Keeping the King comparison going, it’s more Dark Tower than Carrie, a pleasingly complex plot that rarely settles for the cliché. The writing is great: knowledgeable, intelligent, thoughtful, echoing the deceptively literate poetry of the mundane in such work as that of Stephen King, albeit with a distinctly British tone, such as that of Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May detective series, as we travel around (and underground) the great city of London.

There’s even a touch of Mike Moorcock in there as Alex develops a symbiotic relationship with his enigmatic artefact in a similar manner to Elric and his demon blade. The book begins as a crime novel, as in the present day Alex tries to find his missing daughter, but soon exhibits some rather grisly murders before taking a turn into Quantum Leap and Hammer Horror territory. As he races to unlock the secrets of the mysterious object, Alex must learn to wield its dark power – or be destroyed by it.”

But when the burglary goes horribly wrong, Alex is plunged into the nightmarish world of the Wolves of London, a band of unearthly assassins who will stop at nothing to reclaim the heart. He agrees to steal a priceless artefact – a human heart carved from blackest obsidian – from the home of a decrepit old man. It’s a book with horror overtones, naturally, but then it also rips up the rule book by delving into archaic occult arts, Frankenstein-ian steampunk and even Quantum Leap-style time travel.įrom the back cover: “ Alex Locke is a reformed ex-convict, forced back into London’s criminal underworld for one more job. The Wolves of London is a dark novel that mixes up genres. This will, I suspect, bring him to a new wider audience. Mark is perhaps best known for his Horror books ( Toady, Stitch, The Secret of Anatomy) and his Doctor Who novelisations.

Stitch by Mark Morris