Chamber Music
Published on 2. January 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-0-09-955407-3 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award
It's Manchester, 1998, and the funeral party for Henry Bane's father is interrupted by a woman from Bane's past. Roisin is back in his life after an eight-year absence, inconvenient for Jan, his latest flame. Roisin has brought a wounded boyfriend with her - and a lot more trouble is following them up north.
Meanwhile, a Yardie who goes by the name of 'Hagfish' wants to take over the local ganglords' territory with Mary, his terrifying weapon of choice. It's Hagfish against Bane in a new turf war: a war that will claim lives and cement vendettas. It's a conflict steeped in half-forgotten history: a history that Bane and Roisin are forever tied to - and which ties them together.
It's Manchester, 1998, and the funeral party for Henry Bane's father is interrupted by a woman from Bane's past. Roisin is back in his life after an eight-year absence, inconvenient for Jan, his latest flame. Roisin has brought a wounded boyfriend with her - and a lot more trouble is following them up north.
Meanwhile, a Yardie who goes by the name of 'Hagfish' wants to take over the local ganglords' territory with Mary, his terrifying weapon of choice. It's Hagfish against Bane in a new turf war: a war that will claim lives and cement vendettas. It's a conflict steeped in half-forgotten history: a history that Bane and Roisin are forever tied to - and which ties them together.
Reviews / Votes
If The Doll Princess was a startlingly original reimagining of noir, then Benn has upped his own game. Chamber Music takes all the genre's most potent elements and makes them new and vital again. -- Cathi Unsworth * Guardian * It's so good, I almost forgot to breathe. -- Tom Adair * Scotsman * Superb...The result is a kind of Guy Ritchie-esque gangster comedy with infinitely more depth. -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph * A startlingly new, ridiculously stylish, home-grown voice -- Henry Sutton * Daily Mirror * One of the most exciting young British novelists working in any genre. * Shotsmag * Benn has a great ear for dialogue...[An] excellent book. * Crime Fiction Lover * Starkly written, dropping in and out of patois and slang, Tom Benn paints a disturbing picture of our society's underclass. -- Mark Timlin * Crime Time *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
237 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-955407-3 (9780099554073)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Tom Benn was born in 1987, and grew up in Stockport. He is a graduate of the UEA Creative Writing MA and was the recipient of the 2009 Malcolm Bradbury bursary. His first novel, The Doll Princess, was shortlisted for the 2012 Dylan Thomas Prize and the Portico Prize, and longlisted for the Crime Writers' Association's John Creasey Dagger. Chamber Music was published in 2013.