The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 4 letter word BRIGHTON ROCK
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
B
R
I
G
H
T
O
N
R
O
C
K
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "1930s novel" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case 1930s novel = brighton rock.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.