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The Long Firm Trilogy #2
He Kills Coppers
August 1966, the long hot summer of World Cup euphoria is suddenly shattered by a brutal crime that shocks a nation seemingly at ease with itself. Three characters' fates are irrevocably bound up with this event and consequences that reverberate across three decades. An ambitious detective dragged into intrigues of corruption. A gutter press journalist with a nose for a nasty story. And a disaffected petty criminal pushed over the edge by a violent crime that haunts him. An epic story that looks at morality and corruption on both sides of the law and at the very heart of the state.
327 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
17 people are currently reading
312 people want to read
About the author
Jake Arnott
17 books123 followersJake Arnott is a British novelist, author of The Long Firm and four other novels. In 2005 Arnott was ranked one of Britain's 100 most influential gay and lesbian people. When he was included in a list of the fifty most influential gay men in Britain in 2001, it was declared that he was widely regarded as one of Britain's most promising novelists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
May 1, 2024
A story told from three view points, a cop, a criminal and a tabloid reporter; starting in the heady days of 'Swinging Sixties' London hosting the football World Cup in which events and just bad luck sees an heinous crime committed (The book title might give it away), a crime that hugely impacts the lives of the three protagonists over the next three decades!
A no holds barred look at the underbelly, attitudes, corruption and criminality of the police, tabloid media and petty criminals in 1960s' London and how that impacted on the future. This is such a neat read especially as it dispels the myth that things were better in the 'good old days', and takes a stark look at how policing failed communities for many decades. There's also an interesting 'gay-man in closet' sub story. A really interesting 'back-in-the-day' London read built around real events and people. An 8 out of 12 Four Star read for me. So good, that I am going to hunt down the 2008 TV show adaptation :)
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2024 read
A no holds barred look at the underbelly, attitudes, corruption and criminality of the police, tabloid media and petty criminals in 1960s' London and how that impacted on the future. This is such a neat read especially as it dispels the myth that things were better in the 'good old days', and takes a stark look at how policing failed communities for many decades. There's also an interesting 'gay-man in closet' sub story. A really interesting 'back-in-the-day' London read built around real events and people. An 8 out of 12 Four Star read for me. So good, that I am going to hunt down the 2008 TV show adaptation :)
[image error]
2024 read
November 17, 2013
Not so much a sequel to The Long Firm as much as it is a companion piece, returning to the grimy streets of London's west end in the 60's and 70's for a story about crooked cops, small time gangsters and the gutter press. He Kills Coppers is something of a blend of James Ellroy and Guy Ritchie, but the formula that worked so well in The Long Firm fails here. Part of the reason is that the characters aren't quite as interesting in He Kills Coppers. There's no Harry Starks or Jack the Hat. There’s also a feeling of “been there, done that” to the whole thing. A lot of the plot twists are fairly predictable. I also wasn't feeling the time jumps. Just when it felt like the story was settling into a rhythm, the narrative would suddenly skip forward 5 or more years.
Despite that I didn't hate it at all, and was enjoying it well enough, until I got the the whimper of the ending. It felt very underwhelming, like the story just kind of stuttered to a halt. Some interesting ideas (I think a book about a career cop watching the Met change from the 60's through to the 80's could be really interesting) that weren't fleshed out enough.
Despite that I didn't hate it at all, and was enjoying it well enough, until I got the the whimper of the ending. It felt very underwhelming, like the story just kind of stuttered to a halt. Some interesting ideas (I think a book about a career cop watching the Met change from the 60's through to the 80's could be really interesting) that weren't fleshed out enough.
Read
August 23, 2025Jake Arnott books were everywhere when I first came to London. Never read any, though I watched the TV Long Firm, even if I don't remember a thing about it beyond Mark Strong glowering. Then, a month or two back, for no reason I can put my finger on, I got the urge I sometimes do to read one of those formerly ubiquitous books, same as I did with Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil two years back. Arnott seems much more vanished than Berendt; must have checked a dozen libraries with no joy until a charity shop visited on a hunch furnished me with this, and signed at that. And then I nearly abandoned it again quick sharp because there are a couple of unfortunately Garth Marenghi moments here and, still more unfortunate, one of them is the opening page. But I gave it a little longer and, despite not usually having much interest in tales of lags, blags and slags, despite how easy it would be to finger this as Limey Ellroy or southern David Peace and without the incantatory power of either, there's definitely something here. Part of it is that it's now a period piece twice over; the main action runs from the 1966 World Cup to the 1985 Battle of the Beanfield which is, I regret to inform you, less time than has elapsed between the book's 2001 publication and now – a time so long ago that a reference to Come Dancing is a way of establishing distance from the setting, not commonality. And there's something refreshing in how unabashedly, one might almost say innocently sordid it all is; yes, it's from the post-Britpop hangover, digging into the dark side of all those sixties touchpoints, but it's written at a time when the author can still assume that we – whether society as a whole or just his readership – all know that corruption and discrimination are bad, that depiction won't be taken for endorsement, so there's no need for the contortions you sometimes get now as writers nervously seek to emphasise their own clean hands: no, we can all have a nice lurid gawk at the historical sinners. Specifically, Tony, a tabloid journalist, bent in one sense, dreaming of being the next Truman Capote; Frank, a copper, bent in the other, but telling himself he's still not gone too far; and Billy Porter, who borrows aspects of the real murderer Harry Roberts, right down to the hideous terrace chant that gives the novel its title. They're all dreadful men, and some of the supporting cast are worse, but they, and the novel's London with them, all have enough life and dimensions that the book never becomes the miserable slog this sort of grubby crime yarn easily can. It's not perfect – in particular, there's a late twist which I think manages to fail in two directions at once, though without it you couldn't get to the wonderful closing scene. But it's good enough that I hope Arnott's not forgotten for too long.
