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Crack
Shortlisted for the prestigious Page Turner Prize and SpaSpa Prize for Best Psychological Fiction, award-winning UK author Chris Barraclough's thrilling and internationally acclaimed crime novel Crack is now available on Kindle (British Crime Thrillers series) for a fantastic price. Don't miss the other best-selling Kitty, Smack, Hero, Villain and Versus"I enjoyed every minute of it. Its pace is so frenetic and the events pile up one on the other so rapidly that you won't want to put it down." - eBookanoid ReviewsThe tragic accidental death of a teenage girl in a notorious crime-ridden British council estate leads to a bloody and shocking uprising, led by the girl's father and her ruthless boyfriend.The man responsible, PC Nathan Pang, finds himself trapped on the thirteenth floor of Disraeli tower, traumatised and cut off from help. Facing the rioters head-on, he discovers the horrific truth behind the girl's death, but can he protect the innocents caught up in the violence and get out of the estate alive?Crack is the first book in the Twin Towers Estate series and a best seller in Amazon's crime category, gathering praise from critics and readers both in the UK and "This is seat-of-the-pants reading, so grab yourself a drink and snack and make yourself comfortable before you start. And remember to breathe occasionally...Five Stars." - Indie Ebook Review"I was immediately sucked into Crack...an action packed, tense thriller...I found the book gripping, the prose magnificent...one that I could not put down and that, I’m sure, will haunt me for some time. Five stars" - Author Susan Russo AndersonThis book contains very strong language and occasional violence and is intended for mature audiences only. Scroll up and click the cover image to read a sneak preview, and check out www.chrisbarraclough.co.uk for more info on Chris' Kindle novels, including the other books in his thrilling Twin Towers Estate British Crime series.Check out all of Chris Barraclough's UK crime thrillers, available now for a great price on (book one)Kitty (book two)Smack (book three)The Riot Trilogy (Crack, Kitty and Smack)Hero (book four)Villain (book five)Versus (book six)The Gang Wars Trilogy (Hero, Villain and Versus)ABOUT THE AUTHORChris Barraclough is a British journalist and award-winning crime author who bagged the UK Authors Award for his highly-praised debut thriller/mystery novel, "Bat Boy", following a blind teenage boy and his brother's search for their long-lost father (out now in paperback and on Kindle).His gritty and violent Twin Towers Estate crime series was shortlisted for the Page Turner Prize and SpaSpa Prize or Best Psychological Fiction, while his mystery novel 'Dead Dogs' was nominated for the Dylan Thomas Award.More praise for Chris "A great story, beautifully written...an excellent crime book. Once you start you will not stop, I promise you." - Graham Sclater's Book Review Show, Venture Radio"Fast, funny, rivetting...a glorious read" - Times Suspense"A wonderful, gripping thriller, from the first words to the last. Marvellous!" - UK Crime Writers
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2011
4 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Chris Barraclough
27 books15 followersChris Barraclough is a broke-arse author and technology/games journalist from the UK.
Chris' debut novel, Bat Boy, won the UK Authors Prize 2010 and was published by UKA Press, gathering fantastic reviews from critics and readers around the world.
His other books, Crack and Dead Dogs, have been highly commended in international competitions (including the prestigious Dylan Thomas Sony Reader Award), and can be bought for mere pence/cents for your Kindle, Kobo or other ebook readers.
Chris' debut novel, Bat Boy, won the UK Authors Prize 2010 and was published by UKA Press, gathering fantastic reviews from critics and readers around the world.
His other books, Crack and Dead Dogs, have been highly commended in international competitions (including the prestigious Dylan Thomas Sony Reader Award), and can be bought for mere pence/cents for your Kindle, Kobo or other ebook readers.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 26, 2012
Through a Glass Darkly
I was immediately sucked into CRACK, a novella by Chris Barraclough. Not just a thriller, this story, but one that I could not put down and that, I’m sure, will haunt me for some time. Yes, the story is action packed, but the book is about the pain of being misunderstood, about ignorance, abuse, regret, cruelty; it is about what it feels like to be down and out in a society seemingly without soul.
Its setting—two towers of the Hightide council estates “in the heart of Broken Britain”—is dystopian. It has no charm or hope. The author’s prose is unique, remarkable, as is his ability to create rich, contradictory characters in a few words without leaving the story.
The main character, Nathan Pang, is a guilt-ridden policeman, a man with a past who loves his son and yearns for a better world. At one point he is asked if he has children. “‘Yes. I’ve got a boy. A son.’ Pang’s nails dug into the curtain.”
He is an outcast come to the towers to investigate a brawl that disturbed local residents. By his actions, Pang escalates the tension. Hated by and hiding from the inhabitants, Pang is himself broken, imperfect, riddled with guilt and pain. His story is punctuated by editorial remarks, obtuse and fractured, by a press purporting to summarize the rioting in Hightide.
I found the book gripping, the prose, spare and magnificent. The characters still linger in my head. Here is one of many memorable passages, an image central to the book’s meaning, occurring shortly after the accident that is the story’s catalyst.
“A perfect white trainer sat discarded on its side just a few feet beyond. Laces undone, the front of the sole hung open like a wide, gaping maw, frozen in a silent scream.”
I recommend the book to all readers who want memorable characters as much as they crave exciting plot, who want something more than resolution after reading a tense thriller.
I was immediately sucked into CRACK, a novella by Chris Barraclough. Not just a thriller, this story, but one that I could not put down and that, I’m sure, will haunt me for some time. Yes, the story is action packed, but the book is about the pain of being misunderstood, about ignorance, abuse, regret, cruelty; it is about what it feels like to be down and out in a society seemingly without soul.
