The two stories revolve around two very different people, artist-turned-fashion designer Stella and up and coming police constable (and later detective) Pete Bradley. Stella is haunted by vivid nightmares, all following the same scenario - she's a call girl in the final moments of life, entering a long black car and seeing imminent death within it. Coincidentally, PC Bradley is about to find the body of a young woman, a call girl, on wasteland. It's the start of a long journey that takes him through scandal, privilege, corruption and murder after murder after murder and all with the same trademarks - call girls picked out, stripped and dumped around the River Thames.

It all starts with a backdrop not dissimilar to the world of Absolute Beginners - race riots, teddy boys, beatniks and jazz, but eventually takes us to the edge of the swinging 60s, when the story of the murders finally unravels itself. But there's more to this than the murders. Stella is newly-married to an up-and-coming artist Toby, his career going from backstreet gallery to worldwide appreciation overnight. Stella is also on the up, with the patronage of the attractive (and well connected) Jenny. From being an artist creating op art-style canvases, she's transformed to being a hip fashion designer alongside best friend Jackie, opening Brockett & Reade just off Carnaby Street.

But there's as much darkness as light in Stella's life - her husband is falling in with a bad crowd, the next door neighbour is a mad record producer, creating grooves that soundtrack her nightmares, Jenny has a 'hidden' past and a 'brother' who seems to be involved in something sinister and of course, those vivid nightmares just keep on coming.

The other side of the coin is Pete Bradley. He's an ambitious PC who is assigned undercover to monitor Ladbroke Grove, targeted by Oswald Mosley, rife with crime and a hang out for teddy boys looking for trouble. A chance 'spot' leads to the arrest of 'Gypsy George' at the home of an influential family. It's quickly swept under the carpet (for reasons not full explained to Bradley at the time). Instead Bradley is assigned to the West End, under DS Wesker and his team. But more than that, a shadowy senior policeman by the name of Detective Inspector Bell has asked him to 'take notes' on the team, leaving Bradley in the role of crime fighter both inside and outside the force.

Over time, the two stories merge, with Stella seeking help from others with spiritualist powers, which also includes another detective on the Jack the Stripper case, while Bradley, despite various witnesses disappearing or dying, finally narrows down the suspects with the help of a mystery benefactor. Is the driving force behind the killings actually linked to both of the main characters?

Over 400 pages in total and during just about all of them, I've been hooked. Bad Penny Blues isn't a true story, but it does use real events and 'almost real' people, the author researching the era in serious detail - just check out the exhaustive reading list and film/TV list at the end of the book for an insight. My future reading list has already increased 10-fold from it. I'll also be catching up once more with the likes of Beat Girl, Pop Goes The Easel, The Boys and Seance On A Wet Afternoon too, just a few of the screen moments that have also influenced the book.

As for those characters, well you just might pick up Foale & Tuffin, Joe Meek and any number of dodgy 60s villains and fame-seeking artists of the day. All removed just enough not to be those people, but you'll know, trust me.

Downsides? Well, in a way, you could say that Cathi Unsworth creates too many charracters in the book. The way so many are able to stick in your memory is one of the book's strengths, but thinking back, there's a few that don't really having much of a bearing on the tale and could have been left at home. In fact, one key player is almost forgotten amongst the crowd, but comes back at the end to make sense of the murders. In addition, that ending, while explaining everything and tying up almost all the loose ends, does seem a little too convenient for my liking. But see what you think.

Just minor quibbles though. The bottom line is that Bad Penny Blues is one of the best pieces of fiction I've read in a long time. The lazy review would be to say '...if you like Jake Arnott, you'll like this...', but I think this is a better book than The Long Firm. It's also crying out to be adapted into a feature film. Looking for that perfect holiday or night time read? Well, if you don't mind something with dark undertones, this, most definitely, is it.


(First reviewed on 4th March 2010)