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Eoin Miller Mystery #1
Old Gold
When gangland detective and former cop Eoin Miller wakes up to realize his almost-one-night stand has gone cold as a corpse in his bed, his gypsy heritage screams for him to do the easy thing and run. Having abandoned his morals, ambitions, and relationships for a life of alcohol, denial, and dirty work for local crime bosses, escape seems to be the only option left.
But Eoin is surprised by a compulsion to root out his unknown enemies and fight for survival. All too soon, he finds himself caught in the crossfire between nearly every faction in town: rival crime lords, drug dealers, politicians, cops — even his estranged wife has a card in play.
His quest to uncover the truth — and prove his innocence — resurfaces deep pains, old scars, and shattered relationships that threaten to bury him under regret. That is, if the killer doesn’t bury him first.
But Eoin is surprised by a compulsion to root out his unknown enemies and fight for survival. All too soon, he finds himself caught in the crossfire between nearly every faction in town: rival crime lords, drug dealers, politicians, cops — even his estranged wife has a card in play.
His quest to uncover the truth — and prove his innocence — resurfaces deep pains, old scars, and shattered relationships that threaten to bury him under regret. That is, if the killer doesn’t bury him first.
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 24, 2012
209 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
Jay Stringer
39 books118 followersJay Stringer was born in 1980, and he’s not dead yet.
He’s English by birth and Scottish by rumour; born in the Black Country, and claiming Glasgow as his hometown.
Jay is dyslexic, and came to the written word as a second language, via comic books, music, and comedy. He writes hard boiled crime stories, dark comedies, and social fiction.
His first three books, the Eoin Miller Trilogy explored the political and criminal landscape of the West Midlands.
He now writes books set in Glasgow and New York.
Jay won a gold medal in the Antwerp Olympics of 1920. He did not compete in the Helsinki Olympics of 1952, that was some other guy.
Jay is represented by Stacia Decker at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
He’s English by birth and Scottish by rumour; born in the Black Country, and claiming Glasgow as his hometown.
Jay is dyslexic, and came to the written word as a second language, via comic books, music, and comedy. He writes hard boiled crime stories, dark comedies, and social fiction.
His first three books, the Eoin Miller Trilogy explored the political and criminal landscape of the West Midlands.
He now writes books set in Glasgow and New York.
Jay won a gold medal in the Antwerp Olympics of 1920. He did not compete in the Helsinki Olympics of 1952, that was some other guy.
Jay is represented by Stacia Decker at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
December 19, 2015
2.5 stars
Pretty good story - I have read a lot of books in this genre (lone wolf hard man ex-police or ex-military character gone off the rails but manages to investigate mystery/crime because he has ATTITUDE and no one tells him what to do so yeahhhhhh!) and Eoin is ok but not the best (prefer Jack Reacher or John Rain or Nick Stone).
Pretty good story - I have read a lot of books in this genre (lone wolf hard man ex-police or ex-military character gone off the rails but manages to investigate mystery/crime because he has ATTITUDE and no one tells him what to do so yeahhhhhh!) and Eoin is ok but not the best (prefer Jack Reacher or John Rain or Nick Stone).
February 6, 2017
This was a really entertaining PI mystery. Top stuff. Well worth a read.
April 23, 2017
A very decent first novel from Jay Stringer - Eoin Miller is a part-Romany ex-CID private detective who has drifted into working for local drug barons. Not only that, his separated wife is an Acting DCI. Overlay a murder which implicates him and a missing person case and there is a good story which runs along at pace with unpredictable plot lines. Looking forward to the next in the series.
January 5, 2022
It was alright. The deadpan way in which the writer created his characters and scenarios had me in mind of Jake Arnott but not as accomplished. An enjoyable distraction.
July 19, 2012
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/07/...
