Needless Alley: The critically acclaimed noir crime debut (William Garrett Novels)

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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. 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 Save An Evening with Cara Hunter at Waterstones Birmingham to your collection. Share An Evening with Cara Hunter at Waterstones Birmingham with your friends. The one that caught my imagination was Phyll, who William at first believes is a young boy. He later discovers that she is a bright intelligent young woman with a penchant for men’s clothing and an eye for good tailoring. Another survivor and a bit of a fish out of water with the norms of the day.

Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow | Waterstones

It starts with William a P.I. setting up rather sordid encounters with women so he can provide photographic evidence of infidelity for husbands who wish to divorce their wives but then turns into something much darker; pornography, BDSM, drug dealing, murder. Birmingham is brought expertly to life in this atmospheric crime noir where corruption and seedy entanglements lurk down every darkly lit street. Compelling and clever, Needless Alley makes for a gripping read that any Peaky Blinder fan is sure to love." - Susan Stokes-Chapman

What a fabulous story! While at heart a detective novel, it is also in many ways a story of love in its myriad forms. Needless Alley, Marlow's debut is crime fiction gold. Every word is crafted with care; every plot twist is elegantly presented. And at the heart of it all is a heinous crime that begs to be solved by a hero as full of heart as he is driven. I love everything about this book." - Femi Kayode

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Needless Alley gives us a rich and earthy insight into underbelly of mid-war Birmingham. I know the city well and I do love an early 20th century setting, so this was a good choice for me. 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. Private enquiry agent William Garrett, a man damaged by a dark childhood spent on Birmingham's canals, specialises in facilitating 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.

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It completely surpassed my expectations; I found it an exciting and absorbing read from cover to cover. I will not be able to visit Brum again without catching a glimpse of Billy, Queenie, Ronnie or Phyll in dark and bygone corners of the city. I particularly enjoyed the homage descriptions of the beautiful midlands countryside and urbanity. Save An Evening with Guillem Balagué at Waterstones Birmingham to your collection. Share An Evening with Guillem Balagué at Waterstones Birmingham with your friends. The book conjured up the dark side of a city and its people still recovering, or not, from the Great War and the build-up to the next. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial?

Needless Alley: The critically acclaimed noir crime debut Needless Alley: The critically acclaimed noir crime debut

Marlow, who was inspired to write Needless Alley by her great grandmother, who was one of 13 children and lived and worked on the Birmingham canals, added: “ I am thrilled to be working with Jade and the rest of the team at Baskerville. William Garrett has been my own private detective for quite some while now, and it feels momentous to send him out into the world. When I started I had already assumed what way it would go and I was very very wrong. The twists were good and I liked how the author brought them about.

William is a likeable private detective who lays honey traps for unsuspecting wives whose husbands want to divorce them. 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. When reputations are threatened, his hard-won status will count for little except to identify him as someone who do The references to various places in the Midlands were close to home for me and I found it interesting to think of the towns and cities mentioned in the 1930’s. Alongside this, the history that’s woven through is fascinating, knowing almost nothing about the politics of the time. I definitely felt as though I was at the rallies and surrounded by the far right opinions focused on within the novel. Save Meet Matt Lucas at Waterstones Birmingham to your collection. Share Meet Matt Lucas at Waterstones Birmingham with your friends.

Needless Alley: The critically acclaimed noir crime debut Needless Alley: The critically acclaimed noir crime debut

Some great female voices in the story too were made even more interesting by the historic 1930’s setting. After all it was a time where women were very much the property of their husbands and subject to their rules and whims. Baskerville has signed two titles in a new series by debut author Natalie Marlowe, with the first, Needless Alley , to be published in January 2023.The best way to explain my feelings on this story is to compare it to others; not great practice, but I feel it works for this. Some stories have multiple perspectives (this doesn't but bear with me here), within which there may be one that you dislike reading. As such, you slog through the difficult chapter because the proverbial carrot is dangling over yonder and you'd like to reach it. This is irritating but fine- just view the big picture. You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side.