Chamber Music

Meet Bane. Meet his ex-missus. And a crew of Yardies, and crack-addled cults, and trigger-happy drug lords.
Henry Bane is dead. Long Live Henry Bane, his son.

It's Manchester, 1998, and the funeral party is interrupted by a woman from Bane's past. Róisín is back in Manchester and back in Bane's life after an eight-year absence -- inconvenient for Jan, his latest flame. Róisín has brought a wounded boyfriend with her -- and a lot more trouble is following them up north.

Meanwhile, a Yardie who goes by the name of 'Hagfish' wants to take over the local ganglords' territory with Mary, his terrifying weapon of choice. It's Hagfish against Bane in a new turf war: a war that will claim lives and cement vendettas. Bane tries to honour loyalties, old and new, but this quickly leads to more bloodshed, and a full-blown gang war reignites. It's a conflict steeped in half-forgotten history: a history that Bane and his onetime lover, Róisín, are forever tied to -- and which ties them together.

With Chamber Music, Tom Benn has written an electrifying noir novel about lost loves, stolen drugs and dragons -- a street soundtrack to Manchester's underworld, where anyone could have a gun with a bullet for Bane in the chamber.

TOM BENN was born in 1987, and grew up in Stockport. He is a graduate of the UEA Creative Writing MA and was the recipient of the 2009 Malcolm Bradbury bursary. His first novel, The Doll Princess, was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and shortlisted for the Portico Prize.