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White City

'The best crime novel I've read this year' THE TIMES

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White City

By: Dominic Nolan
Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
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*THE BEST CRIME NOVEL OF 2024 - THE TIMES* BEST CRIME BOOKS OF 2024 - SUNDAY TIMES* BOOKS OF THE MONTH - THE GUARDIAN
'I very much doubt I'll read a better crime novel this year' IAN RANKIN
'The best crime novel I've read this year' THE TIMES
'Quite breathtaking' DAILY MAIL
'Superb' THE GUARDIAN
'Dominic Nolan is a wonderful writer' CHRIS WHITAKER
'A truly excellent crime novel' MAIL ON SUNDAY

It's 1952, and London is victorious but broken, a city of war ruins and rationing, run by gangsters and black-market spivs.
An elaborate midnight heist, the biggest robbery in British history, sends newspapers into a frenzy. Politicians are furious, the police red-faced. They have suspicions but no leads. Hunches but no proof.

For two families, it is more than just a sensational headline, as their fathers fail to return home on the day of the robbery.

Young Addie Rowe, daughter of a missing Jamaican postman and drunk ex-club hostess mother, struggles to care for her little sister in a dilapidated Brixton rooming house.

Claire Martin, increasingly resentful of roads not taken, strives to make the rent and keep her teenage son Ray from falling under unsavoury influences in Notting Dale.

She finds herself caught between the interests of dangerous men who may know the truth behind her husband's disappearance: Dave Lander, whose reserved nature she finds difficult to reconcile with his reputation as a violent gang enforcer, and Teddy 'Mother' Nunn, a sociopathic, evangelising outlaw and top lieutenant in Billy Hill's underworld.

Drawn together through the years in the city's invisible web of crime and poverty, the fates of the broken families and violent men collide in 1958, as the West Indian community of Notting Hill's slums come under attack from thugs and Teddy Boys. For Addie, Claire, Dave and Mother, old scores will be settled and new dreams chased in the crucible of London's violent summer.

'Incredibly good... one of the most interesting, brilliant crime writers around' JANE CASEY

'What a triumph. What an absolutely magnificent achievement. Transporting, startling, and ultimately almost overwhelmingly powerful' A.J. FINN

'Mind-blowing...so much more than a crime novel. An amazing piece of work' SARAH PINBOROUGH

'An extraordinary piece of work. The writing is beautiful and the world is entirely realistic in its brutality and moments of transcendence, reminiscent of Patrick Hamilton's work and also Brighton Rock. A brilliant book' HARRIET TYCE

'This is one of the richest, most absorbing novels I've read all year' TOM BENN

'More James Ellroy than Agatha Christie, it's bleak, brutal and often thrilling. Both vivid and visceral, it's a rewarding reminder of just how ambitious crime fiction can be' THE HERALD

Praise for Dominic Nolan:
'Brings the obsessional dread of James Ellroy to 1940s London' IAN RANKIN
'Extraordinary...a career-defining performance' THE SUNDAY TIMES, CRIME BOOKS OF THE YEAR
'Crime writing of the highest quality' DAILY MAIL©2024 Dominic Nolan Crime Crime Thrillers Historical Mystery Thriller & Suspense Robbery
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Critic reviews

Dominic Nolan's 'Vine Street' was exceptional, but 'White City' goes above and beyond, a gripping story of curdled dreams and bad intentions set in a sharply-realised 1950s London. I very much doubt I'll read a better crime novel this year.
The best crime novel I've read this year
Superb
Quite breathtaking...as sweeping as anything by James Ellroy
A gripping, atmospheric tale *****
Dom Nolan novels aren't just stories, but complete worlds. Immersive, epic, unforgettable. WHITE CITY is simply unmissable for anyone serious about (crime) fiction.
Yet again Nolan confirms his place as one of the UK's finest writers. White City is both fiercely ambitious and startlingly intimate, teeming with morally complex characters desperately trying to navigate a way through dark, treacherous waters. UK crime has waited a long time to find its James Ellroy; the wait is now officially over.
White City has it all: violent gangsters, a love story across the ages, riots, revenge. It will lift you high above the clouds, then dash you on the rocks. Nolan doesn't shy away from doing the unthinkable; no character is safe, not even the most beloved. Beautiful and brutal, this is a book to get lost in, to savour and enjoy, time and time again. (SAM HOLLAND)
Transportive, compelling and completely all consuming, White City confirms Nolan as one of Britain's elite crime writers. Prose so expertly crafted, you can reach out and touch it, and characters so real they possess your soul. A gift of a novel. (ADAM SIMCOX)
WHITE CITY is quite simply a brilliant novel: broad in scope, deeply etched, so very sharp and stylish. The seamless blend of fact and fiction, the richly imagined lives of these heroic and monstrous characters, and the swagger and swing of the writing make for a masterpiece of social historical crime fiction. (JOE THOMAS)
Terrific! A noir-drenched tapestry of 1950s London, in which two families struggle to survive as their lives crack apart like a bullet-riddled windscreen in the aftermath of robbery and murder. Crackling dialogue, biting humour, brutal action and issues that resonate today, all underscored by poignancy and compassion. (ROBBIE MORRISON)
White City is a love letter to the gritty underbelly of last century London, one I struggled to leave. I fell in love with Lander (I defy you not to) and indeed with the very streets themselves. The violence is brutal, the grief is vivid, and yet I was spellbound. It's a masterpiece. (RACHEL WOLF)
All stars
Most relevant
The best audiobook I have listened to. Although billed as a crime book this is so much more. The way the issues of immigration in 50’s and 60’s are laid out could relate to 2025. The personal stories threading through the book invests you in the lead characters. Buy it!

Very moving and resonates with issues we face today

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Dominic Nolan is always superb. This one, like Vine Street imurses you you in the London underworld and it's wider environment. Great stories, even better characters and always leaves you feeling something, many things in fact.

Brilliant book

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Excellent book taking us back to the 50s in a mostly realistic way. A little convoluted with the sub-stories but underlying it, a study of how things were on London streets at the time. Gripping at times, I persevered and was glad I did. Some of the dialogue was a bit modern (‘reaching out’, ‘do you even know?’ And a couple of other modernisms) but totally compelling.

Gritty and brutal

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Aside from the amazing details of the book, the sounds, the clothes, the streets and the lives of the people at this moment in time - this story manages to convey such a powerful sequence of events and transports you to a place in history not too long ago. The characters in the book are all important to the narrative and seem to all leave a part of themselves with you. There's humour, betrayal, violence, action, triumph, love, loss and everything in between. Not sure there will a book like this again for a long time. A must read / listen as you'll not regret it

Incredible book

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The narration by Ben Onwukwe was superb and really brought all the characters to life.

A real look into the unsavoury gangster underworld of post war London, and widespread racism.

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