The Whispering Gallery

Description

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...

Mark Sanderson is a journalist. Since 1999, he has written the Literary Life column in the Sunday Telegraph and he reviews crime fiction for the Evening Standard. His memoir, Wrong Rooms, published in 2002 to widespread critical acclaim was described by Melvyn Bragg as 'one of the most moving I have ever read'.

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' '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