The third novel in the acclaimed Joe Donovan series by "Britain's answer to Michael Connelly" (Ken Bruen). When the savagely beaten body of a Muslim student is discovered in a rundown area of Newcastle, blame falls on the far right National Unity Party—but for once they appear to be innocent. In fact, with elections looming, they are poised to make significant gains. Not the best time for Trevor Whitman, ex-70s radical, to return to his native northeast. Haunted by his violent past, he's receiving death threats over the murder of a policeman years ago.

Joe Donovan, the hero of Martyn Waites' acclaimed trilogy of thrillers, is called in to investigate. After the death of a supposed suicide bomber, the investigation takes a more dangerous turn as Donovan and his team find themselves the targets of a ruthless killer unlike any they have faced before. A killer who will do anything to ensure an explosive thirty-year-old secret remains buried. Anything—even orchestrating a brutal race war that will tear the city apart, with Donovan caught in the middle.

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"An ambitious, tautly plotted thriller that offers a stark antidote to P.D. James' cozy world of middle-class murder. A huge talent."-Time Out

"Martyn Waites' lean, exhilarating prose is from the heart and from the guts, and that's exactly where it hits you."-Mark Billingham

"Waites stands out in the crowded field of young British noir writers with his bruised characters, raw-edged dialogue, and extraordinary night vision."-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"London's dark heart has seldom been exposed with such surgical precision. Brutal, mesmerizing stuff."-Ian Rankin

"A powerful writer who creates memorable characters who live in the memory as well as on the page. The skillful dialogue reminds me of Ken Bruen."-Otto Penzler, The New York Sun

"A sometimes brutal, sometimes poetic journey through the dark heart of modern London, and confirms Waites as one of the brightest stars in British crime writing."-John Connolly

In this stunning sequel to Mary's Prayer, we find journalist Stephen Larkin back in his native Newcastle, whose dark underbelly is fertile territory for men who live beyond the reaches of morality. To fill the empty space in his life, Larkin jumps at the chance to track down a child abuser with friends in high places. He thinks he's experienced all there is to know about the evil that men do. But nothing has prepared Larkin for the self-styled Minister for Youth . . .

Martyn Waites, the author of six critically acclaimed crime novels, is emerging as one of the leading writers of British noir fiction. Little Triggers is the second novel in his Stephen Larkin trilogy. Waites lives in London.

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The body of a young woman is discovered in an abandoned burial ground. Her body has been ritualistically mutilated, her eyes and mouth crudely sewn shut. The victim’s boyfriend, Michael Nell, seems to be the obvious suspect. However, several things do not add up and Joe Donovan is put on the case to prove Nell’s alibi. The job is far from routine, as Donovan’s inquiries lead him deep into Newcastle’s underworld of child-trafficking and prostitution. Still bearing the scars of his own son’s disappearance three years before, Donovan finds himself enmeshed in the dark biography of an elusive serial killer whom he can profile but not identify. As the killer continues to taunt the authorities with cryptic clues, a second body appears, and time is running out for the next victim.
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