I was truly in shock and just devoured page after page, eager to know where the story would go next. One case that he takes on introduces him to Clara, the wife of a rich industrialist and his growing relationship with her makes him begin to look at his life differently. Natalie Marlow’s description is just incredible, the detail is really intricate which makes the goings on extremely realistic. The grim back alleys, the filthy, stinking canals, the lasting effects of the war and the injustices felt by all but Birmingham's elite, these are all the minute details that breathe life into this twisted tale of oppression and revenge.

Needless Alley (William Garrett, book 1) by Natalie Marlow Needless Alley (William Garrett, book 1) by Natalie Marlow

Needless Alley is a great murder mystery, rich in character and detail and darker than a Black Country canal at midnight. The powerfully evocative Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow is a gripping tale of mounting menace on the streets of 1930s Birmingham.It's not often that historical fiction gets this down and dirty, but Natalie Marlow has delivered dark and twisted in spades. They were not without humour though and there is a nice vein of dark course humour running through the prose, in keeping with the period and setting. This atmospheric private detective novel soon takes a turn for the dark side of life in 1930s Birmingham.

Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow | Hachette UK Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow | Hachette UK

William is a complicated central protagonist, well read, with a strong moral core in his pursuit of some form of justice, surrounded by strong women in the form of Queenie and Phyll. Val McDermid‘s choice of the year’s best debuts has provided a platform for some outstanding talents, and the class of ’23 is no exception. Our main protagonist is William, a private investigator who earns a living by providing evidence for divorce cases for a shady solicitor.The pace then picks up considerably as Billy tries to unravel the contradictions that keep wrongfooting him. William finds himself a refuge from all this for a while, an unexpected refuge, but in doing so he brings more trouble on himself than he could have imagined. I picked this up because way back in 1979 I went to a hairdressers (Monsieur Dureaux, who was actually Polish) in Needless Alley. Marlow's pellucid prose shines a brilliant light on 1930s Birmingham and the lives and loves of the exquisitely drawn characters that populate its mean streets and waterways. Some great female voices in the story too were made even more interesting by the historic 1930’s setting.

Financial Times Best summer books of 2023: Thrillers - Financial Times

Some stories have multiple perspectives (this doesn't but bear with me here), within which there may be one that you dislike reading. When reputations are threatened, his hard-won status will count for little except to identify him as someone who doesn't know their place and who can therefore take the blame for whatever is really going on.You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs.