'A hot summer. The countryside around Manchester is ablaze. Ethan Mallam is fresh out of prison and finds his old gang locked in a brutal civil war. Against his wishes, he is quickly drawn into a hellish world of fire, blood, greed, and Billy Bear Ham. Trevor Mark Thomas's follow up to the sensational, and sensationally gripping, The Bothy.'
You know when you finish a book and you need to talk about it immediately so you burn the ear off your extremely patient husband while telling him the entire plot of a book he showed only the vaguest interest in? Well that was me and this book last night. And my husband. 😅
I was actually wary not to give any spoilers cause I think he’d really like this one too; I’d go so far as to add it to my “books I think my husband would love” post on here. I know many of you have gotten Christmas and birthday book ideas for the men folk in your life from that post, and I would definitely recommend this book for that kind of gifting too.
Set in gangland Manchester, we meet Ethan, freshly released from prison for a crime he did not commit (no, really) and determined to get the money he’s owed for taking the fall for a GBH charge against his bosses son. There’s a problem though; the boss is losing his grip on the power and his son Tony is reluctant at best to even trust Ethan, not to mind pay him what he’s owed. So begins an adrenaline-fueled fight for survival, packed with guns, blood, dubious “full English breakfasts”, and a very cool sidekick named Daria.
This book just flows so well, I found I’d pick it up planning to read a few pages and several chapters would fly by. I was absolutely rooting for Ethan and Daria; more of them please! I would love to read another book about their very grim adventures. I’d also love to see a tv adaptation!
On that note; this is a bleak story at times, with some black humour scattered throughout. Expect a lot of violence but also to be on the absolute edge of your seat reading it.
A seriously well-paced, atmospheric crime drama, completely unlike anything else I’ve read this year. Recommend!
Deliciously dark & realistically atmospheric, I really enjoyed being in the world of Ethan. Well maybe 'enjoyed isn't quite the right word, but you get my drift?I was glad to only be an onlooker through the pages of the book rather than right in the middle of it all Well written, beautifully developed characters, perfectly paced and deliciously dark. I loved it.
Wow this is quite a gritty novel, as it involves gang members it’s not normally something I’d read but it’s well written with interesting characters and it keeps you involved with a fast moving plot. 4.5* from me