Former cop Eoin Miller is good at finding people. He’s fresh off the tail of a someone that owes a dangerous man money when he sees Mary for the first time, nursing a vodka at the local pub. Drawn to her immediately, he finds out that Mary thinks that someone is trying to kill her. Mary goes home with Eoin, and after a night of, well, sleep (him on the couch downstairs, and her upstairs), he wakes up to find her dead, strangled with his tie, with needle tracks in her arm. There’s no sign of a needle, which just compounds the fact that a stranger has been in his home, and murdered Mary. Instead of going to the police, however, Eoin flees, holing up in a flat owned by the Mann brothers and sets out to find out who killed Mary, because he knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll surely be framed for her murder. Not only that, but Eoin just hates a mystery. It also doesn’t help matters that a good friend from the police force is breathing down his neck to find the missing son of one of the brass. Yep, Eoin Miller has a lot piled on his plate, and the pile is about to get higher.
Eoin Miller is a rolling stone, picking up trouble wherever he goes. Seriously, the man has a nose for liars, two rival drug families on his back, and a body following him around. The man is like a Timex. You know, takes a lickin’, etc… Like I said, he can’t stand a mystery, and his need to solve it is even stronger than the lure of the pub, or the increasing lure of his ex-wife, who happens to be a cop on her way up. Luckily, he’s still got an in at the police, even though his Gypsy blood was a constant bane to him while on the force, but motives seem to be increasingly contradictory, and the body count is growing. As he navigates the politics of two powerful families that each want a piece of him, and chases his suspicions and mounting clues, he also has to deal with some powerful demons of his own. Leaving the force and the failure of his marriage have taken a toll, and although his heart is in the right place, his head often isn’t. He’s spent his life as an outsider, and it’s perhaps because of this that so many people just to the left of the law, especially at risk kids, seem to trust him, and this will come in handy. Eoin Miller is my kind of hero, firmly in the grey, but with a heart of, well, gold, and maybe just a tad too much trust to give. I like his vulnerability, though, and his melancholy. It makes things even more heart wrenching when people and situations go south, and boy, do they. There were about a dozen times when I thought I knew where things were going here, and I was wrong just about every time. Eoin may be vulnerable, but you really shouldn’t underestimate him. His sharp mind and brash tendencies carry him through some pretty sticky situations, and the violence he inflicts is never casual, although plenty of casual violence is inflicted on him. There’s a jaw dropper of a twist in this one, and it sneaks up on you, as the best twists do. This is a helluva good book and a helluva debut. I can’t wait for the next one!
Former cop Eoin Miller is good at finding people. He’s fresh off the tail of a someone that owes a dangerous man money when he sees Mary for the first time, nursing a vodka at the local pub. Drawn to her immediately, he finds out that Mary thinks that someone is trying to kill her. Mary goes home with Eoin, and after a night of, well, sleep (him on the couch downstairs, and her upstairs), he wakes up to find her dead, strangled with his tie, with needle tracks in her arm. There’s no sign of a needle, which just compounds the fact that a stranger has been in his home, and murdered Mary. Instead of going to the police, however, Eoin flees, holing up in a flat owned by the Mann brothers and sets out to find out who killed Mary, because he knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll surely be framed for her murder. Not only that, but Eoin just hates a mystery. It also doesn’t help matters that a good friend from the police force is breathing down his neck to find the missing son of one of the brass. Yep, Eoin Miller has a lot piled on his plate, and the pile is about to get higher.
Eoin Miller is a rolling stone, picking up trouble wherever he goes. Seriously, the man has a nose for liars, two rival drug families on his back, and a body following him around. The man is like a Timex. You know, takes a lickin’, etc… Like I said, he can’t stand a mystery, and his need to solve it is even stronger than the lure of the pub, or the increasing lure of his ex-wife, who happens to be a cop on her way up. Luckily, he’s still got an in at the police, even though his Gypsy blood was a constant bane to him while on the force, but motives seem to be increasingly contradictory, and the body count is growing. As he navigates the politics of two powerful families that each want a piece of him, and chases his suspicions and mounting clues, he also has to deal with some powerful demons of his own. Leaving the force and the failure of his marriage have taken a toll, and although his heart is in the right place, his head often isn’t. He’s spent his life as an outsider, and it’s perhaps because of this that so many people just to the left of the law, especially at risk kids, seem to trust him, and this will come in handy. Eoin Miller is my kind of hero, firmly in the grey, but with a heart of, well, gold, and maybe just a tad too much trust to give. I like his vulnerability, though, and his melancholy. It makes things even more heart wrenching when people and situations go south, and boy, do they. There were about a dozen times when I thought I knew where things were going here, and I was wrong just about every time. Eoin may be vulnerable, but you really shouldn’t underestimate him. His sharp mind and brash tendencies carry him through some pretty sticky situations, and the violence he inflicts is never casual, although plenty of casual violence is inflicted on him. There’s a jaw dropper of a twist in this one, and it sneaks up on you, as the best twists do. This is a helluva good book and a helluva debut. I can’t wait for the next one!
