Long Snake Tattoo — Frank Downes

Quick, deft, funny, and fresh, with some of the best dialogue and the best narration since Nick Hornby's High Fidelity." - Kirkus Reviews (Starred review) "A slangy, tangy first novel from Britain.... What takes center stage is the driving, driven narrative voice." - Time Magazine. A dark, humorous novel centering around a seedy backstreet hotel, racism, and nefarious goings-on. Ted Hamilton's new job as a night porter at the down-at-the-heels Eagle Hotel in Liverpool, England, propels him into a world of seedy nocturnal goings-on, peopled by bizarre characters. These range from the pompous and near-efficient Mr. Butterthwaite to bigoted old soldier Henry, via Claudia the harassed chambermaid and Alf Speed, a moving man with a weakness for uninvited naps in strange beds. But it soon becomes apparent that something sinister is lurking beneath the surface.