Any Human Face - Readings

Description

When Andrew -- a second-hand-book dealer -- comes across a pile of photographs from police archives, he decides to exhibit them. But then the gallery is raided the day before the opening, and the photos seized with surprising violence. It soon becomes clear that someone, somewhere, wants to keep the images hidden. Who? Why? And who -- in a world where kidnap, subterfuge and even murder are the norm, and where no one is safe or above suspicion -- can Andrew turn to for help? 'A sophisticated literary thriller set on the seamier fringe of Rome's gay scene, a magnet for the lonely and displaced located a long way off the tourist trail' Guardian 'Charles Lambert writes as if his life depends on it. He takes risks at every turn' Hannah Tinti 'Charles Lambert is a seriously good writer' Beryl Bainbridge 'A slow-burning, beautifully written crime story that brings to life the Rome that tourists don't see' Daily Telegraph

About the Author

Charles Lambert was born in the United Kingdom but has lived in Italy for most of his adult life. His most recent novel isBirthright, set in Rome in the 1980s and examining what happens when two young women discover that they are identical twins, separated at birth. In 2022, he publishedThe Bone Flower, a Gothic love story with a sinister edge, set in Victorian London. His previous novel,Prodigal, shortlisted for the Polari Prize in 2019, was described by the Gay & Lesbian Review as "Powerful… an artful hybrid of parable (as the title signifies), a Freudian family romance, a Gothic tale, and a Künstlerroman in the tradition of James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.” For the Kirkus Review,The Children's Home, published in 2016, was 'a one-of-a-kind literary horror story', whileTwo Dark Tales, published in October 2017, continues to disturb. Earlier books include three novels, a collection of prize-winning short stories and a memoir,With a Zero at its Heart, selected by the Guardian as one of its top ten books from 2014.