June 3, 2015
“The drugs trade is like any other, full of office politics and juicy gossip. All you need to do is find the right office junior and apply pressure.”
Old Gold tells the story of Eoin Miller who is doing his best to get through life without emotional entanglement of any kind.
He’s working for the Mann brothers, the heads of one of the major firms running the area and has just completed a job for them when introduced. To celebrate, he goes for a drink or two in his local and is picked up by an attractive drifter of a woman, Mary, who has taken something very important from her boyfriend and with whom Eoin’s about to spend the night. He wakes up to find that the woman is dead and that someone has gone to a lot of effort to make it look like he’s the killer.
Eoin’s first instinct is to listen to his dad’s advice – to get the hell out of there – based upon the fact that with his Romani blood no one is ever going to give him the benefit of the doubt. He takes to the road and eventually realises that he needs to do something other than surrender. When he returns to his house, he finds the body gone and no evidence that anything is untoward.
His point of attack is to find out what happened to Mary. To track down the killer and find out how he can get out of a difficult situation.
Early links lead him to a new drugs peddler on the block, a Pole who is keen to work the angles and exploit any gaps between the main two gangs in the area. He starts poking sticks in places where they’re not welcome and it’s not long before he’s in an awful lot of trouble.
Add to this a missing person inquiry that the police have dropped due to the sensitive nature of the case and the fact that his estranged wife has been promoted in the force and you have a multi-layered novel to roam in.
I thoroughly enjoyed Old Gold and that’s from start to finish.
Eoin tells the story in the first person and that really works well. He’s a pleasure to get to know – a self-destructive investigator with a real life and real problems.
What I think I particularly enjoyed is the subtlety of the writing. Nothing is overblown. Everything comes in the right measure. The pace is terrific, constantly building yet never rushing to get to the end. The hoods are very well-formed, but are far from being caricatures. The hard-boiled swipes are there, but are more like body-softening jabs than knockout punches. The Midlands works superbly as a backdrop, as a place that is at once familiar and new. Nothing is crammed into the plot for its own sake – everything, including the denouement, works effortlessly. Eoin is complex and interesting, but his facets are introduced and explored gradually rather than in one big bang. There’s also a gentle exploration of a range of issues relating to gender, race, inequality and politics that provide plenty of food for thought (the label I’ve seen given to the book is ‘social pulp’ and that goes some way to covering it).
Above all this is fine fiction, entertaining and thrilling. It’s a book I didn’t want to put down for too long once I’d started and I’ll certainly be reading more in the series. Very good indeed.
Old Gold tells the story of Eoin Miller who is doing his best to get through life without emotional entanglement of any kind.
He’s working for the Mann brothers, the heads of one of the major firms running the area and has just completed a job for them when introduced. To celebrate, he goes for a drink or two in his local and is picked up by an attractive drifter of a woman, Mary, who has taken something very important from her boyfriend and with whom Eoin’s about to spend the night. He wakes up to find that the woman is dead and that someone has gone to a lot of effort to make it look like he’s the killer.
Eoin’s first instinct is to listen to his dad’s advice – to get the hell out of there – based upon the fact that with his Romani blood no one is ever going to give him the benefit of the doubt. He takes to the road and eventually realises that he needs to do something other than surrender. When he returns to his house, he finds the body gone and no evidence that anything is untoward.
His point of attack is to find out what happened to Mary. To track down the killer and find out how he can get out of a difficult situation.
Early links lead him to a new drugs peddler on the block, a Pole who is keen to work the angles and exploit any gaps between the main two gangs in the area. He starts poking sticks in places where they’re not welcome and it’s not long before he’s in an awful lot of trouble.
