I love being transported back in time and that is exactly where I'm going in This Lovely City. An absolutely stunning read and a superb debut novel, Louise Hare is most definitely a very exciting discovery.
The first novel I ever read about The Windrush generation was called The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon and I read it when I was studying 20th Century Literature. As a child of the 70s I was completely swept away in this story about a time not too long before I was born, a time when my parents themselves were just children. Sam Selvon showed me a London that I could never have imagined and with This Lovely City Louise has taken me there too.
Just five years after the war has ended and the world has changed. London is bruised, battered and reeling but things are moving on and the Empire Windrush sails in to help in a time of need. The new residents are met with a mixture of feelings, from gratitude to mistrust to straight up hate. Laurie Matthews is a Jazz musician by night and a postman by day, he works hard to build a better future for himself and those around him. He lives quietly keeping his head down, getting by and dreaming of a life and family with his girl, Evie.
Things take a dark turn though when Laurie discovers a body and before long the finger of suspicion is pointing at him. Suddenly the place he has begun to consider as home becomes a place of fear and hate. Those who welcomed him so readily are equally happy to lay the blame at his feet. But there is more to this tragedy than meets the eye and the twists and turns just keep on coming. A brilliant murder mystery capturing a time in history still sitting in the shadow of the Second World War but there is hope on the horizon.
Already This Lovely City is being called 'A BEST BOOK OF 2020' and it's not hard to see why. Available Hardback, eBook and Audio this is definitely one to add to your wish list - in fact why not treat yourself to a copy today.
Many thanks to the lovely people at HQ Stories for inviting me to take part in this blog tour and for my beautiful review copy. The hardback edition really is stunning and well worthy of a place on your bookshelf.

This is the story of Evie, born and raised in London, and Lawrie, a young man who arrived on The Windrush to start a new life.

This is a painful read, describing racism and sexism and how it impacts on lives. To read the frustration of young men, brought over to England to work but finding they cannot get employed because of the colour of their skin, is heartbreaking. Alongside this, you read about the patriarchy looking down on women and the disgust of mix-race relationships and how these issues are faced by Evie and her mother.

The blame placed on women for living their lives, for seeking out fun and adventure and for daring to have sex outside of marriage and even *shock horror* for having a child when unmarried is, again, painful reading and should be relegated to the history.

Read this book, just to remind yourself that we should be better people, that we shouldn’t hold prejudices and that we need to be more open to new views and experiences. Read this book, just to remind yourself that others are entitled to be different, that different isn’t scary. This world is a big quilt and we, each, make up the whole.

I got totally caught up in this story. I enjoyed reading it. There are interesting characters and it was fascinating reading about some people’s reactions to the passengers on the Windrush arriving and settling in London.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

The Blitz is over and London is recovering from WWII. The call has gone out for workers from the Commonwealth to come over and help Britain get back on her feet.

Fresh off the Empire Windrush, musician Lawrie Matthews has come to make his fortune, but things are not quite as he imagined in this, so called, land of opportunity. It has been harder to make London his home that he thought, and the climate is not helping, but he has finally got himself a steady job, even if he is laying his head down a tiny room in Brixton....but the best thing to happen to him by far is that he has fallen in love with Evie, the girl next door.

Touring the streets of Soho at night, plying his trade in a band with some of his friends, and working as a postman during the day, keeps Lawrie busy, and he hopes this promising start will enable him to ask Evie to marry him before too long - so his new life can really begin.

However, one morning, Lawrie finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and becomes a suspect in a shocking crime that has stunned the local community. Feelings are riding high and the rising tension is threatening to tear the city apart.

Can Lawrie really find happiness in this lovely city?

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How I loved this compelling tale of young love, racial tension and mystery set against the backdrop of a city trying to find its way after the upheaval of WWII!

Lawrie is part of the Windrush generation, called to England with the promise of a warm welcome and opportunities galore. But when Lawrie gets here, he realises that he has been sold a bit of a pup. He and his fellow immigrants are living in squalid and cramped conditions and fighting for a chance of employment in workplaces that simply do not want them.

