4 Bones Sleeping

The book switches between post-war London and a small market town in Oxfordshire. A London club full of outrageous characters spivs extortionists con-men & ladies of the night. This contrasts starkly with a rural backwater where it's all wide lawns and narrow minds. The story is narrated by Jack a clever (too clever) reporter and his relationship with two brothers Wyn a womanising con-man and Harry a professional boxer. Teddy Lewis an unstable racketeer and Shirley a gorgeous femme fatale. Shirley twists them all this way and that in the end she proves to be the catalyst for an ending fitting for a bloodthirsty Greek tragedy. This has all of the elements that the discerning thriller reader craves betrayal revenge older men exploiting a beautiful under-age girl a murder or two convoluted plot twists powerful & credible characters dialogue that crackles and a gothic romance. This is literary noir at its best.