Add to this a missing person inquiry that the police have dropped due to the sensitive nature of the case and the fact that his estranged wife has been promoted in the force and you have a multi-layered novel to roam in.
I thoroughly enjoyed Old Gold and that’s from start to finish.
Eoin tells the story in the first person and that really works well. He’s a pleasure to get to know – a self-destructive investigator with a real life and real problems.
What I think I particularly enjoyed is the subtlety of the writing. Nothing is overblown. Everything comes in the right measure. The pace is terrific, constantly building yet never rushing to get to the end. The hoods are very well-formed, but are far from being caricatures. The hard-boiled swipes are there, but are more like body-softening jabs than knockout punches. The Midlands works superbly as a backdrop, as a place that is at once familiar and new. Nothing is crammed into the plot for its own sake – everything, including the denouement, works effortlessly. Eoin is complex and interesting, but his facets are introduced and explored gradually rather than in one big bang. There’s also a gentle exploration of a range of issues relating to gender, race, inequality and politics that provide plenty of food for thought (the label I’ve seen given to the book is ‘social pulp’ and that goes some way to covering it).
Above all this is fine fiction, entertaining and thrilling. It’s a book I didn’t want to put down for too long once I’d started and I’ll certainly be reading more in the series. Very good indeed.
October 1, 2012
This first novel starts out with a bang and the fire works don't stop until the end. For a first novel, it is very good. There are plot lines waiting in a queue for more plot lines to turn up and the characters are very noir. It reminded me a bit of Ken Bruen's work.
The story starts out with Eoin Miller, half gypsy, going home with a prostitute named Mary who tells him that someone wants to kill her. In the morning she is dead in his bed and he has a hang-over. While he is searching for Mary's killer, we find out that he used to be on the police force where his ex-wife still remains. Why he left the force is a bit of a mystery. Since leaving the force he works as a middleman for the Mann brothers, a drug operation. He gets jobs here and there, none of them lily white.
One of Eoin's jobs is to try to find the son of a police officer, Perry, who is running for local office. His college son has disappeared and Eoin accepts the task of finding him. What are Perry's secrets and why is he going to such lengths to hide them?
Eoin gets mixed up in the rival gangs of the middle country of England, not sure exactly where he stands on any particular issue. He keeps hearing his dad's voice which told him to run, and run fast.
The book has a sharp dialog and a lot of narrative. We get to know Eoin through his actions and conversations. This is definitely hard-boiled and not for the faint of heart. I think it's a good start for a new series.
Comment
The story starts out with Eoin Miller, half gypsy, going home with a prostitute named Mary who tells him that someone wants to kill her. In the morning she is dead in his bed and he has a hang-over. While he is searching for Mary's killer, we find out that he used to be on the police force where his ex-wife still remains. Why he left the force is a bit of a mystery. Since leaving the force he works as a middleman for the Mann brothers, a drug operation. He gets jobs here and there, none of them lily white.
One of Eoin's jobs is to try to find the son of a police officer, Perry, who is running for local office. His college son has disappeared and Eoin accepts the task of finding him. What are Perry's secrets and why is he going to such lengths to hide them?
Eoin gets mixed up in the rival gangs of the middle country of England, not sure exactly where he stands on any particular issue. He keeps hearing his dad's voice which told him to run, and run fast.
The book has a sharp dialog and a lot of narrative. We get to know Eoin through his actions and conversations. This is definitely hard-boiled and not for the faint of heart. I think it's a good start for a new series.
Comment
January 30, 2016
Eoin is morally complicated. He was a cop for while, mostly to piss off his father, a Gypsy who mistrusted and hated cops. Now he works finding what's missing--people, things, whatever. The taste of discrimination is sharp in Eoin's mouth. He tries to do the right thing. He finds himself compromised and working for some very bad people and doing some very bad things. I'm not sure I'm going to like this series, so I'll just have to read the next one to figure it out.
