Arrowood

Arrowood
Mick Finlay

‘Crackles with energy and wit’ – The TimesLondon Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood.1895: London’s scared. A killer haunts the city’s streets. The poor are hungry; crime bosses are taking control; the police force stretched to breaking point.While the rich turn to Sherlock Holmes, the celebrated private detective rarely visits the densely populated streets of South London, where the crimes are sleazier and the people are poorer.In a dark corner of Southwark, victims turn to a man who despises Holmes, his wealthy clientele and his showy forensic approach to crime: Arrowood – self-taught psychologist, occasional drunkard and private investigator.When a man mysteriously disappears and Arrowood’s best lead is viciously stabbed before his eyes, he and his sidekick Barnett face their toughest quest yet: to capture the head of the most notorious gang in London…In the bestselling tradition of Anthony Horowitz and Andrew Taylor, this gloriously dark crime debut will haunt readers long after the final page has been turned.

MICK FINLAY was born in Glasgow but left as a young boy, living in Canada and then England. Before becoming an academic, he ran a market stall on Portobello Road, and has also worked as a tent-hand in a travelling circus, a butcher’s boy, a hotel porter, and in various jobs in the NHS and Social Services. He teaches in a Psychology Department, and has published research on political violence and persuasion, verbal and non-verbal communication, and disability. He now lives in Brighton with his family.

Copyright (#ulink_961d3be2-0b33-548d-b342-328e24d878a9)

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2017

Copyright © Mick Finlay 2017

Mick Finlay asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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Ebook Edition © March 2017 ISBN: 9780008203207

Version: 2018-01-22

To Anita, John and Maya

Contents

Cover (#u3efcd8ef-9a46-518f-a4f9-2435295ebafc)

About the Author (#u71f6d88d-b343-59bd-94e3-fb6d74609dd7)

Title page (#u78a31e12-9d70-5a99-b75d-60600d79fdca)

Copyright (#ulink_bcabe4e7-2db3-5050-b8c6-5c4a0e0347c4)

Dedication (#u40b646b0-6c25-5eb7-8f14-aa768eeec2a1)

Chapter One (#ulink_872bd865-f0d7-5368-ae25-f768718f5c84)

Chapter Two (#ulink_584ffcf2-a17a-5eb2-93bf-4fc6b3b9a1be)

Chapter Three (#ulink_6518df41-b6d7-5a2c-b884-b68ed9fd2d99)

Chapter Four (#ulink_e653f6c5-a7ab-582f-88d3-56f83a7bd9e2)

Chapter Five (#ulink_d28b193b-968d-54aa-890b-6f7a5ea12b9c)

Chapter Six (#ulink_a29d9949-24bf-5658-8264-d1f3bc71a0fb)

Chapter Seven (#ulink_4a726963-2de0-5514-928a-0e9339494b75)

Chapter Eight (#ulink_b1cd9fc6-bec3-51ac-815b-0cf4d6da268c)

Chapter Nine (#ulink_2b97c68d-d0da-53c7-955a-0349c13ed817)

Chapter Ten (#ulink_eae369b4-6c9d-53d4-b10b-f2b91156289f)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)