What do you think?
Rate this book
Blackspoon
If you were at the centre of a real-life conspiracy, would you even know it?
Charlie has just smuggled five kilos of uncut heroin back from the war in Afghanistan. This much he knows for sure. He also knows that, after he made it through customs, another solider was caught doing the same as him. And that the military policemen who provided safe passage; one of them has been found dead in an apparent suicide, while the other one has gone AWOL. Is it really possible there’s some kind of cover-up going on? Because even if there is –even if Charlie knew that for sure- who’d believe him? After all, he’s a criminal now. Veteran of a war no one quite understands. Praying, hoping. Waiting for whatever’s coming next.
Blackspoon is a pulp crime thriller in the classic mould. Filled with a remarkable cast of losers, cheaters and ne'er-do-wells, its protagonist is a complex, compelling figure hamstrung by his own poor decisions as he's inexplicably drawn into an underworld rife with drugs, exploitation and institutional corruption. Forced to take decisive action, Charlie's is an odyssey filled with violence, humour and mostly (although not exclusively) unrequited lust that, even by his own reckoning, he may or may not survive.
Charlie has just smuggled five kilos of uncut heroin back from the war in Afghanistan. This much he knows for sure. He also knows that, after he made it through customs, another solider was caught doing the same as him. And that the military policemen who provided safe passage; one of them has been found dead in an apparent suicide, while the other one has gone AWOL. Is it really possible there’s some kind of cover-up going on? Because even if there is –even if Charlie knew that for sure- who’d believe him? After all, he’s a criminal now. Veteran of a war no one quite understands. Praying, hoping. Waiting for whatever’s coming next.
Blackspoon is a pulp crime thriller in the classic mould. Filled with a remarkable cast of losers, cheaters and ne'er-do-wells, its protagonist is a complex, compelling figure hamstrung by his own poor decisions as he's inexplicably drawn into an underworld rife with drugs, exploitation and institutional corruption. Forced to take decisive action, Charlie's is an odyssey filled with violence, humour and mostly (although not exclusively) unrequited lust that, even by his own reckoning, he may or may not survive.
201 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 4, 2015
10 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 30, 2015
Blackspoon
Daniel Eagleton
Thriller
201 pages
5 stars out of 5. Dec. 28, 2015
RAF member Charlie Wetherspoon flew from Afghanistan with five kilo's of heroin taped to his roiling stomach. He'd agreed to be a drug mule for a fee of $10,000. But then, Charlie got greedy. However, more money wouldn't erase the mess Charlie soon found himself being dragged into. Charlie's pathetic, short sighted focus blinded him to coming events as they exploded around him. Soon he was in the sights of the military, the police and drug dealers.
The writing style, pace and slang used in the story are U.K. English. The story telling is crisp and well done while being depressing.
The story is free of obvious editing errors and the plot is dark and dangerous. You can sense from the beginning that things are not going to end well for Charlie's pathetic, dreg of society character.
Charlie and the lazy, crazy sub-characters are well developed to where I'd not want to waste any time getting to know them.
Sentence structure was out of the norm of American English authors but typical and acceptable for UK writing. The plot was fresh and held my interest; but at times I wanted to put the book down because there are no heroes here. Losers and criminals abound, and it was hard to accept the dismal futures of those characters. But those people have a life too, and it was realistically portrayed in Blackspoon.
This review was made in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Daniel Eagleton
Thriller
201 pages
5 stars out of 5. Dec. 28, 2015
RAF member Charlie Wetherspoon flew from Afghanistan with five kilo's of heroin taped to his roiling stomach. He'd agreed to be a drug mule for a fee of $10,000. But then, Charlie got greedy. However, more money wouldn't erase the mess Charlie soon found himself being dragged into. Charlie's pathetic, short sighted focus blinded him to coming events as they exploded around him. Soon he was in the sights of the military, the police and drug dealers.
The writing style, pace and slang used in the story are U.K. English. The story telling is crisp and well done while being depressing.
The story is free of obvious editing errors and the plot is dark and dangerous. You can sense from the beginning that things are not going to end well for Charlie's pathetic, dreg of society character.