August 12, 2012
A bit "blokey" perhaps but well written and engaging - reminded me a little of early Sara Paretsky. Not an epic read took me a couple of days. As a wolverhampton resisdent I also like seeing the place through someone else's eyes>
September 25, 2018
Jay Stringer scores a surprisingly good first novel about a loner excop who beats the odds and the corrupt system by finding a solution to his dead girl (friend?) problems. Despite taking place in contemporary Britain and written by a Brit its an easy novel for those of us across the pond to understand. I like Eoin Miller, I can identify with him. However, my only complaint is we never get a satisfying story of why he quit the force, got a divorce and checked out of his life. Maybe we will in the next novel? I really liked this mystery-thriller. I didn't solve the mystery even though there was at least one or two clues that I should have notice. I just like those mysteries where that's possible. Thanks for a fun read Jay!
March 19, 2021
Felt this was a solid read for the British hard-boiled crime genre. Mostly reminded of Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor, without the sharp, honed-to-the-bone stylings, or the sense of place: ex-cop doing shady things to get by, with his own somewhat untrustworthy moral compass and the requisite idiosyncratic musical taste, working the seams to right a seemingly smaller wrong in a corrupt world that can't be mended, only tolerated. The writing was good enough to keep the pages turning, and I'd guess I'll seek out further misadventures of Mr. Miller.
March 15, 2019
nA JS. Mystery Novel (EMMB - 1)/Private Eye/Gypsy/Ex Police Force/Drugs, Murder, and Deceit
JS. has. penned a mystery about a young man who finds himself in the middle of a criminal and political scandal, with what appears to have no exit, until the you investigator puts everything g together risking his life, others and the police. This is an excellent read for the genre.....REHS
JS. has. penned a mystery about a young man who finds himself in the middle of a criminal and political scandal, with what appears to have no exit, until the you investigator puts everything g together risking his life, others and the police. This is an excellent read for the genre.....REHS
October 17, 2019
For a short and bloody tale of revenge and double-cross, with a heavy dose of booze and thuggery in the mix, you are in the right place. Stringer puts together a none-too-virtuous protagonist with his congenitally misanthropic antagonists in a "whatever next?" pile-up of punch and counter-punch, discovery and recovery that moves along swiftly. There's not a lot of time for much in the way of depth in character studies, but we get to know our tarnished hero enough during the melee to at least understand why he's so glum, and to feel a concern for his welfare and his future prospects. The book succeeds as an ethnic crime novel with no loose ends and a swift delivery that leaves you fairly wrung out in the end.
February 17, 2019
I really enjoyed this book, right up until the end... Nothing wrong with the ending I guess, but not as good as I was hoping.
The story is of a man with "gypsy" heritage who became a police officer, now however he is working for the local mob. When things start going bad all over town, he has to thread the fine line and solve a mystery or two or end up dead.
The story is of a man with "gypsy" heritage who became a police officer, now however he is working for the local mob. When things start going bad all over town, he has to thread the fine line and solve a mystery or two or end up dead.
March 29, 2025
I read this book as part of our book club. I would typically not pick this type of book for myself, so I felt bad rating it anyless. If you like crooked cop, small town stories, you might like this one. It was hard for me to follow and therefore the end did not come together for me as I think the author intended.
October 13, 2019
I managed about 50 pages but wasn't engaging with it, I've given it 2 stars because at least the writer is articulate, even if I was not particularly interested. Maybe it's "just not my thing" and it was free anyway. First and last by this author.
April 15, 2020
Loved it!
First book, hey? Coulda fooled me. Fast paced, good dialogue, interesting story and believable characters all make for an entertaining read. Look forward to more from you.
First book, hey? Coulda fooled me. Fast paced, good dialogue, interesting story and believable characters all make for an entertaining read. Look forward to more from you.
February 27, 2018
A good solid 3 to 3.5 stars...enjoyed reading a book set in the Midlands and will read more of this author, for sure. Complex plot, nicely written, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
May 31, 2018
Gypsies, tramps and thieves. And crooked cops, gay politicians and scary Eastern European thugs. There's some potential here, not realized yet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2019
Good mystery and action, interesting troubled character. I didn't like as much as Ways to Die in Glasgow. ...Do you like Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor series? Similar gritty hopeless underdog feel.
November 24, 2019
A great antihero
Grim and dirty underbelly of cops and crime with an interesting new antihero. Great writing, good vernacular, pacy plot really well written!