April 12, 2023
Novela negra plagada de personajes oscuros o grises, no hay un protagonista, es una novela coral en la que cada personaje es más oscuro que el siguiente. Supervivientes que no dudan en hacer lo que sea para seguir adelante.
Se lee de tirón y su estilo es ágil y directo.
Se lee de tirón y su estilo es ágil y directo.
August 29, 2010
True crime
The book is based on a true story, which begins after a considerable prologue, on the day of the 1966 World Cup Final with the brutal killings of three London policemen. Incidentally, for those who don't know, England beat Germany by four goals to two after extra time in that final.
The prologue to the horrific incident is entirely necessary and relevant, as it explains how the three main characters arrived where they were on that fateful day.
There is the policeman, who was the closest buddy of one of the victims. There is the murderer himself. Then there is a self-seeking journalist who follows the story from beginning to end, and adds a fascinating life-story of his own.
This is fast-paced and action-packed. It paints a sorry picture of policing in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century, whipped up by the awfulness of Thatcherite Conservatism.
The characters are totally believable. After all, they are based on true life. The reader is swept along by what could very be the reality of the detail.
I read the book in a single day, and I recommend it to you without fear of comeback.
The book is based on a true story, which begins after a considerable prologue, on the day of the 1966 World Cup Final with the brutal killings of three London policemen. Incidentally, for those who don't know, England beat Germany by four goals to two after extra time in that final.
The prologue to the horrific incident is entirely necessary and relevant, as it explains how the three main characters arrived where they were on that fateful day.
There is the policeman, who was the closest buddy of one of the victims. There is the murderer himself. Then there is a self-seeking journalist who follows the story from beginning to end, and adds a fascinating life-story of his own.
This is fast-paced and action-packed. It paints a sorry picture of policing in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century, whipped up by the awfulness of Thatcherite Conservatism.
The characters are totally believable. After all, they are based on true life. The reader is swept along by what could very be the reality of the detail.
I read the book in a single day, and I recommend it to you without fear of comeback.
October 17, 2022
Canciones de Sangre, la segunda novela de Jake Arnott, es un relato basado en hechos reales, donde se mezcla de una manera bastante cruda algunos de los elementos que forman parte inseparable de la novela negra: delincuencia, brutalidad, mafias, corrupción policial, personajes atormentados, asesinos, prostitutas... Jake Arnott ha tejido un relato más interesante que los que forman parte de su primera novela y que rápidamente atrapa al lector; al menos, a este lector, que se lee con interés hasta el final.
June 30, 2022
If prime James Ellroy wrote an English crime novel. Just a superbly written tale. I loved “The Long Firm” but put off read this for ten (!) years because it wasn’t a direct sequel to Harry Starks’ story. It may not directly feature Starks but it is his world, the one he helped create and the same that Margaret Thatcher ruthlessly rebooted with a Noah-like flood of conservatism. Great book.
November 17, 2016
Reseña de Micaela Desprès para Ivreality:
http://www.ivreality.com.ar/2010/06/r...
¡Ganó Argentina!, pero no vine a hablar de eso. Sólo esperé a que terminara para tener alguna posibilidad de que alguien le diera una mirada a este post. :P Y para compensar el espíritu patriota que se agolpa en las calles, decidí hacer un repaso de una trilogía que, particularmente, encuentro adictiva. Su autor es el inglés Jake Arnott, con una historia de vida de lo más interesante, que antes de hacerse escritor ocupó su tiempo en los trabajos más variados que se les puedan ocurrir. Hasta que finalmente dio con su personaje emblema: Harry Starks, un gangster, mafioso, maníaco-depresivo, gay y mitómano que, cuando en el mundo ya había pasado el cuarto de hora de las mafias y la estética a lo Al Capone, él seguía enamorado de la atractiva seducción del mundo del hampa.
Jake Arnott nació en 1961 en Buckinhamshire, Inglaterra. Luego de abandonar la escuela a los 16 años, se ganó la vida con actividades de lo más variadas: fue modelo de artistas, ayudante teatral, técnico en un depósito de cadáveres, intérprete de lenguaje de señas, extra, actor teatral y casi muere asfixiado cuando se prendió fuego el edificio en el que vivía como okupa. Pueden verlo como una de las tantas momias que aparecen en la película The Mummy (la primera, de 1999). Gay (o quizás bisexual) desde joven, fue siempre un activo defensor de los derechos de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y trans. Su lucha cobró mucho más peso político, quizás, desde la publicación de su primera novela en 1999, The Long Firm (acá traducida como Delitos a Largo Plazo), que lo convirtió en una de las personas más influeyentes de su país. Adeptos de hacer rankings como los yankees, para los ingleses está entre las 100 personas gays o lesbianas más influyentes de Gran Bretaña. Algo de lo que reniega, claro: “Una identidad basada en tu sexualidad es algo deprimente. En los 80 tenía un significado ligeramente político. Ahora se ha convertido en una herramienta de marketing”.
Delitos a Largo Plazo es la historia de Harry Starks, pero nunca desde su perspectiva. Está dividida en cinco partes, cada una relatada en primera persona por cinco personajes completamente diferentes (un ex amante, un aristócrata, un delincuente medio pelo, una actriz fracasada y un profesor) cuyo único punto en común es haber conocido al gansgter Harry Starks, famoso por sus métodos poco ortodoxos, que ambiciona convertirse en parte de la alta sociedad y que mueve con sus hilos el submundo de los años 60. Drogas, prostitución, negocios turbios apañados por los políticos, corrupción y violencia. Mucha violencia. Una de las inspiraciones para crear a Harry fueron los Hermanos Kray, amos del hampa londinenese en los 60. Tiene algo de Pulp Fiction, con el uso de pequeños flashbacks para reconstruir una historia.
La segunda novela se llama He Kills Coppers (acá publicada con el título de Canciones de Sangre), fue publicada originalmente en 2001 y continúa unos años después de finalizada la primera. Nuevamente el protagonista no es directamente Harry, sino que su figura queda intencionalmente en segundo plano. La trilogía cierra con True Crime, publicada en Inglaterra en 2003 (inédita aún en la Argentina y que saldrá con el título de Crímenes de Película). Arnott maneja la ironía, la sutileza, la crítica política y mezcla todo con violencia. Un verdadero exponente de la novela negra. Como dije, las primeras dos están disponibles. La tercera está pronta a salir. No se las pierdan. Es un viaje movidito, pero completamente hipnótico.
Manola on 12/06/2010 15:49
Este tipo me encanta. ♥
Buena review. ;D
thom merrilin on 12/06/2010 20:02
aunque la tapa del primer libro no atrae mucho parece intesante la forma en que esta contada. por cierto sigo con wallander!! la semana pasada termine asesinos sin rostros y ayer compre los perros de riga, pinta igual de interesante!! gracias por los post literarios, miki!!
((De nada!! Un placer que les gusten :) – MIKI)))
thom merrilin on 12/06/2010 20:06
otra cosa, supongo que esto lo va a contestar juani, hoy compre daydream 1 pero el 2 no lo tenian esta agotado?
Zanier Marx Ori Devouring on 13/06/2010 00:14
Nunca más oportuno hablar sobre un autor gay :)
¿Se consiguen fotos del tipo modelando?
(((Ni idea, nunca me puse a buscarlas. – MIKI)))
Bruno on 13/06/2010 07:44
jo me re costó leer todo (se me rompieron los anteojos). Se ven interesantes sus obras.
(((¿Me quedó muy largo? :P….- MIKI)))
Ah y ya que mencionaste “novela negra” ¿Se pueden conseguir los libros de Horace Walpole? Leí en una página un poco de todo y me interezó este autor, así como muchos(as) otros(as).
keiichi on 13/06/2010 13:40
es una onda tarantino version novelas?
(((Sí, algo así. Un crítico dijo que era como Pulp Fiction pulida hasta ser inmaculada :P – MIKI)))
les voy a dar una ojeada seguramente :P
Facundo on 14/06/2010 00:08
Miki, no sabés para cuando sale la tercera parte aca en Argentina? Abrazo!
((No está anunciada todavía, pensá que la segunda salió hace relativamente poco. Supongo que quedan unos meses aún – MIKI)))
http://www.ivreality.com.ar/2010/06/r...
