Drivers

by Peter Carroll

What would you do if someone offered you a great job with a company car, an expense account and the chance to drive the girl of your dreams around all day? You'd bite their hand off, right? What if the guy offering the job is a violent gangster and the girl of your dreams is his only daughter? Still keen?

Ross Fleming decides to take the job but his dreams turn to nightmares as the girl takes him on a journey he'll never forget.

Revenge, justice, loyalty, lies, love, anger and an identity crisis. Turns out, the new chauffeur is not her only driver...so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Genres: Crime

149 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2014

About the author

I'm a Scottish person, married, with one daughter and currently living in Dunblane, Scotland.

I've written seven novels, so far: mostly crime fiction. The DI Adam Stark series has four books out now and a fifth under construction. There are a couple of standalone crime novels and a post-apocalyptic, Scottish horror. They should all be listed below. My main literary influences are Irvine Welsh, Chris Brookmyre and Stephen King. As a result, my stuff is often dark, violent, and peppered with profanity, but there's a lot of humour too.

You can get an exclusive FREE short story http://petercarrollemailsign-up.gr8.com/ when you sign up for my newsletter.

I can also be found on facebook.com/PCNovel1

Reviews

[Stephen Clynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ross Fleming lands a job as a driver for a gangster in Glasgow. He thinks this is an easy dream job, what could possibly go wrong?

I found Drivers to be a violent, fast paced thriller set amongst the criminal underworld in Scotland. There are lots of characters with dubious nicknames and very colourful history.

This novel floats about quite a bit over time, going backwards and forwards resulting in the reader knowing more about the background of the other characters, than the central character Ross Fleming does.
The dangers are obvious and I wished Ross would simply walk away and seek a less glamorous job. I lacked empathy for Ross as he was acting the fool.

The other characters in this thriller were simply bad, nasty people who you would never want to associate with. Drivers lacked any likeable characters and I felt their whole lives were a mess.

I found Drivers to be an OKAY 3 star read along the lines of a violent soap opera. Peter’s writing style was rather tabloid but very easy to follow. There was a lot of gang warfare that followed regular plot lines. This is a run-of-the-mill thriller centred around the day to day life of the unseen criminal underworld. My lasting impression is thank goodness I have NEVER met anyone like a character in this book. What a mess some people’s lives become. My reading pleasure was okay but Drivers lacked a USP - unique selling point. There was no feel good factor in this book but it was certainly thrilling with no boring or slow bits.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drivers is a quick and reasonably entertaining read about gangsters in Scotland and how a young man without much of a future, Ross, gets involved with them. The storyline jumps about between characters, revealing their own part in the story, and it turns out that everyone is connected to everyone else somehow. There are a few unsavoury characters who cross and double-cross each other with several outbreaks of violence to settle things. No particularly memorable, but a decent effort.

[Samantha Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another new author for me and I was not disappointed.

Really did enjoy it gangsta style lol

[David Clarkson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book whilst browsing the free section of the Kindle store. I read the sample and thought it was well written so I decided to give it a go. I was not disappointed.

The novel alternates very smoothly between the present day story of Ross, a down on his luck kid who takes a job as chauffeur for a Glasgow gang boss, and flashbacks that chronicle the rise from small time henchman to the very top of the criminal food chain for Ross' new employer, Tommy.

The writing is lean yet descriptive, and the action is extremely well paced. Gangster novels (particularly British ones) can tend to be a little over the top when it comes to the violence and language used, but this book is tastefully written without lessening the impact of the gorier and more hard hitting elements of the story.

Realistic and thoroughly entertaining it manages to avoid all of the popular cliches of British crime fiction. In a crowded genre, this is a book that definitely deserves to stand out out from the crowd.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carroll does something pretty brave – he starts out with Scottish fiction with a dash of Tartan Noir, blends in a sprinkle of Breaking Bad, takes us on a rollercoaster ride through Glasgow’s gangland, and never gives in to conventional story-telling. With more energy than a can of fortified Irn Bru, it’s a tangled love story and a warped morality tale, and never short of twists and turns. Carroll is a great example of an indie author who’s fizzing with ideas and not afraid to be bold in a book market where established authors play it safe. Looking forward to his next one.

[Ted Tayler · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Gritty Glasgow thriller”

Glasgow; where hard men are made from girders.
Somehow believable throughout despite the extreme methods of exacting revenge. Which makes it even more chilling.
More please Mr. Carroll.
I loved it.

[Blondiemem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick crime noir read. Interesting use if flashbacks to provide entire backstory for current characters!

[Calzean · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bad guy in Glasgow double crosses another bad guy who eventually gets double crossed by the one he least expects it from. In the middle is the innocent Ross who thinks the girl of his dreams is in love with him. A good book to read on a plane.