The Mercy Seat Martyn Waites Simon and Schuster £6-99 Jan. 2006 Ali Karim

I am constantly surprised that CWA Dagger Nominated Martyn Waites is not better known beyond the cult status he currently enjoys, but I feel this will change with this new series featuring investigative journalist Joe Donovan. Waites pulls few punches in his work, and this new thriller is at his most honest and his most gripping. But Waites’ work is not to be recommended to the lovers of the village mystery because this is urban terror at its most brutal. Starting in top gear with a brutal torture scene as a prologue, we then enter the world of child abuse with a teenage rent-boy Jamal turning tricks in London. Stumbling upon a minidisk with what Jamal thinks will release him from his world of degradation, he soon escapes London heading to the decay of the North East. On the streets that were a backdrop of the ultimate Brit-Gangster epic ‘Get Carter’, Jamal realises that the minidisk is linked to a world more dangerous than even his own. He seeks refuge with a grotesque paedophile named Father Jack [aka Daniel Jackson], and soon realises that he needs to seek help from former journalist Joe Donovan who is linked to the minidisk. Donovan however has his own problems, coming to terms with the disappearance of his 6-year old son, the breakdown of his relationship and his struggle to continue to live in the dark world that surrounds him. Donovan however soon understands that Jamal and the minidisk may have clues to what happened to his son. Bodies start to pepper the road that Jamal and Donovan have to travel to seek the truth. Joining them are private investigators Peta Knight and Amar Miah of Knight Security and Investigations, as well as former press colleagues from The Herald as well as cabal of policemen, some of who operate on the dark end of the street.

The story moves with multiple viewpoints through the dark and dangerous streets of Newcastle through the corruption and urban decay. Donovan discovers that all the alleyways appear to lead to a dangerous and sadistic killer; one who needs the minidisk more than Donovan and who will kill and torture for its possession.

This is a very dark book, but one full of compassion and insights into the world without law, that co-exists with our own. The terrific plot is bolstered by vivid characterisation and a three-dimensional landscape that makes this essential reading for 2006, but the only problem is that it is a long wait for the promised followup — The Bone Machine in 2007. If you enjoyed Waites’ previous work — The White Room, Born under Punches, Mary’s Prayer, Candleland and Little Triggers, then this will blow you away. If you miss The Mercy Seat, you’ve missed one of the most important crime novels of 2006 — Ali Karim