¡Ganó Argentina!, pero no vine a hablar de eso. Sólo esperé a que terminara para tener alguna posibilidad de que alguien le diera una mirada a este post. :P Y para compensar el espíritu patriota que se agolpa en las calles, decidí hacer un repaso de una trilogía que, particularmente, encuentro adictiva. Su autor es el inglés Jake Arnott, con una historia de vida de lo más interesante, que antes de hacerse escritor ocupó su tiempo en los trabajos más variados que se les puedan ocurrir. Hasta que finalmente dio con su personaje emblema: Harry Starks, un gangster, mafioso, maníaco-depresivo, gay y mitómano que, cuando en el mundo ya había pasado el cuarto de hora de las mafias y la estética a lo Al Capone, él seguía enamorado de la atractiva seducción del mundo del hampa.
Jake Arnott nació en 1961 en Buckinhamshire, Inglaterra. Luego de abandonar la escuela a los 16 años, se ganó la vida con actividades de lo más variadas: fue modelo de artistas, ayudante teatral, técnico en un depósito de cadáveres, intérprete de lenguaje de señas, extra, actor teatral y casi muere asfixiado cuando se prendió fuego el edificio en el que vivía como okupa. Pueden verlo como una de las tantas momias que aparecen en la película The Mummy (la primera, de 1999). Gay (o quizás bisexual) desde joven, fue siempre un activo defensor de los derechos de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y trans. Su lucha cobró mucho más peso político, quizás, desde la publicación de su primera novela en 1999, The Long Firm (acá traducida como Delitos a Largo Plazo), que lo convirtió en una de las personas más influeyentes de su país. Adeptos de hacer rankings como los yankees, para los ingleses está entre las 100 personas gays o lesbianas más influyentes de Gran Bretaña. Algo de lo que reniega, claro: “Una identidad basada en tu sexualidad es algo deprimente. En los 80 tenía un significado ligeramente político. Ahora se ha convertido en una herramienta de marketing”.
Delitos a Largo Plazo es la historia de Harry Starks, pero nunca desde su perspectiva. Está dividida en cinco partes, cada una relatada en primera persona por cinco personajes completamente diferentes (un ex amante, un aristócrata, un delincuente medio pelo, una actriz fracasada y un profesor) cuyo único punto en común es haber conocido al gansgter Harry Starks, famoso por sus métodos poco ortodoxos, que ambiciona convertirse en parte de la alta sociedad y que mueve con sus hilos el submundo de los años 60. Drogas, prostitución, negocios turbios apañados por los políticos, corrupción y violencia. Mucha violencia. Una de las inspiraciones para crear a Harry fueron los Hermanos Kray, amos del hampa londinenese en los 60. Tiene algo de Pulp Fiction, con el uso de pequeños flashbacks para reconstruir una historia.
La segunda novela se llama He Kills Coppers (acá publicada con el título de Canciones de Sangre), fue publicada originalmente en 2001 y continúa unos años después de finalizada la primera. Nuevamente el protagonista no es directamente Harry, sino que su figura queda intencionalmente en segundo plano. La trilogía cierra con True Crime, publicada en Inglaterra en 2003 (inédita aún en la Argentina y que saldrá con el título de Crímenes de Película). Arnott maneja la ironía, la sutileza, la crítica política y mezcla todo con violencia. Un verdadero exponente de la novela negra. Como dije, las primeras dos están disponibles. La tercera está pronta a salir. No se las pierdan. Es un viaje movidito, pero completamente hipnótico.
Manola on 12/06/2010 15:49
Este tipo me encanta. ♥
Buena review. ;D
thom merrilin on 12/06/2010 20:02
aunque la tapa del primer libro no atrae mucho parece intesante la forma en que esta contada. por cierto sigo con wallander!! la semana pasada termine asesinos sin rostros y ayer compre los perros de riga, pinta igual de interesante!! gracias por los post literarios, miki!!
((De nada!! Un placer que les gusten :) – MIKI)))
thom merrilin on 12/06/2010 20:06
otra cosa, supongo que esto lo va a contestar juani, hoy compre daydream 1 pero el 2 no lo tenian esta agotado?
Zanier Marx Ori Devouring on 13/06/2010 00:14
Nunca más oportuno hablar sobre un autor gay :)
¿Se consiguen fotos del tipo modelando?
(((Ni idea, nunca me puse a buscarlas. – MIKI)))
Bruno on 13/06/2010 07:44
jo me re costó leer todo (se me rompieron los anteojos). Se ven interesantes sus obras.
(((¿Me quedó muy largo? :P….- MIKI)))
Ah y ya que mencionaste “novela negra” ¿Se pueden conseguir los libros de Horace Walpole? Leí en una página un poco de todo y me interezó este autor, así como muchos(as) otros(as).
keiichi on 13/06/2010 13:40
es una onda tarantino version novelas?
(((Sí, algo así. Un crítico dijo que era como Pulp Fiction pulida hasta ser inmaculada :P – MIKI)))
les voy a dar una ojeada seguramente :P
Facundo on 14/06/2010 00:08
Miki, no sabés para cuando sale la tercera parte aca en Argentina? Abrazo!
