Dead men's wages

Part biography, part literary memoir, Dead Men's Wages is, like Lorna Sage's Bad Blood, a stunning book to inspire, haunt and move you. 'Scratch the surface of any family and you will find stories of intrigue, abuse and illegitimacy.

It is just that, because of the nature of my grandfather's business, our secrets are more sinister.' Lilian Pizzichini's grandfather was a conman who worked with some of London's most notorious gangsters.

Within the pages of this haunting and insightful account of his life, she re-creates in vivid detail and with remarkable detachment, the world of criminals and corrupt policemen that he dominated until his death in 1978.

Spanning a time of enormous social and political change, Charles Taylor's story is an extraordinary one, full of cunning and intrigue, corruption, hardship and secrecy.