Its setting—two towers of the Hightide council estates “in the heart of Broken Britain”—is dystopian. It has no charm or hope. The author’s prose is unique, remarkable, as is his ability to create rich, contradictory characters in a few words without leaving the story.
The main character, Nathan Pang, is a guilt-ridden policeman, a man with a past who loves his son and yearns for a better world. At one point he is asked if he has children. “‘Yes. I’ve got a boy. A son.’ Pang’s nails dug into the curtain.”
He is an outcast come to the towers to investigate a brawl that disturbed local residents. By his actions, Pang escalates the tension. Hated by and hiding from the inhabitants, Pang is himself broken, imperfect, riddled with guilt and pain. His story is punctuated by editorial remarks, obtuse and fractured, by a press purporting to summarize the rioting in Hightide.
I found the book gripping, the prose, spare and magnificent. The characters still linger in my head. Here is one of many memorable passages, an image central to the book’s meaning, occurring shortly after the accident that is the story’s catalyst.
“A perfect white trainer sat discarded on its side just a few feet beyond. Laces undone, the front of the sole hung open like a wide, gaping maw, frozen in a silent scream.”
I recommend the book to all readers who want memorable characters as much as they crave exciting plot, who want something more than resolution after reading a tense thriller.
October 29, 2013
I won't forget Chris Barraclough in a hurry or 'Crack', exceptionally written, action, pace and flow.
June 16, 2012
I was expecting this thriller novella to be about drugs, so I was surprised when it wasn’t – at least not as directly as the title suggests it might be. Nathan Pang is a police constable, working an estate that could be anywhere in Britain’s darker underbelly with its tower blocks, concrete and gangs roaming wild. Of course there are drugs, but then there are all manner of other crimes – it’s all just part of the day-to-day life here.
Now Nathan is part-Chinese. His grandfather was Chinese, and he clearly looks Chinese to the extent that he’s questioned about his ancestry. So why do I mention this? Because coincidentally (how bizarre is this?) my grandfather was also Chinese and neither I, nor any of my gazillions of cousins look remotely oriental. But hey, I’ll suspend disbelief here, because Pang is an interesting character and full of internal conflict. He’s as much a victim of society as the thugs he arrests. Public sector cuts force the police to patrol alone, without backup, in areas where the slightest spark will ignite a tinderbox of rage and aggression. And the spark that Pang drops does all of that and more, as he’s distracted by domestic issues and unable to be with his young son in hospital. In a moment of inattention, Pang does something he will regret for the rest of his life and suddenly we are in the middle of a full-scale riot.
Scene-setting is clearly one of Barraclough’s talents. From dark stairwells to exposed walkways, lifts that stink of urine to burnt-out shops, we get a real vision of what it’s like to live here and of the lives of the inhabitants that do. There’s a depth to the bad guys too – a sense of why they live the way they do and the code of ethics that permeates such a society. If you ever wondered what it was like on the inside of a riot, this book will not so much show you, as drag you kicking and screaming through the chaos, the violence and the terror. There are no shades of grey here, no half-truths – you are either on-side or off-side – and if you are off-side, you’re a dead man walking as Barraclough takes us on a roller-coaster ride, minute by minute through the heart of the action. The estate is closed off, the riot police are called in and events spiral out of control as Pang, his injured colleagues and young mum Kate are fighting for their lives.
The violence spreads throughout the town, taking on a life of its own. And Pang realises there is only one way to stop the madness as a lone voice speaks up to tell the truth about what really happened. Now I can see how the title fits the story; how the cracks in society can become gaping holes. The title itself is mirrored in the story-telling, unfolding almost in real-time until we get the full picture only at the end. Clever.
This is seat-of-the-pants reading, so grab yourself a drink and a snack and make yourself comfortable before you start. And remember to breathe occasionally …
Now Nathan is part-Chinese. His grandfather was Chinese, and he clearly looks Chinese to the extent that he’s questioned about his ancestry. So why do I mention this? Because coincidentally (how bizarre is this?) my grandfather was also Chinese and neither I, nor any of my gazillions of cousins look remotely oriental. But hey, I’ll suspend disbelief here, because Pang is an interesting character and full of internal conflict. He’s as much a victim of society as the thugs he arrests. Public sector cuts force the police to patrol alone, without backup, in areas where the slightest spark will ignite a tinderbox of rage and aggression. And the spark that Pang drops does all of that and more, as he’s distracted by domestic issues and unable to be with his young son in hospital. In a moment of inattention, Pang does something he will regret for the rest of his life and suddenly we are in the middle of a full-scale riot.
Scene-setting is clearly one of Barraclough’s talents. From dark stairwells to exposed walkways, lifts that stink of urine to burnt-out shops, we get a real vision of what it’s like to live here and of the lives of the inhabitants that do. There’s a depth to the bad guys too – a sense of why they live the way they do and the code of ethics that permeates such a society. If you ever wondered what it was like on the inside of a riot, this book will not so much show you, as drag you kicking and screaming through the chaos, the violence and the terror. There are no shades of grey here, no half-truths – you are either on-side or off-side – and if you are off-side, you’re a dead man walking as Barraclough takes us on a roller-coaster ride, minute by minute through the heart of the action. The estate is closed off, the riot police are called in and events spiral out of control as Pang, his injured colleagues and young mum Kate are fighting for their lives.
The violence spreads throughout the town, taking on a life of its own. And Pang realises there is only one way to stop the madness as a lone voice speaks up to tell the truth about what really happened. Now I can see how the title fits the story; how the cracks in society can become gaping holes. The title itself is mirrored in the story-telling, unfolding almost in real-time until we get the full picture only at the end. Clever.
This is seat-of-the-pants reading, so grab yourself a drink and a snack and make yourself comfortable before you start. And remember to breathe occasionally …
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews