A Little London Scandal

A story of class and corruption, sex and the Sixties, for fans of A Very English Scandal and The Trial of Christine Keeler Nik felt the mistake in his bones. The man in the snakeskin suit reached down towards him and pulled Nik upright by the collar of his coat. Nik didn’t see what happened next but he felt the wall. He cried out and then someone hit him and he closed his eyes and waited for it to be over… London. 1967. Nik Christou has been a rent boy since he was 15. He knows the ins and outs of Piccadilly Circus, how to spot a pretty policeman and interpret a fleeting glance. One summer night his life is turned upside down, first by violence and then by an accusation of murder. Anna Treadway, fleeing the ghosts of her past, works as a dresser in Soho’s Galaxy theatre. Experience has taught her never to put too much faith in the law, so, convinced Nik is innocent she determines to find him an alibi. Merrian Wallis, devoted wife to an MP whose career has already been tarnished by scandal, just wants proof that her husband couldn’t have been involved. As Anna searches for clues amongst a cast of MPs, actors, members of gentlemen’s clubs and a hundred different nightly clients, will anyone be willing to come forward and save Nik from his fate? In this historical fiction, the city of London becomes a character itself, echoing with the whispers of scandal and mystery. The narrative, rich with LGBTQ+ themes, takes the reader on a journey through the underbelly of the city, where the best and worst of humanity intertwine. For fans of Charlotte Mendelson (Almost English), Emma Flint (Little Deaths), Nicola Upson (Nine Lessons), Elizabeth Strout (Lucy by the Sea), and John Preston (The Dig).