This Lovely City by Louise Hare BLOG TOUR @LouRHare @HQstories #Win #Competition #Giveaway #ThisLovelyCity

The drinks are flowing.
The music is playing.
But the party can’t last.

With the Blitz over and London reeling from war, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for help. Fresh off the Empire Windrush, he’s taken a tiny room in south London lodgings, and has fallen in love with the girl next door.

Touring Soho’s music halls by night, 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, he makes a terrible discovery.

As the local community rallies, fingers of blame are pointed at those who had recently been welcomed with open arms. And, before long, the newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart.

Atmospheric, poignant and compelling, Louise Hare’s debut shows that new arrivals have always been the prime suspects. But, also, that there is always hope.

This Lovely City by Louise Hare was published by HQ on 12 March 2020.  My thanks to the publisher who sent over my copy for this Blog Tour.

I'm delighted to offer one hardback copy as a prize today. Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget at the end of this post.  UK Entries only please.

GOOD LUCK 

I think most people know about the 'Windrush Generation'; there's been a lot of news recently about the treatment of the people who arrived in Britain from the Caribbean in the 1940s.  They were asked to come here, the country needed them to help to rebuild after the war. They and their descendants have, without a doubt, been treated very badly over the years.

It's not just in recent time though. The main character in This Lovely City is Lawrie; a young man who arrived in London to work. Whilst he has a job as a postman, and has a lovely girlfriend and enjoys playing music in the clubs of Soho, he is still aware that 'no matter what his passport said, a man with black skin could never be considered British'.

Lawrie learns to think about who he talks to, and what he says. He does his best to avoid any confrontation but one night when he makes a shocking discovery, he cannot avoid the interest in him.

Louise Hare writes such colourful and compelling prose. Her characters are rounded and believable, and the reader cannot fail to feel such empathy for their situation. There really is some shocking behaviours described within this story, and the saddest and most anger-producing thing is that it is all based on what happened, and sadly, what still happens in places.

This is wonderful historical fiction with a twist, there's murder and mystery and suspense. At the heart of it though is the telling of the social injustices suffered by those people who should have been welcomed with open arms for their skills and their help. 

A truly thought provoking and poignant read from a very talented author. 

One Hardback Copy of This Lovely City by Louise Hare








Louise Hare is a London based author. 
Her debut novel This Lovely City is published by HQ (Harper Collins) on March 12th 2020 and House of Anansi (N. America) on April 7th 2020. 
She has an MA in Creative Writing (Distinction) from Birkbeck, University of London.

www.louisehare.com
Twitter @LouRHare
Instagram @lourhare