The first of the acclaimed Stephen Larkin crime series.
Sober and disillusioned with London, tabloid journalist Stephen Larkin reluctantly accepts an assignment to cover a gangland funeral back home in Newcastle.
Several years earlier he had left sick and disgusted, vowing never to return, but the pull of the city, and the promise of a juicy story, finally persuades him to return. While there, Larkin's old flame Charlotte asks him to check out the alleged suicide of her friend Mary - a course of action that will leave Larkin bruised, battered and with some painful memories of the city he was trying to forget.
Dark, compelling and relentless, Mary's Prayer is Martyn Waites' razor-edged crime debut.
One of the brightest stars in the British crime writing firmament. - John Connolly
Disturbing . . . the psychological insights are carefully wrought and thoroughly convincing. - Booklist
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.