Charlie and the lazy, crazy sub-characters are well developed to where I'd not want to waste any time getting to know them.
Sentence structure was out of the norm of American English authors but typical and acceptable for UK writing. The plot was fresh and held my interest; but at times I wanted to put the book down because there are no heroes here. Losers and criminals abound, and it was hard to accept the dismal futures of those characters. But those people have a life too, and it was realistically portrayed in Blackspoon.
This review was made in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
September 3, 2016
This was a totally effortless read. Although it was competing with other activities, I read it in a few days because I took every opportunity to pick it up.
The lead character Charlie is very much an anti-hero who has committed a serious criminal act, but he gets some sympathy because he has been groomed by a senior colleague at a time when he was disillusioned with love and work.
At times I struggled to follow his logic as his many of his actions only made things worse, but who knows what we would do if we were in his desperate situation.
As the story develops he gets into a number of scrapes involving a variety of interesting characters who, true to life, have their own flaws and burdens. Whilst I do not recall laughing out loud, there was plenty of humour alongside the serious issues.
I particularly enjoyed one aspect of Daniel Eagleton’s writing style, when he would sum up and emphasise by using some short staccato lines such as:
Overall?
Charlie was surprised at how glad he was to be back.
Good honest work.
Why had he been so down on it before?
I have no hesitation in awarding this book five stars. Hopefully Eagleton will not get upset by me saying that it will never become a classic, but for a low investment of time and money I would recommend it to anyone who likes a simple action packed read.
Reviewed by Clive at www.whisperingstories.com
The lead character Charlie is very much an anti-hero who has committed a serious criminal act, but he gets some sympathy because he has been groomed by a senior colleague at a time when he was disillusioned with love and work.
At times I struggled to follow his logic as his many of his actions only made things worse, but who knows what we would do if we were in his desperate situation.
As the story develops he gets into a number of scrapes involving a variety of interesting characters who, true to life, have their own flaws and burdens. Whilst I do not recall laughing out loud, there was plenty of humour alongside the serious issues.
I particularly enjoyed one aspect of Daniel Eagleton’s writing style, when he would sum up and emphasise by using some short staccato lines such as:
Overall?
Charlie was surprised at how glad he was to be back.
Good honest work.
Why had he been so down on it before?
I have no hesitation in awarding this book five stars. Hopefully Eagleton will not get upset by me saying that it will never become a classic, but for a low investment of time and money I would recommend it to anyone who likes a simple action packed read.
Reviewed by Clive at www.whisperingstories.com
May 6, 2016
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an HONEST review*
This is a genre unfamiliar to me, but I was excited to be offered the chance to branch out. It wasn't as hard to read as I was expecting! The story had a nice rhythm to it, and the main characters were well defined. Getting to see the story of a soldier dragged into the underbelly of things through the eyes of said soldier made for great story telling, and I'm really glad I read it!
Bob says: 4 Platypires!
This is a genre unfamiliar to me, but I was excited to be offered the chance to branch out. It wasn't as hard to read as I was expecting! The story had a nice rhythm to it, and the main characters were well defined. Getting to see the story of a soldier dragged into the underbelly of things through the eyes of said soldier made for great story telling, and I'm really glad I read it!
Bob says: 4 Platypires!
March 6, 2017
Intriguing Read
This book is about how the choices one makes in life can affect them and the rest of their life. It is well written and the main character keeps the reader guessing what he will do next. Would like to read more by this author, but this is the only book written by him listed on Amazon. It is a good read and I recommend it to those who like this genre of books.
This book is about how the choices one makes in life can affect them and the rest of their life. It is well written and the main character keeps the reader guessing what he will do next. Would like to read more by this author, but this is the only book written by him listed on Amazon. It is a good read and I recommend it to those who like this genre of books.
October 12, 2016
Pretty boring
No action in this at all. Got through 50% and this guy does is think and drink. You don't even know how this whole thing is headed: does he have a problem or not. That's the entire plot. Skip it. Not worth reading for free!
No action in this at all. Got through 50% and this guy does is think and drink. You don't even know how this whole thing is headed: does he have a problem or not. That's the entire plot. Skip it. Not worth reading for free!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews