This Lovely City

This Lovely City: the most inspiring and hopeful historical fiction novel of 2020, and a BBC Two Between the Covers book club pick [Hardcover] Hare, Louise

Literature & Fiction

Hare, Louise

Literary

An atmospheric and utterly compelling debut novel about a Jamaican immigrant living in postwar London, This Lovely City shows that new arrivals have always been the prime suspects ― but that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope.\nLondon, 1950. With the war over and London still rebuilding, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for labour. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he’s rented a tiny room in south London and fallen in love with the girl next door.\nPlaying in Soho’s jazz clubs by night and pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home ― and it’s alive with possibility. Until one morning, while crossing a misty common, he makes a terrible discovery.\nAs the local community rallies, fingers of blame point at those who were recently welcomed with open arms. And before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy that threatens to tear the city apart. Immersive, poignant, and utterly compelling, Louise Hare’s debut examines the complexities of love and belonging, and teaches us that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope.

HARPER/COLLINS

This Lovely City EXPORT

HQ Fiction GB

Miss Aldridge Regrets (A Canary Club Mystery)

"Would make Agatha Christie proud... Irresistible and smart." 
—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace\nNamed A Most Anticipated Mystery of Summer by Betches, Essence, Crime Reads and more!\nThe glittering RMS Queen Mary. A nightclub singer on the run. An aristocratic family with secrets worth killing for.\nLondon, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn’t worked out. Instead, she’s stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage.\nShe’s feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn’t be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy’s increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life.\nWith seductive glamor, simmering family drama, and dizzying twists, Louise Hare makes her beguiling US debut.

United States

BERKLEY

"Super cinematic and every bit as Agatha Christie-esque as its sounds... ifyou like murder mysteries, pick this one up!" &nbsp; -Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers Named A Most Anticipated Mystery of Summer by Betches, Essence, Crime Reads and more! The glittering RMS Queen Mary. A nightclub singer on the run. An aristocratic family with secrets worth killing for. London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn't worked out. Instead, she's stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage. She's feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn't be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy's increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life. With seductive glamor, simmering family drama, and dizzying twists, Louise Hare makes her beguiling US debut.

Harlem After Midnight (A Canary Club Mystery)

Named a Must Read by Ebony ∙ Boston Herald ∙ Book Riot ∙ Bookish ∙ Minneapolis Star-Tribune and more!\nA body falls from a town house window in Harlem, and it looks just like the newest singer at the Apollo...in this evocative, twisting new novel from the authorof Miss Aldridge Regrets.\nHarlem, 1936: Lena Aldridge grew up in a cramped corner of London, hearing stories of the bright lights of Broadway. She always imagined that when she finally went to New York City, she’d be there with her father. But now he’s dead, and she’s newly arrived and alone, chasing a dream that has quickly dried up. When Will Goodman—the handsome musician she met on the crossing from England—offers for her to stay with his friends in Harlem, she agrees. She has nowhere else to go, and this will give her a chance to get to know Will better and see if she can find any trace of the family she might have remaining.\nWill’s friends welcome her with open arms, but just as Lena discovers the stories her father once told her were missing giant pieces of information, she also starts to realize the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own. And they might just place a target on her back. Especially when she is drawn to the brightest stage in town.

An atmospheric and utterly compelling debut novel about a Jamaican immigrant living in postwar London, This Lovely City shows that new arrivals have always been the prime suspects -- but that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope. London, 1950. With the war over and London still rebuilding, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England's call for labour. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he's rented a tiny room in south London and fallen in love with the girl next door. Playing in Soho's jazz clubs by night and pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home -- and it's alive with possibility. Until one morning, while crossing a misty common, he makes a terrible discovery. As the local community rallies, fingers of blame point at those who were recently welcomed with open arms. And before long, London's newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy that threatens to tear the city apart. Immersive, poignant, and utterly compelling, Louise Hare's debut examines the complexities of love and belonging, and teaches us that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope.

Anansi International

Miss Aldridge Regrets: A Novel (A Canary Club Mystery, 1)

Thorndike Press Large Print

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hare, Louise. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hare, Louise

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hare, Louise. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

This Lovely City

This Lovely City

This Lovely City EXPORT

Miss Aldridge Regrets (A Canary Club Mystery)

Miss Aldridge Regrets (A Canary Club Mystery)

Harlem After Midnight (A Canary Club Mystery)

Harlem After Midnight (A Canary Club Mystery)

This Lovely City

Miss Aldridge Regrets: A Novel (A Canary Club Mystery, 1)