Needless Alley

The critically acclaimed historical crime debut

by Natalie Marlow

Narrated by Paul Dela Ross

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Pub Date 19 Jan 2023 | Archive Date 26 Jan 2023

John Murray Press UK Audio | Baskerville

Mystery & Thrillers

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Description

An outstanding piece of literary noir and the first in a PI series set in 1930s Birmingham.

An FT Best Summer Thriller 2023

'Creates an atmosphere of mounting menace' The Times

'Conjures up a backdrop so vivid you can taste the smoke in the air' Val McDermid, author of 1989

BIRMINGHAM, 1933.

Private enquiry agent William Garrett facilitates divorces for the city's male elite. With the help of his best friend - charming, out-of-work actor Ronnie Edgerton - William sets up honey traps. But photographing unsuspecting women in flagrante plagues his conscience and William heaves up his guts with remorse after every job.

William's life changes when he meets the beautiful Clara Morton and falls in love. Little does he know she is the wife of a client - a leading fascist with a dangerous obsession. Soon, what should have been another straightforward job turns into something far more deadly.

Drenched in evocative period atmosphere and starring an unforgettable cast of characters, Needless Alley takes the reader from seedy canal-side pubs, to crumbling Warwickshire manor houses, and into the hidden spaces of Birmingham's Queer, bohemian society.

'Has all the seamy glitter and cynical grime of the genre' Daily Mail

'Marlow's very engaging protagonist may herald the birth of a new genre: Midlands Noir' Financial Times

'Evokes 1930s Birmingham in all its dark glory' Alan Parks, author of Bloody January

'An exceptionally well-written first novel' Irish Times

'Needless Alley makes for a gripping read that any Peaky Blinder fan is sure to love' Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora

(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Advance Praise

'Crafted with all the style and elegance of classic hardboiled fiction, lovingly splashed in the grubbiness and grime of interwar Birmingham's cuts, alleys and back streets. A smart, ripping yarn (with) some shocking and moving revelations.' Dominic Nolan, author of Vine Street

'Deftly plotted, beautifully written, Needless Alley is a delicious slice of Chandleresque Midlands noir.' Mark Wightman, author of Waking the Tiger

'Marlow beautifully distils 1930s Birmingham into a seamy world of moral corruption: anyone can fall and few are left clean. Gripping, confident and atmospheric.' Kate Mascarenhas, author of Hokey Pokey

'Needless Alley not only evokes 1930s Birmingham in all its dark glory - it introduces characters that are impossible to forget. Read it.' Alan Parks, author of Bloody January

'Crafted with all the style and elegance of classic hardboiled fiction, lovingly splashed in the grubbiness and grime of interwar Birmingham's cuts, alleys and back streets. A smart, ripping yarn...