((No está anunciada todavía, pensá que la segunda salió hace relativamente poco. Supongo que quedan unos meses aún – MIKI)))
December 13, 2021
Great stuff
February 15, 2022
A bit slow to get off the ground, but utterly absorbing once it did.
December 26, 2018
In the followup to his acclaimed debut (The Long Firm), Arnott uses the real case of cop-killer Harry Roberts as the basis for a three-voiced narrative which touches upon British social changes from 1966-1985. Using multiple voices worked fairly well in that first book, and here Arnott uses those of Billy Porter, a young army veteran turned small time thief, Frank Taylor, an ambitious policeman, and Tony Meehan, a young newspaper reporter and closet homosexual. The book starts in London's summer of 1966-the city throbs with World Cup fever and is starting to show signs of being the swinging place of legend. However, in Arnott's world, it's less the place of late-'60s Carnaby St. Austin Powers fun than it is of sleazy Soho, with clip joints run by Maltese pimps. When Billy-who probably has post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in anti-Communist jungle patrols in Malaya-teams up with two losers to rob a bank, things go awry and three policemen are shot dead. Frank and Tony quickly arrive on the scene in their respective capacities, and the trio are momentarily linked before Arnott releases them to drift for nineteen years until they are brought together once again.
After the killings, Billy's story becomes one of survival. As public enemy number one, he manages to evade capture for many years, living on the fringes of society, only to be drawn back to London. The sequences showing Billy's life at fairgrounds, then with travelers, and then later with Class War activists put Arnott's skill on full display, and are possibly the most compelling parts of the book. Meanwhile, Frank makes his way up the ranks, and through a loveless marriage, with Billy Porter as his great white whale. Over the years, through his eyes, we are given a panoramic view of the modernization of British policing. This starts in '66 with police corruption, the influence of Masons on the force, then later, the increased militarization of police, their use as
auxiliaries to crush the mining strikes in the north, riot control techniques of the early '80s,the so called "Battle of the Beanfield" in which they literally ran amok in attacking mostly peaceful and unresisting protesters. Tony's story is less compelling than the other two, as it mostly involves him trying become a legitimate journalist, and his relationship with a gossipy peer. Perhaps to compensate, Arnott bestows a manner of psychopathy upon Tony which doesn't ever seem justified, nor does it work particularly well in the context of the story.
Arnott's doing several things at once, which may not be to everyone's tastes. He's painting sympathetic psychological portraits of three disturbed men, he's telling crime story based loosely on a true story, and he's giving a broad view of part of Britain's social history. In this scheme, the cop-killing becomes the point at which post-WWII giddiness and innocence is lost, and the dirty business of modern Britain (especially Thatcherism) starts. It's obviously an oversimplification, but those who like their crime stories to have something more behind them may well enjoy it. Although his thematic strokes are rather broad, Arnott once again shows his mastery of subcultural details in scenes showing pinball playing mods popping purple hearts, "Liquidator" booming over the tannoy at Chelsea's ground and the subsequent terrace battles, the insular world of the fairground lifers, the empty rebellion of Class War types, and so on. Obviously, one's enjoyment of all this depends greatly on how immersed on is in British popular culture and recent history, but those who are will find plenty to like.
After the killings, Billy's story becomes one of survival. As public enemy number one, he manages to evade capture for many years, living on the fringes of society, only to be drawn back to London. The sequences showing Billy's life at fairgrounds, then with travelers, and then later with Class War activists put Arnott's skill on full display, and are possibly the most compelling parts of the book. Meanwhile, Frank makes his way up the ranks, and through a loveless marriage, with Billy Porter as his great white whale. Over the years, through his eyes, we are given a panoramic view of the modernization of British policing. This starts in '66 with police corruption, the influence of Masons on the force, then later, the increased militarization of police, their use as
auxiliaries to crush the mining strikes in the north, riot control techniques of the early '80s,the so called "Battle of the Beanfield" in which they literally ran amok in attacking mostly peaceful and unresisting protesters. Tony's story is less compelling than the other two, as it mostly involves him trying become a legitimate journalist, and his relationship with a gossipy peer. Perhaps to compensate, Arnott bestows a manner of psychopathy upon Tony which doesn't ever seem justified, nor does it work particularly well in the context of the story.
Arnott's doing several things at once, which may not be to everyone's tastes. He's painting sympathetic psychological portraits of three disturbed men, he's telling crime story based loosely on a true story, and he's giving a broad view of part of Britain's social history. In this scheme, the cop-killing becomes the point at which post-WWII giddiness and innocence is lost, and the dirty business of modern Britain (especially Thatcherism) starts. It's obviously an oversimplification, but those who like their crime stories to have something more behind them may well enjoy it. Although his thematic strokes are rather broad, Arnott once again shows his mastery of subcultural details in scenes showing pinball playing mods popping purple hearts, "Liquidator" booming over the tannoy at Chelsea's ground and the subsequent terrace battles, the insular world of the fairground lifers, the empty rebellion of Class War types, and so on. Obviously, one's enjoyment of all this depends greatly on how immersed on is in British popular culture and recent history, but those who are will find plenty to like.
