I enjoyed ‘A Little London Scandal’ by Miranda Emerson however I kept feeling I was missing something specifically around the character of Anna Treadaway. It felt as if I should have known her history. Also who is Aloyisius. I did some digging and realised there was a previous novel which had the same characters. I did feel it would have been better if I had read this first.

I'd read (and loved) 'Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars' a while back, but picked 'A Little London Scandal' up without realising that it featured the same characters. It doesn't matter too much if you haven't read the first book, but you would be missing a treat.

In this book, the sixties are swinging, but for Nik and the rent boys based around Piccadilly Circus, all is not so bright. Police raids and violence threaten their livelihoods and the murder of one of them, Charlie, near an exclusive gentlemen's club, cause them to come under some unwelcome scrutiny. When Nik is arrested for the murder, Anna Treadway, dresser at the Galaxy Theatre in Soho, steps in to prove his innocence. Her investigations take her into the heart of seedy London but also reveal corruption within high society.

This is another great read. The 1960s setting is lively and well-researched and Anna herself is an appealing protagonist. It is quite sad in places as the prejudice against gay men is depicted and the reader is shown that the 1960s were not all about free love and tolerance as they have been presented. The early pages are a little slow, but once the story really gets going then it is addictive! I raced through the majority of the book and will be keenly looking out for more titles in the series.

One of the many attractions if this book is that it is a reminder of how things have moved on. Set in the 1960s,the homosexual upper class men and their rent boys are breaking the law. The whole idea of homosexuality is socially unacceptable. That is the life Nik finds himself falling into as his father ejects him because of trouble at school. Then he gets caught up in a murder charge for which he has an alibi no one has examined.. Fortunately,he knows Anna who supports his cause as an official police person. She also knows the wife of a member of Parliament who is known to dabble in the gay scene. The story moves to an unexpected ending. The basic story line is not hugely original but it is handled sensitively and with well drawn characters. It makes important social statements and Isis an informative catchup on the history of that decade.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and 4th Estate for the advance copy of this book.

Having finished the book I have discovered that this is the second novel featuring several of the main characters; perhaps more detail is given in the first novel but I found that I just didn't get to know Anna so I couldn't really understand why she felt that she wanted to get involved with the people involved with the incident(s) at the heart of the story. Her relationships left me confused and I felt it unlikely that she would be be accepted quite so easily into the various groups of strangers she encounters.

Having said this I did enjoy the read; the author's research gave an authenticity to the locale and her descriptions of clothes and styles seemed spot on. It's just that everything and everyone seemed rather cold and distant, and to be honest I wasn't particularly invested in the outcome.

A great read. Drags you through gritty damp back alleyways into scenes of secret rent boys and quick tricks .Takes you on a mystery trip after a body is found weaving back stage theatre and meeting places of MPs and men only clubs. Gives of a good feel of the sixties, atmospheric and smoky. Who did the deed? Read and find out.