Blood Relatives

Blood Relatives
Stevan Alcock

An incredible debut novel: a coming of age tale set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper murders, ‘full of daring, authenticity and wit’ (Rachel Cusk).LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE‘The milkman found her. On Prince Philip Playing Fields. He crossed the dew-soaked grass toward what he took to be a bundle of clothes, but then he came across a discarded shoe, and then t’ mutilated body. her name wor Wilma McCann.’Leeds, late 1975 and a body has been found on Prince Philip Playing Fields. Ricky, teenage delivery van boy for Corona pop, will be late for The Matterhorn Man. In the years that follow until his capture, the Yorkshire Ripper and Rick’s own life draw ever closer with unforeseen consequences. Set in a time in England's history of upheaval and change – both personal and social – this is a story told in an unforgettable voice.

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Copyright (#u4cd7cea9-0925-57c6-807d-028e1e6c01d6)

First published in Great Britain in 2015 by

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.4thestate.co.uk (http://www.4thestate.co.uk)

Copyright © Stevan Alcock 2015

The right of Stevan Alcock to be identified as the author

of this work has been asserted by him in accordance

with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988

A catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Cover photographs © Evening Standard/Getty Images (boys); Jack Hickes/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images (Arndale bus stop)

Source ISBN: 9780007580842

Ebook Edition © March 2015 ISBN: 9780007580859

Version: 2015-12-02

Dedication (#u4cd7cea9-0925-57c6-807d-028e1e6c01d6)

For Peg

Contents

Cover (#uaa78f331-b30a-5c67-949e-df7892d6439d)

Title Page (#u2a6194ab-42ab-5672-91ca-5db8ae8aa718)

Copyright (#ulink_f38e606d-f399-5bde-bb32-22f4f93bb09a)

Dedication (#ulink_c0106c07-e27d-5387-a747-28b11b9e94e6)

I

Wilma McCann (#ulink_ab9f3eea-349d-5851-9b71-bc389afd7601)

Emily Jackson (#ulink_65070489-5fe3-5792-bea5-ce6787b4a2b8)

Marcella Claxton (#ulink_6ed08925-1b7e-53b5-921e-563ac3ef0170)

Irene Richardson (#ulink_b7f95978-de2f-590f-abb9-13e828e27a01)

Patricia ‘Tina’ Atkinson (#ulink_bdb46620-5540-5f8b-af8b-2c5ba3fcd205)

II

Jayne MacDonald (#litres_trial_promo)

Maureen Long (#litres_trial_promo)

Jean Royle (also known as Jean Jordan) (#litres_trial_promo)

Marilyn Moore (#litres_trial_promo)

Yvonne Pearson (#litres_trial_promo)

Helen Rytka (#litres_trial_promo)

Vera Millward (#litres_trial_promo)

Josephine Whitaker (#litres_trial_promo)

Barbara Leach (#litres_trial_promo)

III

Jacqueline Hill (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

I (#u4cd7cea9-0925-57c6-807d-028e1e6c01d6)

Wilma McCann (#u4cd7cea9-0925-57c6-807d-028e1e6c01d6)