Jacky Boy

by Ken McCoy

On the day of his dad's funeral, ten-year-old Jacky Gaskell meets Frank McGovern for the first time. For when Frank is hanged for a murder he did not commit, Jacky's mother Maureen feels she must tell Jacky the truth: Frank was his real father. On the day of the execution Maureen loses the only man she ever truly loved and must now raise her three children, Brian, Ellie and Jacky, alone. Once the scandal gets out, there is little sympathy from the neighbours, and Jacky has a hard time at the local school from children and teachers alike. And there is little comfort to be had at home as Brian suddenly turns against his younger brother, constantly provoking arguments and fights. Although he only met Frank briefly, Jacky is convinced he was innocent and feels duty bound to clear his name. Enlisting the help of his sister Ellie, the pair embark on a series of plans and stunts to bring the real killer to justice. However, when their actions backfire, they not only attract the attention of the police, but the more sinister attentions of the real murderer, who will stop at nothing to silence the Gaskells.

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2004

Reviews

[Ann Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a quirky book, amusing at times. Set in W. Yorkshire. On the day of his dads funeral Jacky gets to meet Frank for the only time in his life before Frank is hanged for a murder that he did not commit. Jacky is then told the truth, that Frank was actually his real dad.

[Ally Atherton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in post war Leeds, a young boy's world is turned upside down when a local man is hanged for a crime he didn't commit. A crime that goes to the heart of everything he believes in.



This could have been such a great read. It's nostalgic, the main characters are well written and the main story is enough for any reader to get their teeth into. But unfortunately this book commits the ultimate crime that has befallen many a book over the years. It tries to be too many things. For some reason the author didn't seem to have a lot of faith in his story (which was good by the way) and the story ends up going off into all kinds of strange directions.


For some reason he throws a rape storyline into the mix as well as a bizarre car chase and then an even more bizarre dead body in the back of a car and caps it all off with a mining disaster! Not to mention a couple of murders and the main character waking up to find a dead boy hanging at the end of his bed! There's too much going on in such a short book that it well and truly borders on the ridiculous at times. And the frustrating thing is that the main storyline is very good and didn't need everything that I've just mentioned.


I fell in love with the main characters and the main storyline was gripping and had everything that a reader would want. But sadly a good book has been ruined by going off into too many crazy tangents. It made the whole book unrealistic.

[alice booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

A must read..very well planned by the author...sometimes s bit of a twist in the tale..well written Ken McCoy thanks for sharing this book