Sober and disillusioned with London, tabloid journalist Stephen Larkin reluctantly accepts an assignment to cover a gangland funeral back home in Newcastle. Several years earlier he had left sick and disgusted, vowing never to return, but the pull of the city, and the promise of a juicy story, finally persuades him to return. While there, Larkin’s old flame Charlotte asks him to check out the alleged suicide of her friend Mary – a course of action that will leave Larkin bruised, battered and with some painful memories of the city he was trying to forget.
Dark, compelling and relentless, MARY’S PRAYER is a razor-edged crime debut from a powerful new voice in crime fiction.

‘Martyn Waites stands out in the crowded field of young British noir writers… with his bruised characters, raw-edged dialogue and extraordinary night vision.’ New York Times Book Review

‘Mary’s Prayer is an assured, powerful debut from a writer sure to find his place in modern crime fiction. Contemporary noir with a distinctly Chandleresque flavour, a significant contribution to the genre’ Andrew Vachss

‘An impressive debut.. Waites’ vision of a dark and seedy underworld gives this novel an authentic and frightening ring’ Sunderland Echo

‘As raw and biting as the North-East wind… a powerful debut from Waites, who seamlessly fuses fact and fiction to create a cracking good read’ Dundee Evening Telegraph

‘will keep you reading to the end’ Crime Time