What saves Lawrie and makes him persevere? Well the answer is quite simply the love of a young girl he meets quite by accident....someone he is sure he can be happy with.....and that is Evie - a girl who is something of an outsider herself, as the mixed race daughter of a single mother, although she has lived in London all her life.

Louise Hare beautifully mixes the tales of Lawrie and Evie to highlight the racial tension bubbling under the surface of post-War London, and the hard life associated with being a single mother at this time. Trouble is afoot - secrets and lies, which seemed well buried, are going to be exposed before long. A heinous crime has been committed and new arrivals make easy targets in the blame game.

The blatant racism of the time is both brutal and uncompromising, and makes for some difficult reading in this story. There is plenty of tragedy and heartbreak too, but there is also hope for the future and an overwhelming sense that love and comradship can conquer all in the end.

I felt myself totally immersed in post-War London, with its rationing, black market shenanigans, lingering Blitz spirit, bomb-damaged buildings, and the tense atmosphere of a population trying to adjust to new times. A different age is being ushered in, not only in the face of recently arrived immigrants from far flung places, but also in terms of men returning home to womenfolk who have had a taste of an independence they had never experienced before - a freedom they are reluctant to give up. All the signs point to the difficult birth of a new era - of social and cultural change on the horizon.

But this is also a story of an investigation into a crime so shocking that it fractures the already fragile peace on London's streets. The long arm of the Law becomes an insidious presence for our community of immigrants, and their fear is palpable. It seems no one is safe from the attention of the Police.

All these threads come together beautifully at the hands of Louise Hare, until the devastating truth is revealed at the end of the tale. Outstanding!

The audio version of this poignant debut is magnificent. The narrations from Theo Solomon and Karise Yansen, as Lawrie and Evie, are magical and their voices completely draw you in. The soundtrack also features an original piece of jazz music, composed and performed by AZAD, a second year band from East London Arts and Music School (ELAM), which will have the jazz spirit pumping in your veins.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this wonderful debut from Louise Hare. This Lovely City has every hallmark of being one of this year's must reads - or must listens, in the case of this cracking audio book. Trust me, this is one you are not going to want to miss out on!

This book is set just after the end of World War 2 and it follows Lawrie, who arrived in England as an Windrush immigrant. At the beginning of the book, he finds a dead baby in a local pond and the story progresses from there.

I loved the character of Lawrie. He was just such a gentleman and was so likeable.
I loved the descriptions of life in the early 1950s especially the seedy Jazz clubs of London.

Some of the language in this book may be hard for some readers. I don’t want to go into details but there is some racist language.

This book is a complete page turner and is filled with wonderful characters and a great underlying story.

This is historical fiction set in London soon after WW2 and is so redolent with atmosphere you can almost smell it.

Lawrie had arrived in London on the ship, Empire Windrush, he’s now a postman by day and an aspiring musician at night. He’s also in love with Evie, but they face many difficult challenges to say the least. They just want a quiet life together.

One day, Lawrie hears a woman shouting and a baby is found in a pond, regrettably they baby doesn’t survive. The police immediately suspect the Jamaican community just because the baby had dark skin…….but can the truth be found?

While this is a murder mystery, I felt it so much more as it deals with the reality of the horrific discrimination and abuse the ‘Windrush’ generation deal with on a daily basis, truly shameful.

A beautifully written, emotional tale and one that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to The publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for free. This is my honest and unbiased review

This fabulous debut is not only great between the pages but it has a cover that just screams “read me.” Part love story, part coming-of-age and part crime novel, this fictional story also has a true story running through its pages; the story of the Jamaican men who travelled to England on the Windrush in the Summer of 1948 and their battle for acceptance and equality.

Told in dual timelines this is the story of immigrant Lawrie Matthews and Evie Coleridge, the girl next door that he’s in love with and also happens to be the only mixed race girl in the area. The pair are headed for marriage and, other than the daily racism they must navigate, life is good. But after Lawrie finds the body of a baby girl in the pond on Clapham Common everything changes. Lawrie finds himself the prime suspect in the case and trouble soon begins to seep into all areas of his life. As the press and public demand justice for the little girl, the city is divided, racial tensions rise and Lawrie and his friends find themselves more vulnerable than ever in the place they were told was their new home. Meanwhile, Lawrie’s discovery also threatens to uncover shameful secrets that were never meant to be revealed and could shatter their lives even further.

I’m a big fan of both historical and crime fiction so as soon as I read the synopsis I knew I had to read this book. Though the crime is introduced into the story early on, it didn’t feel like there was a lot of tension or suspense until later on. For most of the time the story concentrated more on how being under suspicion, or being close to someone under suspicion, affected the characters in all areas of their lives. I liked that and felt that it gave the book a lot of heart that might have otherwise been missing. It also enabled important issues to be more visible in the story, rather than fading into the background.

The author’s wonderful storytelling and vivid imagery transported me to London in the late forties and early fifties. I could almost smell the smoke and hear the jazz band playing. I could see the grimy streets and feel the fear and loathing in the air. But what I loved most was the characters and community that the author created. Their authenticity immersed me in their world and helped me to feel connected to situations I never have or will experience. Lawrie was a kind, honest man who I quickly fell in love with. His good character added to the sense of injustice at what he went through after finding the baby as you really did get the sense he was the last person on earth who could do such a thing. He was the opposite of Rathborne, the racist and vile policeman in charge of the case, who was easily my least favourite character. Evie was a sweet, innocent young woman who longed to break free of her overbearing mother. I thought a lot about how hard it must have been for her being the only mixed race person, not knowing anyone else like herself and never really fitting in anywhere. I found myself furious at her mother for how she treated her and contributed to her pain at being different, thankful she’d found Lawrie and hoping they would overcome the obstacles and get their happy-ever-after.

This Lovely City is an atmospheric, affecting and thought-provoking debut. Deftly told, the story is steadily paced, building to a gradual crescendo as we approach the finale. I loved that there were things I found impossible to predict and I was certain I had the rest figured out. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The storylines cleverly dovetailed and my jaw hit the floor as all was revealed. I would recommend this book and am excited to see what the author writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had high expectations after reading the wonderful reviews but unfortunately this book wasn’t for me I managed to read to chapter 5 but I have given up, The pace is very slow with drawn out too long a chapters with too much detail in each chapter which was confusing. ThankYou to the publisher and netgalley for the early copy in return for an honest review.

Welcome home is the message to greet the West Indian immigrants arriving in the motherland aboard the Empire Windrush in 1948. Louise Hare’s impressive debut novel shows this to be far from the truth.
Given the scandal surrounding Windrush, this captivating and atmospheric novel is a topical reminder of the daily racism, violence and poverty these men faced when embarking on a new life in this green and pleasant land. Lack of accommodation, difficulty in finding employment and faced with general hostility must have been a huge shock to the likes of Lawrie, our main protagonist, and his motley crew of friends. Hardworking, trustworthy reliable and loyal are all qualities many people chose to overlook because of the colour of Lawrie’s skin but I suppose compared to some he is lucky in finding work as a postman whilst still being able to follow his passion as a jazz musician in the Soho clubs. The author’s words transport you to those grimy streets,and the dance halls where you can almost hear the music and you can feel the grubbiness of the poor living accommodation and almost smell the sweat and tears from Lawrie’s hard labour. But you also get a sense of the camaraderie in the group, the teasing and the laughs and the get togethers, sticking side by side like glue, coping mechanisms to rise above the racism and the police brutality. Plus Lawrie has Evie, the girl next door who he’s fallen for and life is looking good until one day he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, finding a dead baby in Eagle pond in Clapham Common. His dreams of a more promising future with Evie by his side suddenly seem to fade.
This is as much Evie’s story as it is Laurie’s. Of mixed race parentage herself, she’s always felt an outsider so prospective marriage to Lawrie seems like a godsend for both her and her mother Agnes. As well as tackling such serious issues as inherent racism, the novel provides an insight into society’s attitudes towards unmarried mothers and their offspring and how few options were available to these women. Either sent away to relatives in other parts of the country or confined to unmarried mother and baby homes, these ‘fallen’ women would be tainted for life, often cast out from their families. Although This Lovely City’ is a work of fiction I found it to be a fascinating discourse on social mores of the time and became completely absorbed in the storyline.
Naturally it is Lawrie who is chief suspect and his friends who are interviewed and interrogated about this crime and blame is quickly apportioned to the West Indian community. They are easy targets for the repellent Detective Rathbone and the notion of innocent until proven guilty doesn’t exist in his eyes. I felt immensely saddened by Lawrie’s predicament as he is a gentle, loving soul whose only crime is having the ‘wrong’ colour skin. Evie’s situation too is heartbreaking and as events unfold her relationship with her mother Agnes is revealed as extremely complex.
I think the author has written sensitively about life in London in the aftermath of the war, with vivid descriptions of bombed out buildings, the rationing and the general hardship. Hostility towards a group of people promised a better life permeates the narrative.
Did the ending do the rest of this novel justice? In my opinion I have to say I was disappointed that the author chose this particular way to bring the storyline to its conclusion, although I think I understand why it had to be this way. Maybe Lawrie and Evie’s future is wrapped up rather too conveniently but I like that this novel ends on a hopeful note after so much tragedy.
Excellent debut which I highly recommend and my thanks to HQ the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was a nice book, I enjoyed it for the storyline but more for the insight it gives to the behaviour and mindset of the time, of how intolerant we were of anyone who was of different or mixed race, but how love will always win.

My thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advance copy.

This is a fabulous murder mystery set in post war Britain.

1948, the war is finally over and bombed out Britain is set to rebuild, but to that they need people in London after so many were lost in the war, so the government send an invitation to its colonies asking for workers, in exchange for their help, these lucky people will be helped with accommodation and be part of something amazing!

Except, it doesn't quite work out like that.

Jazz musician Lawrie Matthews travels from Jamaica to the UK along with hundreds of other people on the Empire Windrush, thinking that his life was going to start, there was going to be so many different things for him to do, jobs for him to choose, friends for him to make, he was a British citizen now, and people were going to love him.

Unfortunately, when the ship arrives, it seems that London wasn't ready at all for the people that they had invited, and had done very little to accommodate them, on arrival they are escorted to an old bomb shelter and told this is where they will be staying until further accommodation was provided!

After eventually being housed, Lawrie gets a job as a Postman, and falls in love with a girl called Evie, who is a neighbour.

Lawrie loves his job, and in the evenings he plays in a Jazz band around SoHo, but what he doesn't love is the blatant racism towards him and his friends, considering they were there to help, Lawrie doesn't feel appreciated at all, and even though he was now a British citizen, it didn't matter, as the colour of his skin said otherwise.

While doing his post round one morning, Lawrie makes an awful discovery, that sets the future plans that he has with Evie on very thin ice.

This was at times a very hard hitting book mixed in with the mystery, to see all of these people being treated so badly just because of the colour of their skin makes me so angry, and even more so because of the Windrush situation that came to light in the news back in 2018 and is still going on now.

Louise Hare has managed to create a very atmospheric story and I could almost hear the Jazz band, and smell the smoky bars as I read this book.

"This Lovely City" by Louise Hare, is a gripping and engaging story of love, betrayal and friendship. In 1950s London, young Lawrie Matthews, one of recent Windrush arrivals, s making a new life for himself - a postman by day, a jazz musician by night, he is hopeful he will be able to marry Evie, a girl next door, one day. But when he find himself in a wrong place at the wrong time, he makes a terrible discovery that will have a long lasting impact on him and others close to him.

Told between Evie and Lawrie's voices, the book is a portrait of London and its inhabitants, in the aftermath of the world war two - there are ugly streets, still pockmarked by the ruins of bombed homes, the neighbourhoods are changing as new faces appear, stared at by suspicious, upstanding citizens. There is still rationing and illegal markets, but there is also hope, as Soho calls, with its glitzy world of cinemas, theatres and jazz music, played by the bands freshly of the boats from the Caribbeans, The new Black Britain is emerging, but the racial tensions are making people scared and unwelcome, and this is where the book really speaks to the reader. Racism is prevalent everywhere - the always present microaggressions, the hatred and violence and off=handed "benign" remarks, are making lives of our characters even harder. Lawrie and his Black friends find themselves prime suspects of the police enquiry due to the colour of their skin, Evie's mother is ostracised after having a mix-race child. The are tensions, fights started over black man lying their hands on white woman, even if it is only to help her, the homes get attacked and the welcoming Britain is no longer a safe and desirable place to be.

