difference, perhaps it's understandable that his sense of disillusion is greater than for the rest of us.

In a brilliant evocation of 60s London, Emmerson gives us the parties, the late night streetlife, the excitement of a society that feels on the cusp of something. Colour TV has arrived, with a group of friends planning to watch Wimbledon "in colour", but vegetables are still delivered to Covent Garden market by horse drawn cart and decanted into barrows and the area is still to gentrify. Emmerson also
gives us the darkness: violence, prejudice and hypocrisy centred on the impregnable clubs of Pall Mall. All against a vivid portrayal of the streets and villages making the city up ('Covent Garden for raspberries and carrots - even at five in the morning. Seven Dials for rags - shift dresses and corduroy skirts and a hundred shades of polyester blouse. Monmouth Street for coffee bars - so many coffee bars - musicians and actors and students lout on dates'). The book highlights the dilemma facing gay men under discriminatory laws and societal pressure (and in particular, actors): the constant fear that you'll be turned on, that people will stop looking the other way, the need to be so careful who you are honest with ("'Bloody hell,' Anna said. 'Apart from everything else, it's just so complicated.' 'Try living it,' Benji said softly...")

It's a deeply immersive book - often a very sad book, but one that compelled me to keep reading even where I knew that something bad was coming up. Like Merriam, you have to know the worst.

An excellent read. I hope that Emmerson gives us more of Anna Treadway, although - spoiler - by the end of this story she's left her flat above the Alabama Coffee House in Neal Street which is sad as that brought so much atmosphere to the stories.

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
I found this book very difficult to get into. There were many characters, and I didn't find them especially engaging.. When I first started reading it I thought that it was set in a dystopia future rather than a harsh past. It wasn't my cup of tea at all, but I wouldn't disrespect the author by giving a low score, it is very well written albeit after a slow start,