A novel with a Windrush-era jazz trumpeter as a main character and that, according to Goodreads, began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common – is to be published this spring.

The debut novel of Louise Hare (pictured), it is a murder mystery that hinges on the terrible discovery of a dead baby found face-down in a pond that then entangles our hero Laurie who gets caught up in the ramifications of his discovery as the police hunt the baby's murderer.

The book's publisher Harper Collins imprint HQ set the scene: ''The drinks are flowing. The music’s playing. But the party can’t last.

''London, 1950. With the Blitz over and London still rebuilding after the war, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for help. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he’s taken a tiny room in south London lodgings, and has fallen in love with the girl next door.

''Touring Soho’s music halls by night, pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home — and it’s alive with possibility. Until one morning, while crossing a misty common, he makes a terrible discovery.

''As the local community rallies, fingers of blame are pointed at those who had recently been welcomed with open arms. And before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart. Immersive, poignant, and utterly compelling, Louise Hare’s debut examines the complexities of love and belonging, and teaches us that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope.''

Louise Hare is a London-based writer who hails from Warrington. According to trade paper The Bookseller Harper Collins imprint HQ moved ''in a 'significant' six-figure pre-empt'' [a bidding move to prevent an auction] that includes another book by Hare, who was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize in 2017. This Lovely City will be published in hardback on 12 March.