In the heart of the book, there is a mystery to resolve, secrets to uncover and confess. the plot is possibly a bit too convoluted and could do with some trimming, but I found myself rooting for the main characters, who were offered so little fair treatment in their lives, that it did not really matter. All the important stuff is there - the tension, flawed characters, the mystery and also glimpses of hope - and it all makes a pleasurable, sparkling and delectable cocktail, that reader wants to devour in one sitting.

‘This Lovely City ‘ follows a group of Windrush immigrants, recently arrived in the UK from Jamaica. In particular, it follows the lives of Lawrie Matthews and his friends in 1948 and 1950. Though this story is fictional, the so called Windrush immigrants were in reality brought over from the Caribbean to cover severe labour shortages in the UK, in the wake of the Second World War. They were here to seek their fortunes, but as soon as most would be employers saw the colour of their skin, the job was no longer available, and the immigrants soon discovered that they weren’t going to be welcomed with open arms, indeed they were looked on with a great deal of suspicion, and open racism.

In one way, Lawrie is one of the lucky ones, he manages to get himself a job as a postman, and he makes a little extra cash at night playing his clarinet in Soho’s nightclubs along with his friends. He even gets himself a girlfriend, Evie, and things are really looking up. Luck however soon turns to misfortune when he comes across a terrible discovery on Clapham Common, and from there on in, his life is on a downward spiral.

I loved Lawrie’s character - his good old fashioned values made me warm to him instantly. I loved the social history, the descriptions of the post war jazz era in the smoky nightclubs of Soho, the food during this time of rationing, and the culture both in relation to Britain, and the Caribbean.

Louise Hare has written a beautiful novel, best described as a murder mystery, but it’s so much more than that - she’s conjured up post war austerity in Britain perfectly, rich in its detail, with the many bombed out derelict homes, and rationing for food, clothing and fuel, to name but a few things, still very much in place. This debut novel is an absolute gem, and I seriously think it will be a best seller!

A very smart and relevant book which is beautifully written.

One of the Observer’s debut novels of 2020, This Lovely City is well worthy of the plaudits it has received. Superb characters, who you really care about, caught up in a major criminal issue but, more importantly guiding the reader through the eyes of those arriving in the UK after WWII from the Caribbean (known as the Windrush generation). In places it was a little ploddy but thoroughly recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy in consideration of an honest review.

This book grabbed me early and never let go. When a writer so immediately takes you to a time and place its such a skill. I found myself in post - Windrush London where new people are making the capital their home and the huge social change is causing friction. As one character observes ‘she was no longer the odd one out’ as she goes to the market. More people are arriving, weighed down by layers thrown on haphazardly as their first experience of British cold started to bite. However, as those first pioneers answered the call from the motherland they’d found London not at all what they were expecting. Our government had put the call out to its colonies. We needed workers, to replace those men lost in WW2 and to rebuild. Yet no one seemed grateful, no one said thank you and the living was far from easy.

We follow two characters: Lawrie and Evie. They are courting in the old fashioned sense. Lawrie sees in Evie a nice girl, a girl who has been well brought up even though she has never known her father. He wants to do things properly, do right by her. So he calls and they go to the cinema or for a walk. Lawrie has come over from Jamaica and works part time as a musician in a local band. He also works full time as a postman, while carrying the odd special black market delivery too. Evie has lived in London her whole life with her mother Agnes. They have been Lawrie’s neighbours ever since a room opened up at the house next door. The two women understand prejudice because they have been victims of it and live a life kept very much to themselves. Evie is mixed race and Agnes, who is white, has been the subject of gossip and judgement ever since she was born. So, although what transpires in the book may be shocking to us, it barely surprises them, because they know how people feel about any sort of difference from the white British norm.