Grim and dirty underbelly of cops and crime with an interesting new antihero. Great writing, good vernacular, pacy plot really well written!
March 13, 2021
Very good. I can't believe this was his first novel. I will definitely be reading more.
September 12, 2021
Just a good yarn. I ended up reading the next two Stringer books; summer reading ...
February 4, 2023
Gut geschrieben, aber ich bin kein Fan vom Mileu. Keine Lust, dem Ex-Polizisten durch den Untergrund von Birmingham zu folgen. Zu dreckig, zu hard-boiled.
October 20, 2023
Certainly unputdownable
Took me a bit to get into the style, but once there I was hooked. Great characters and description kept to a much appreciated minimal. Excellent read
Took me a bit to get into the style, but once there I was hooked. Great characters and description kept to a much appreciated minimal. Excellent read
February 22, 2024
A good plot that kept me engaged throughout, well-paced with well-rounded characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
May 2, 2020
Character development was not so good but a decent enough read. I'd prefer more about Eoin's earlier life and background. There are some hints there so maybe we'll see more in follow up books in the series.
August 27, 2013
"If there's trouble, be far away from it. If you can't be far away, run like hell."
Eoin Miller is my type of protagonist - full of black humor, angry at the world, with a good dash of cowardice tossed in.
Eoin is hired to find things and people, something he can do on the side when he's not working for the Mann brothers, crime bosses in Wolverhampton, in the Midlands region of England, an area of unemployment, bigotry and dirty politics.
"Old Gold" starts off with a murder mystery but has a missing person, more murders, drugs, a missing object...and the action doesn't slow down.
Great character development although I do wish we got to find out more about Eoin's earlier life, growing up half-gypsy. There are tantalizing glimpses so maybe we'll see more in later books of the series.
I read "Faithless Street" - four short stories that are a prequel to this book - meant to be read in conjunction with "Old Gold" and adding depth to the reading experience.
Now I'm getting ready to read "Runaway Town," the next installment of Eoin's story.
Eoin Miller is my type of protagonist - full of black humor, angry at the world, with a good dash of cowardice tossed in.
Eoin is hired to find things and people, something he can do on the side when he's not working for the Mann brothers, crime bosses in Wolverhampton, in the Midlands region of England, an area of unemployment, bigotry and dirty politics.
"Old Gold" starts off with a murder mystery but has a missing person, more murders, drugs, a missing object...and the action doesn't slow down.
Great character development although I do wish we got to find out more about Eoin's earlier life, growing up half-gypsy. There are tantalizing glimpses so maybe we'll see more in later books of the series.
I read "Faithless Street" - four short stories that are a prequel to this book - meant to be read in conjunction with "Old Gold" and adding depth to the reading experience.
Now I'm getting ready to read "Runaway Town," the next installment of Eoin's story.
February 21, 2017
Old Gold is the first of a series of thrillers sent in the Midlands near Birmingham. Eoin Miller is a part-Gypsy ex-cop who now works for a local drug lord Gav Mann, tracking down people and handing them over to Mann for punishment.
After one such transaction, Miller picks up a girl in a bar and takes her home. In the morning, he finds her dead in his bed. His Gypsy instincts kick in, and he chooses to bolt rather than call the police. As Miller tries to find out what is going on, he stumbles through a web of drug wars, police politics and a missing person that the cops have demanded he track down.
Miller is an original and interesting character and his narrative voice gives the novel a nice hard-boiled edge. The setting around Wolverhampton and Walsall feels authentic and Stringer gives us a pacy plot with some nice twists. There’s nothing breath-taking in this, but it’s a good entertaining read; reason enough to try the sequel.
After one such transaction, Miller picks up a girl in a bar and takes her home. In the morning, he finds her dead in his bed. His Gypsy instincts kick in, and he chooses to bolt rather than call the police. As Miller tries to find out what is going on, he stumbles through a web of drug wars, police politics and a missing person that the cops have demanded he track down.
Miller is an original and interesting character and his narrative voice gives the novel a nice hard-boiled edge. The setting around Wolverhampton and Walsall feels authentic and Stringer gives us a pacy plot with some nice twists. There’s nothing breath-taking in this, but it’s a good entertaining read; reason enough to try the sequel.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews