Books like One man, two guvnors by Bean, Richard

Francis Henshall, recently fired from his skiffle band, takes a job as the minder for Roscoe Crabbe—a small‑time East End hood who has relocated to Brighton to collect a debt from his fiancé’s father. The story follows Francis’s increasingly precarious situation as he unknowingly becomes entangled in a scheme where Roscoe, who is actually his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, and the dangerous Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police, must remain separated to avoid detection. Francis, always hungry and constantly looking for an extra meal ticket, secures a second job with Stanley Stubbers. With both men hiding in the same city and each trying to avoid police scrutiny, Francis must navigate the treacherous interplay between them while maintaining his own safety and the secret of their true identities. Set in Brighton’s gritty nightlife, the novel explores themes of loyalty, deception, and the thin line between survival and ruin in the underworld.

First publish date: 2013