The story splits into two time frames approximately one year apart. In one, Lawrie is cutting across Clapham Common at the end of his postal route when he hears a woman shouting. She has found a baby in the pond. Lawrie rushes to help, but they are both too late. The baby becomes the book’s central mystery and because she has black skin, suspicion falls upon the already beleaguered Jamaican community. Rathbone, is the police officer assigned to the case and he relishes causing problems for the community. His suspicions fall on Lawrie, as the first man on the scene, but he doesn’t just investigate, he sets out to ruin his life. However, there is a secret to this baby’s background that is closer to home than he imagined.

I found myself rooting for Lawrie and Evie. I wanted them to be able to make marriage plans and live the simple, quiet life they dreamed about. Her mother Agnes has had to be very strong, being an unmarried mother of a mixed race child would have meant being ostracised. Evie remembers her mother having the neighbours for tea, when against her instructions Evie was caught looking down through the banisters. It takes her several years to make the link; she is the reason her mum has no friends or visitors. The hostility experienced by the men who arrived on the Windrush must have been bewildering. To be asked to a country because there is a shortage of labour, then meet nothing but hostility and suspicion is so unjust.

A lot of the tension in the novel is around sex and relationships. When the band are booked to play a wedding, the British host is immediately taken aback but decides they can play. All is well until a woman stumbles on the dance floor and one of the band rushes to help. Her husband doesn’t appreciate his wife being touched by a black man and a brawl breaks out causing the band to run for their lives. Provocative women, like the character Rose, stir up tension even more. The men refer to her as Rita Hayworth, the red-haired Hollywood bombshell. When the men first arrive she helps with getting them settled. Then she offers to take Lawrie and his friend to the Lido, dazzling them in her bikini and flirting with Lawrie. She makes it very clear that she wants Lawrie, with no thought to the consequences if her husband finds out. Interracial relationships are simply not accepted. As Agnes points out, her daughter Evie is far better off in a long term relationship with Lawrie, because although they come from very different places, society will view them as the same due to their skin colour.

I felt immersed in the world the author has created. From the cold mornings on Lawrie’s postal round, to the smoky nightclubs the band plays into the early hours. ​This is my grandparents generation so I could also imagine the homes, the struggle of still being on rations and for the women, trying to look nice on a tight budget. It reminded me of stories my grandma and great- aunts told me about going out dancing in post-war Liverpool. I felt so much for Evie, especially when her whole story unfolded towards the end of the novel. There is a whole cast of interesting characters, but Evie and Lawrie are this novel’s heart and I desperately wanted life to work out for them. Louise Hare has written a vibrant book with an incredible sense of place and time, and interesting characters. I loved it,

This review will appear on my blog this week.

What a poignant story of love, betrayal, hope and discrimination. The Second World War has ended and as the male workforce has been depleted an invitation is extended to the men of the Caribbean to come to Britain to work.
Laurie travels to Britain in 1948 and finds not the warm welcome he envisaged but cold inhospitable weather mirrored by the thoughts and actions of some of the people he meets.
Over the next few years he settles down but when he finds a a dark shinned baby dead and abandoned, Laurie and his community find out the true extent and meaning of discrimination.
A moving debut.

2/5 - unfortunately, I just didn’t enjoy this book.

I understand the importance of the main message but the story itself just simply didn’t grip me and I ended up having little to no interest.

A beautifully written novel about a Jamaican man, Lawrie, living in postwar England and the girl next door in South London. Expecting a more welcoming arrival the young, sweet natured Lawrie faces daily racism as he works as a postman by day and a musician by night. Lawrie falls in love with Evie, his South London neighbour who he thinks he will find happiness with. and there, at least, seems the potential for happiness. The couple experience many ups and downs but eventually there is light at the end of bleak tunnel. A fabulous read, very poignant, highly recommended.

Set in post-war London it follows the lives of Caribbean immigrants who were led to believe England would be welcoming and full of riches, neither of which were true.

It was like nothing I've read before and, once I got used to reading Jamaican English, I really enjoyed it.

It was a compelling story of mystery, love, family and racism. I definitely recommend it!

It took me a while to get in to, but then I was all in! I loved Lawrie and Evie’s unravelling love story, set against a backdrop of a post-Windrush London and the challenges of a changing city.