Needless Alley: The critically acclaimed noir crime debut

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'Transplanting the hardboiled Hollywood noir of the 1940s to the backstreets of 1933 Birmingham, [Needless Alley] has all the seamy glitter and cynical grime of the genre' Daily Mail

'A great sense of period and place...creates an atmosphere of mounting menace and dread' The Times

BIRMINGHAM, 1933.

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.

However, William's life changes when he accidentally 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. And 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.

MORE PRAISE FOR NEEDLESS ALLEY:

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

'This is pulp fiction of the highest quality, marking the arrival of a fabulous new thriller writer' Matthew d'Ancona, Tortoise

'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

'An exceptionally well-written first novel that whets the appetite for many sequels' Irish Times

'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

'1930s Birmingham is brought expertly to life in this atmospheric crime noir where corruption and seedy entanglements lurk down every darkly lit stree

Reviews

A fine writer with a great sense of period and place who creates an atmosphere of mounting menace and dread. A more than promising debut * The Times *
Transplanting the hardboiled Hollywood noir of the 1940s to the backstreets of 1933 Birmingham, [Needless Alley] has all the seamy glitter and cynical grime of the genre * Daily Mail *
Marlow has a nicely theatrical way with a scene, and her witty prose has texture and heft. The city is atmospherically rendered, the narrative has an almost hallucinatory quality and Garrett is an engaging leading man. Needless Alley is an exceptionally well-written first novel that whets the appetite for many sequels * Irish Times *
Marlow's very engaging protagonist may herald the birth of a new genre: Midlands Noir * Financial Times *
A gripping debut . . . Garrett may play hard-boiled but, in the best tradition of private detectives, there is a quixotic romanticism lurking under the cynical and dishevelled exterior * Irish Independent *
This is pulp fiction of the highest quality, marking the arrival of a fabulous new thriller writer -- Matthew dAncona * Tortoise *
An atmospheric, hardboiled thriller with a hint of Peaky Blinders about it * Sun *
Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow is something special . . . [A] superbly written debut * Morning Star *
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, whose compelling hero is movingly supported by a cast of lived in characters, and put through the wringer by some shocking and moving revelations. Sensational start to a new series -- Dominic Nolan, author of VINE STREET
Deftly plotted, beautifully written, Needless Alley is a delicious slice of Chandleresque Midlands noir. 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. I loved this book and I can't wait to read more -- 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
Needless Alley is a great murder mystery, rich in character and detail and darker than a Black Country canal at midnight -- Peter Hanington, author of A CURSED PLACE
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, author of LIGHTSEEKERS
A terrific debut. It's not often that historical fiction gets this down and dirty, but Natalie Marlow has delivered dark and twisted in spades. I urge you to take a stroll down Needless Alley, but you might want to watch your back as you do . . . -- Trevor Wood, author of DEAD END STREET
From its claustrophobic descriptions of Birmingham's darker corners to revelations of the seedier proclivities of the rich and powerful, Needless Alley offers a gripping portrait of 1930s England, a country where Blackshirts and fascism have entered the national psyche. William Garrett - dour, dark, and damaged - is a man of principle in an unprincipled vocation. A meditative and wonderfully written historical crime debut -- Vaseem Khan, author of THE LOST MAN OF BOMBAY
A Chandleresque hard-boiled detective novel with an atmospheric, horrifying feel all of its own. Tightly plotted and beautifully written, a world of Blackshirts and misogyny with a flawed, human detective who I took straight to my heart -- Harriet Tyce, author of BLOOD ORANGE
Needless Alley is great - dark, gritty and full of unexpected twists and turns -- Frances Quinn, author of THAT BONESETTER WOMAN
1930s 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, author of PANDORA
As with every atmospheric mystery, it's all about the lighting, and Natalie Marlow illuminates the hard-boiled players in this thrilling debut with all the dexterity of any of our great noir novelists. You will wince, you will gasp, you will shudder at every turn, and you will want to keep reading until that last light dims at the disquieting end -- J.M. Varese, author of THE SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHER and THE COMPANY
Down these mean Brummie streets a man must go . . . and on the strength of Natalie Marlow's cracking debut, I'll be following. An elegantly written, meticulously researched 1930s noir thriller, with a twisting, turning plot and vivid characters both utterly of their time and powerfully resonant of our own -- Robbie Morrison, author of EDGE OF THE GRAVE

Author Bio

Natalie Marlow is an historical novelist with a fascination for the people and landscapes of the Midlands. Much of her writing takes inspiration from the stories her grandparents told. She holds an MA in Creative Writing (Crime Writing) from the University of East Anglia and is part-way through a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London. She lives in Warwickshire with her family.