October 28, 2017
I have the books as a trilogy and read the first one (the long firm) 5 years ago. Due to my lack of enjoyment of that book it took me that long to start this one. I agree the writer is very talented and his prose are excellent but for me the stories are lacking. He is compared to Hemingway and I would agree, I haven’t read one of his with a decent story yet either. I felt the book was 300 pages of character building, waiting for the big finish but it never came. It was better than the first one in the sense there was a slight twist. I will read the third soon because I am hoping this book is the one that brings the stories together.
June 2, 2017
It's been a long time since I read The Long Firm so thought I'd pick up some more Jake Arnott. I enjoy his prose and his story telling. Interesting structure with each chapter broken into three segments, two in the first person (different characters) and one in the third person from another character. A good read about a period of modern history which I enjoy (1960s and 70s mainly but touches on 80s too). Jake Arnott is on the list for good LGBT writers, so the expected gay themes figure too as they do in The Long Firm.
July 13, 2025
3.75* I really enjoyed this and the story was very engaging. The only things I didn’t enjoy were the murderous reporter side plot and the ‘plot twist’ of Mick being Joe and Joe being Billy (although we did already know the latter.)
I don’t have much intention of reading the final book in the trilogy, since I intended to go into this reading it as a stand alone book, but I’m assuming the final book delves into Tony’s story more; I just didn’t really care for it as a plot in the book and felt that his sections were too edgy.
I don’t have much intention of reading the final book in the trilogy, since I intended to go into this reading it as a stand alone book, but I’m assuming the final book delves into Tony’s story more; I just didn’t really care for it as a plot in the book and felt that his sections were too edgy.
January 25, 2019
Excellent novel about bent coppers in 70 s London & a police killer on the run (based on true story). It is interwoven with newspaper hacks mixing with gangsters to try & get good stories. It has references to Kipper Reed who tried to expose police corruption. Good description of the killer on the run. Another good novel from Jake Arnott.
May 4, 2019
An engrossing read.
The story drags you into its world, and you have curiousity every step of the way. The atmosphere is neatly conveyed.
I wish the timeline was more clear, for at times , you lost track about when which particular part took place.
The story drags you into its world, and you have curiousity every step of the way. The atmosphere is neatly conveyed.
I wish the timeline was more clear, for at times , you lost track about when which particular part took place.
December 30, 2022
No me ha gustado nada, ni la trama que avanza a duras penas de una época a otra, ni los personajes auténticos clichés. Pienso que quizás no es mi género favorito, con razón ha estado en mi torre de pendientes el tiempo que ha estado, y eso no lo pienso decir.
November 22, 2025
I read all of Mr. Arnott's Long Firm trilogy about fifteen years ago and loved them and was tempted to give it five stars on the strength of that memory but have resisted. If I read them again maybe I'll gave more to say.
September 11, 2020
Good but not on same level as the 1st book in the trilogy, the Long Firm.
June 19, 2021
Meet the hero that is Jake Arnott ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
July 22, 2022
gives a really good feel of 60s and 70s gangland London. It's quite a bleak read and possibly not to everyone's tastes. I very much enjoyed it.
July 13, 2024
Yeah, pretty good in the end
September 17, 2024
Es peor que el primero. Se echa de menos a Harry Starks, aunque aparezcan algunos personajes del libro anterior. Se puede leer.
January 6, 2026
It was interesting although bittersweet.
October 2, 2018
Covering three decades, capturing the underworld and associated underbelly of society, this novel takes you right to the heart of what it’s like to live on the margins. The structure is not what one expects at the start, and all the better for its unpredictable turns. So seamy you’ll want to wear gloves when you read it.
August 27, 2019
A good story which got almost metafictional in its real world referencing. I can tell you that we sang a thoroughly nasty song on the terraces of St James Park, Newcastle, in early 70s which ended with the phrase "...he shoots coppers".
March 29, 2016
This is a diamond-cut novel. It’s sharp perspectives are kept edgy by the constant first-person narrative through a succession of characters, yet it defies the formulaic version of this adopted by other writers. The personal experience of the author probably explains his ability to do this so effectively. Having travelled through many anonymous jobs he can shape-shift more readily then those who have only used vicarious imagination to do so. The references to known criminals and events reflects back on the author as if he personally met them. It is his ability to transcend the stereotype that convinces us that we now have too. I’d have to say He Kills Hack Writers.
I’d also have to say that the world he describes and the issues he brings into focus have changed considerably since this book was published in 2001.
