The Whispering Gallery - Softcover

Sanderson, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007296819 ISBN 13: 9780007296811

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2011

Synopsis

A gripping and evocative mystery set in 30s London, in which a young journalist goes on the trail of a serial killer

On a sweltering day in July 1937, reporter John Steadman is in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral waiting for his girlfriend ... But romance is pushed aside when he witnesses a man falling to his death from the Whispering Gallery, killing a priest in the process. Did he jump or was he pushed?

Two days later Johnny receives the first of a series of grim packages at the offices of his newspaper, the Daily News. Each contains the body part of a woman and an enigmatic note, one of which says that he will be the murderer’s final victim.

To catch a killer, Johnny must set himself up as bait – with police and a fascinated public looking on. But he still has to uncover the tragic truth behind the double-death in the cathedral...

About this title

Review:

· Sanderson's storytelling moves at full pelt and he combines an engrossing tour of long-gone back streets with a tremendous eye for the louche and grotesque ... If you love London, you'll love The Whispering Gallery’ Evening Standard

Praise for Mark Sanderson:

· 'Powerfully atmospheric. A compelling journey into the dark heart of the Square Mile’ Jake Arnott

· 'Sanderson relishes the louche and smoky milieu where police and press rub shoulders with sexual adventurers and criminals, and he describes it with considerable verve' Spectator

· 'Sanderson is a journalistic boulevardier of great wit and charm, with a gift for the outrageous...The author sports a narrative grasp that won't let the reader go...His ace in the hole is the pungent evocation of time and place. London of the 1930s is conjured with immense skill' Independent

· 'Elegant, unpretentious writing, a strong build-up of suspense and the portrayal of a central relationship between Johnny, the hot-shot reporter, and his old school buddy Matt Turner, a policeman from the City's Snow Hill police station, which is both emotionally believable and intriguing. Snow Hill has undeniable page-turning appeal' Financial Times

· 'A fully polished, fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining affair' Daily Mirror 'Book of the Week'

· 'Snow Hill is a dashing and compelling addition to the distinguished file of the London crime and punishment novel' Melvyn Bragg

· 'The period atmosphere is vividly and convincingly portrayed ... It's a very good read and an interesting story based on an event that is rumoured actually to have happened' Literary Review

About the Author:

Mark Sanderson is a journalist writing mainly for the Sunday Telegraph and Evening Standard. Since 1999 he has written the Literary Life column in the Sunday Telegraph. A memoir, ‘Wrong Rooms’, published in 2002 to widespread acclaim was described by Melvyn Bragg as “one of the most moving I have ever read”.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0007296819
• ISBN 13: 9780007296811
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320