Welcome to an absolutely action-packed, heist-filled adventure which will have you gasping at every twist, turn, and betrayal! Make sure you read Eve’s exclusive piece about how she created the setting for her cracking crime adventure.

“London, 1951: Clem Fatale, the youngest crook in the city, is on a mission to find her dad. Jimmy Fatale, notorious jewel thief and leader of the Spider Gang, has gone missing and with him the greatest prize in London: the Fool’s Canary.

Along with her prisoner and/or sidekick Gilbert (depends who you’re asking), Clem sets off on a rip-roaring chase through the London underworld. Racing through dodgy dives, glamorous nightclubs, greasy spoons and secret alleyways, Clem and Gilbert are soon pursued by a host of friends and foes.

Will Clem find her father in time? Or will the most sinister villain this side of the river put a stop to all her plans?”

---

‘The setting in Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed’ by Eve Wersocki-Morris

Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed is set in 1951, six years after the Second World War ended. In 1951, you could still see the destruction from the Blitz; many of the bomb sites were still sitting vacant throughout the city. If you went to the cinema many of the films were still in black and white; if you turned on the radio everyone has a very posh BBC accent! And many more people wore hats than nowadays! In 1951, King George VI was on the throne; Dennis the Menace first appeared in the Beano; and C. S. Lewis published the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, Prince Caspian. 

Post-war also saw an influx of immigration into the UK. My own Polish grandparents came over to the UK in 1947. In the book, you will meet a few characters who have started to build a home in London after the war – including Clem’s childhood friend Konrad, the son of a Polish pilot. 

I think of Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed as a sort of spoof of all the 1940s/1950s film noir thrillers that I watched with my parents when I was younger – men in trench coats standing on street corners looking very suspicious and smooth-talking villains in smoky dance clubs. Films which have inspired me include 39 Steps, The Maltese Falcon, The Secret Agent, The Third Man and The Lady Vanishes. 

In order to describe the setting in the book, I watched old footage of 1950s news reels and several films specifically shot in London. One film in particular, Hue and Cry (an Ealing Comedy about a boy who accidentally cracks a code in a comic, which leads to him getting mixed up with London gangsters) was filmed on location and shows some excellent footage of London from old docks to crumbling bombsites. 

The 1950s were an incredibly interesting time in British history – both a time of change and excitement (with the Festival of Britian and cheaper televisions!) but it was also a time of struggle and poverty. 

Eve Wersocki-Morris, Spring 2025

---

Thanks, Eve for those fascinating insights. You could definitely feel the film noir influence in those glamorous nightclubs and murky back alleys. I also love how Eve’s woven subtle nods to her own heritage into the story.

A cracking read for anyone aged 8+

Jo.

*Many thanks to Little Tiger for sending me this title to review*