While many believe the war against terrorism is somehow “out there”, in effect all modern wars have become increasingly about keeping certain elements within our own societies contained or focussed through such supposed external threats. Fear of the Outsider is fear of the Subconscious counter-point of surface unquestioning – our own Shadows.
Jake Arnott also covers this aspect within his novel by paralleling the fears and behaviours of supposedly upstanding citizens against the milieu they expose themselves to. What we now have to face in 2016 is the tendency to police the ordinary citizen where they live by the provision of Protective Services personnel at every railway station from twilight to last train. Far from reassuring the general public, this constant presence is facing them with their own constant fears.
A prison without walls is still a prison. The description of a housing estate on page 265 is the precursor: “It’s whole architecture was a solid fortress of deprivation, resentment and unrest.”
While we have instituted many neighbourhood renewal projects throughout the suburbs, the internal pressures upon individuals of already limited capacity and resources are increasing. They now have more eyes upon them than ever before. They have so little internal space to process “difference” that they have far less scope for personal change. Rather than solving problems we are becoming evermore entrenched in the perpetrator-perpetuator divide. All those who continually re-tell the story, no matter how far they presume to distance themselves from the coalface, are perpetuators.
So it is even more interesting to now have writers such as Tony Birch writing alternate stories to break through this gridlock. Read my review of Ghost River to appreciate the potential we can share for this purpose.
I’d also have to say that the world he describes and the issues he brings into focus have changed considerably since this book was published in 2001.
While many believe the war against terrorism is somehow “out there”, in effect all modern wars have become increasingly about keeping certain elements within our own societies contained or focussed through such supposed external threats. Fear of the Outsider is fear of the Subconscious counter-point of surface unquestioning – our own Shadows.
Jake Arnott also covers this aspect within his novel by paralleling the fears and behaviours of supposedly upstanding citizens against the milieu they expose themselves to. What we now have to face in 2016 is the tendency to police the ordinary citizen where they live by the provision of Protective Services personnel at every railway station from twilight to last train. Far from reassuring the general public, this constant presence is facing them with their own constant fears.
A prison without walls is still a prison. The description of a housing estate on page 265 is the precursor: “It’s whole architecture was a solid fortress of deprivation, resentment and unrest.”
While we have instituted many neighbourhood renewal projects throughout the suburbs, the internal pressures upon individuals of already limited capacity and resources are increasing. They now have more eyes upon them than ever before. They have so little internal space to process “difference” that they have far less scope for personal change. Rather than solving problems we are becoming evermore entrenched in the perpetrator-perpetuator divide. All those who continually re-tell the story, no matter how far they presume to distance themselves from the coalface, are perpetuators.
So it is even more interesting to now have writers such as Tony Birch writing alternate stories to break through this gridlock. Read my review of Ghost River to appreciate the potential we can share for this purpose.
April 2, 2012
Arnott isn't very good at endings. Also, the 'twist' in this tale was blatantly obvious for a long time before it happened. Those are my only criticisms, though. I loved everything else about this book.
This is the story of three men who don't meet until the end of the book, but whose lives are all impacted by one incident: the killing of coppers of the title. It takes place in the same universe as The Long Firm and a few of the characters from that book are mentioned. Only Teddy Thursby and George Mooney actually appear.
Arnott uses memorable historical events and places his characters and events within them. I've heard a lot about the '66 world cup final over my life: particularly from my dad who was there. I visited Greenham Common in the mid-nineties which was very similar to the description here of Molesworth. I remember football hooliganism and the riots, too, of course. There was a dark nostalgia to reading this.
It covers about thirty years and explores the lives, relationships and psyches of the central characters, and their relationships with the times through which they live. One of the 'topics' is police corruption in the nineteen seventies, so there were similarities to David Peace's Red Riding quartet. I would certainly recommend those to anyone who enjoyed this. They are very Yorkshire-set books, though, and here -- once again -- Arnott uses London almost as a character in itself. It is not the only setting this time and the countryside is well rendered, too.
I've read a lot of Arnott in a short period which is something I try to avoid doing with any author since I overdosed on Atwood after university graduation and had to wait a decade and a half before I read her again. I'm not saturated by Arnott yet, although I can see themes, patterns and common weaknesses in his work. I'm going to have a break for a while but I will certainly read his books in the future.
This is the story of three men who don't meet until the end of the book, but whose lives are all impacted by one incident: the killing of coppers of the title. It takes place in the same universe as The Long Firm and a few of the characters from that book are mentioned. Only Teddy Thursby and George Mooney actually appear.
Arnott uses memorable historical events and places his characters and events within them. I've heard a lot about the '66 world cup final over my life: particularly from my dad who was there. I visited Greenham Common in the mid-nineties which was very similar to the description here of Molesworth. I remember football hooliganism and the riots, too, of course. There was a dark nostalgia to reading this.
