Description
Book Synopsis''Ingeniously constructed . . . Andrew Martin''s wry, amused tone is a constant joy . . . An altogether superior performance, The Martian Girl is a violent, funny, deadly serious entertainment'' Irish Times
London, present day.
Jean, a failing journalist in her late thirties, finds herself entertaining a married man - a handsome, arrogant ex-barrister, universally known by his surname: Coates. Unsure of the relationship and wanting to develop her career, she begins to write a one-woman show about a mind-reader she comes across in her research - a woman who performed in the 19th Century under the name The Martian Girl, before disappearing without a trace.
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London, 1898.
Kate French, a striking young woman with a love for the stage, is honing her craft in the music halls of East London at the turn of the century. As the Martian Girl, she performs each night with her mind-reading partner
Trade Review
Ingeniously constructed . . . Andrew Martin's wry, amused tone is a constant joy . . . An altogether superior performance, The Martian Girl is a violent, funny, deadly serious entertainment. * Irish Times *
Martin's depiction of Coates's mentally unbalanced viewpoint is worthy of Simenon . . . I could not bring myself to stop reading until I found out what happened to [the characters]. * Daily Telegraph *
Martin is particularly good on the patter and atmosphere of Victorian theatre. A complex, but rewarding thriller. * The Times *
The music-hall background is absorbing, the contemporary story tense and at times terrifying and both are very funny and sharply written, in this book-within-a-book tale of paranoia. * Morning Star *
You won't be able to put it down. It's a clever, thrilling read, and Andrew Martin's ability to illuminate his characters through their vocabulary and patter remains as striking as ever. It's a book that demands concentration, but it's well worth the effort. * Crime Fiction Lover *
