Snow Hill Sanderson, Mark

London, 1929. A rent boy is found dead in a public lavatory, his throat slit. The police want it buried — literally and figuratively. But young crime reporter Johnny Steadman can't let it go. As he digs into the city's underground gay scene, he uncovers a network of blackmail, violence, and powerful men who'd kill to keep their secrets. Mark Sanderson's debut is a sharp, atmospheric noir that doesn't flinch from the ugliness of pre-war London. The prose is lean and unflinching, the period detail meticulous. Sanderson captures a city where survival means knowing when to look away — and Johnny's refusal to do so puts a target on his back. For fans of The Alienist or Sarah Waters' darker work, this is historical crime fiction with bite.