It covers about thirty years and explores the lives, relationships and psyches of the central characters, and their relationships with the times through which they live. One of the 'topics' is police corruption in the nineteen seventies, so there were similarities to David Peace's Red Riding quartet. I would certainly recommend those to anyone who enjoyed this. They are very Yorkshire-set books, though, and here -- once again -- Arnott uses London almost as a character in itself. It is not the only setting this time and the countryside is well rendered, too.
I've read a lot of Arnott in a short period which is something I try to avoid doing with any author since I overdosed on Atwood after university graduation and had to wait a decade and a half before I read her again. I'm not saturated by Arnott yet, although I can see themes, patterns and common weaknesses in his work. I'm going to have a break for a while but I will certainly read his books in the future.
October 1, 2012
5/10
This could have been good, and at times was good, but overall it fell short looking back. The author has a fluid style but seems to struggle to keep the story going and after about half way through it began to drag (which is saying something for a book only 300+ pages).
Based on true events that happened in the 60’s (and eerily echoed recently in Manchester with the killing of two female officers) the story revolves around 3 different characters; 1 is a cop, 1 is a newspaper reporter, and the last is the killer of the policemen.
It made for interesting reading flicking between the 3 viewpoints and each with enough difference in style so you know which character was being written about. The idea of the reporter was an interesting idea and could have been developed further and could have had a story about him on his own which would have been full of interesting ideas. As it goes this is the least commented on and seems to fall short with the other two playing main fiddle.
Along with the lack of development of the more interesting character (in my opinion) was the fact that the story dragged. The killing takes place after about 100 pages and then it’s just a bit of a wind down and fizzles out. There is a twist further on but most will realise this well before the “penny-drop” moment.
This is the 2nd book I’ve read by Jake Arnott and the 2nd time I’ve been drawn in with interesting ideas and good styles of writing only to be let down further down the line. Worth a read for those looking for a nostalgic trip down memory lane and back to the 60’s and how policing was done in those times.
This could have been good, and at times was good, but overall it fell short looking back. The author has a fluid style but seems to struggle to keep the story going and after about half way through it began to drag (which is saying something for a book only 300+ pages).
Based on true events that happened in the 60’s (and eerily echoed recently in Manchester with the killing of two female officers) the story revolves around 3 different characters; 1 is a cop, 1 is a newspaper reporter, and the last is the killer of the policemen.
It made for interesting reading flicking between the 3 viewpoints and each with enough difference in style so you know which character was being written about. The idea of the reporter was an interesting idea and could have been developed further and could have had a story about him on his own which would have been full of interesting ideas. As it goes this is the least commented on and seems to fall short with the other two playing main fiddle.
Along with the lack of development of the more interesting character (in my opinion) was the fact that the story dragged. The killing takes place after about 100 pages and then it’s just a bit of a wind down and fizzles out. There is a twist further on but most will realise this well before the “penny-drop” moment.
This is the 2nd book I’ve read by Jake Arnott and the 2nd time I’ve been drawn in with interesting ideas and good styles of writing only to be let down further down the line. Worth a read for those looking for a nostalgic trip down memory lane and back to the 60’s and how policing was done in those times.
February 25, 2017
Empecé con ganas la trilogía de Jake Arnott, Delitos a largo plazo (The long firm) y el primer volumen me dejó un poco fría. Tanto que ni siquera consideré escribir una reseña. En cambio, su segundo volumen, titulado aquí Canciones de sangre me atrapó desde el principio. Basado en un hecho real acaecido a mediados de los años sesenta, en el libro se suceden tres narradores: un delincuente de poca monta que acaba convirtiéndose en el fugitivo más perseguido por la justicia, el policía que lleva el caso y que además tiene motivos personales para atraparlo y un periodista de escaso talento que tiene la suerte de toparse con la exclusiva y que encierra un oscuro secreto en su interior.
Poco más se puede decir de la novela sin reventar el argumento. De fondo, personajes reales e inventados. Principalmente, Harry Starks, gangster homosexual que sobrevuela toda la trilogía bien como protagonista, bien como secundario.
El tercer volumen, Crímenes de película (Truecrime, título original) ambientado en los años noventa y protagonizado por el oscuro periodista de la segunda entrega, cierra esta trilogía que hace un repaso al crimen, los criminales, el cuerpo de policía y la sociedad inglesa durante más de treinta años.
Poco más se puede decir de la novela sin reventar el argumento. De fondo, personajes reales e inventados. Principalmente, Harry Starks, gangster homosexual que sobrevuela toda la trilogía bien como protagonista, bien como secundario.
El tercer volumen, Crímenes de película (Truecrime, título original) ambientado en los años noventa y protagonizado por el oscuro periodista de la segunda entrega, cierra esta trilogía que hace un repaso al crimen, los criminales, el cuerpo de policía y la sociedad inglesa durante más de treinta años.
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