Special: What if vigilante justice went too far...

by Andy Rivers

Praise for Andy Rivers :- "Great writing, great characters. No punches pulled in this novel!" Sheila Quigley "A thumping debut from a barnstorming new talent" Danny King "A new and original voice in crime fiction" Howard Linskey Behind every tough, rundown, drug and crime-ridden estate there's always an untouchable hardcase controlling it. In Byker that person is Falcus...or so he thinks. His crown is slipping, the challenges are constant and, what he and the rest of the little scrotes that infest this hole are about to realise, is there is a power struggle going on; a real threat to how things are run round here. A vigilante soon makes himself known. He's the new face, taking on any scumbag who gets in his way, picking them off one by one until only the kingpin is left... Special is a gritty crime drama set in a world where unemployment is rife, petty thievery is the norm and the iron fist rules. This is where your face gets punched if it doesn't fit, where your wallet gets taxed if you walk down the wrong street and your car gets TWOCed if you leave it there long enough. This is Byker; a story of real life.

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2014

About the author

I've been a Butlins barman, pretend carpenter on a Spanish construction site, coach holiday rep, mobile sandwich salesman and outdoor traffic cone washer to name but a few of my eclectic 'career' choices. Whilst I always had a desire to be a writer the neccessity of earning beer tokens on a regular basis, as well as the nagging little voice in my head that proclaimed that 'people like us don't do things like that', distracted me from this aim. However, the death of a close friend at a young age, combined with the soul-destroying office politics of the middle-management tier in the logistics industry I had somehow blagged my way into, sent me frantically scrabbling for my pen again.

To date, I've had four books published (see the 'Books' tab) and written countless articles for fanzines and online mags. I've had short stories published in the mighty 'Radgepacket' collections (Byker Books) and various other places and have provided a number of excerpts from my stuff for other author/publisher collections.

Originally from the East End of Newcastle I currently live in Oxfordshire where, as well as following Newcastle United around the country and being disapppointed, I pass the time by indulging in my passion for dossing about. Luckily this fits the writers profile extremely well...

I'm currently unrepresented but will be seeking to rectify that soon as I have a number of ideas and projects in the pipeline that'll take the world by storm...honest!

Feel free to email me at rivs@andyrivers.co.uk, leave comments on my website, check out my facebook page and say hello or even follow me on twitter - I'll follow you back man!

Cheers

Andy

Reviews

[Linda Guest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m always pleased to read a crime novel set in England instead of America and Special has to be one of my favourite recent novels. The setting of the rundown estate of Byker and the gritty language with some dialectal words, makes the novel very believable and the characterisations of ‘hard’ men and teenagers growing up in a world where drugs and drink are readily available is instantly recognisable as urban England. The storyline of a vigilante who is murdering petty thieves and muggers, most of whom are in the employ of Falcus; the neighbourhood kingpin, initially seemed a bit disappointing as it appeared fairly obvious who the vigilante was going to be. However, I was so wrong. I can thoroughly recommend this novel both for capturing a bitter, tainted world so accurately and enabling the reader to empathise with some of the characters (and hate others) but most of all for providing an extremely clever plot twist at the end.

[Suzanne Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. I really enjoyed it. The characters although hard men were somehow quite likeable - maybe not what the author was aiming for. There was humour in it too and a twist at the end that I didn't see coming. All in all a great read

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series which is set in the Byker area in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
This book was as good as the first one in the series. The author has perfectly captured the north eastern dialect and sense of humour which at times can seem alien to outsiders.
Without giving too much away, this book deals with the concept of vigilantism and what happens when somebody decides to clean up the area so to speak. The characters were all believable and the problems present in the book (such as drugs, drink, unemployment and gangs) can easily be found in any large town in the country. The author clearly has an insight into such problems and easily uses his knowledge to his advantage.
I did really enjoy this book and look forward to reading any further books by this author.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was fab . A vigilante on the loose and running rings round everyone . I never guessed who it was at all . A great read . 5 stars from me