The third of the acclaimed Stephen Larkin crime series.
When a friend's sixteen-year-old daughter goes missing, investigative reporter Stephen Larkin is enlisted to help find her. Following a trail of warring drug dealers, child prostituion, and born-again Christian gangsters, it soon becomes clear that they are not the only ones looking for the girl, and that others don't care if she is found dead or alive.
If Philip Marlowe had been born later, British and Geordie, these are the mean streets he would be cleaning up. - Guardian
Candleland is a sometimes brutal, sometimes poetic journey through the dark heart of modern London, and confirms Martyn Waites as one of the brightest stars in the British crime writing firmament. It is not for the faint of heart; but then, neither is life. - John Connolly
Martyn Waites was born and raised in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He first worked as an actor and has appeared in numerous theatre and TV productions. His first novel, Mary's Prayer, featuring investigative journalist Stephen Larkin, was published in 1997. He has been shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger for thriller of the year, the Dagger in Library and the short story Dagger, and his novel The White Room was Guardian Book of the Year. Writing as Tania Carver, he created the Phil Brennan/Marina Esposito series, the first of which, The Surrogate, was shortlisted for the Theakstons Award for crime novel of the year. He has held two writing residencies in YOIs and prisons, twice been the RLF Literary Fellow at Essex university, held classes in creative writing for excluded teenagers and taught an MA in crime fiction. He can be found at www.martynwaites.com or www.taniacarver.com.