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Dead Poor
Private detective Tom Barlow has been tasked with making a documentary about the Met Police’s investigation of a serial killer; a deadly sniper intent on murdering the poor. As Barlow races to identify the killer before they can strike again, he comes to realise that he’s involved in something far more dangerous than he’d imagined. Forced to dodge bullets, fight robotic spider assassins and make deals with killers, Barlow goes up against the Met’s top brass in his determination to expose the truth. But one year later, split loyalties have enabled a cover up, and when the investigation leads to a gruesome torture shed with two corpses, it’s Tom Barlow who finds himself the prime suspect.Set in a dystopian England in the near future, Tom Barlow’s life is shattered as he tracks killers, protects a woman he’s in love with and re-discovers the man he used to be. Two books cover the same 18 hectic days. In Dead Poor Barlow is forced to revisit those frenetic days from a year before as his suppressed report into the serial killings finally surfaces, and in Feel.it, he risks everything to get close to mega-star, Roxanne Payne, a woman he’s obsessed with. In both books, Barlow finds his future unexpectedly entwined with that of Alexandria (Lex) de Montford, who is having her own problems with deceit, double-cross and death. Tom discovers that she is both angel and demon. She discovers what a psychotic, blackmailing bastard he really is.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2015
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Ian Wingrove
7 books10 followersAbout me
I was born in 1961 (Battersea, London) and had a wonderful childhood growing up on a very nice council estate.
Moved to Norwich in 2015 and self-published my first two novels, called Dead Poor and Feel.it.
Spent 15 years working for the greens on the London Assembly as senior press officer, researcher and (for 1 year) business manager for the London deputy Mayor. Now do communications for the Green Baroness and Clean Air London.
My father was a sheet-metal worker, trade unionist and amateur boxer. My mother was an office administrator who is now at the pinnacle of a large family tree consisting of 3 children, 14 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. My extended family is one of the things I love, but here are some more.
Things I love: writing fiction, playing football, my kids (aged 4, 6 and 21), my gorgeous wife, our wonderful planet, festivals, music while I work, the NHS.
Things I’m not keen on drive-by shootings, cuts to services and privatisation, lawless roads, Thatcher, powerful people and corporations who abuse the world.
Things that make me cry None of the above; however, I‘m a sucker for tragic romances.
Things I enjoy discovering new things, cycling, great films and TV series, remembering good stuff, hanging out with the kids, all that amazing live culture that goes on in theatres, clubs and small venues, being on the side of the underdog, good food, drink and friends.
Things I’ve done to earn money delivering laundry, cleaning, decorating, running a clothes stall, owner driver/courier, local trade union official, factory work, library assistant.
Things that excite me the prospect of editing and publishing my next novel.
I was born in 1961 (Battersea, London) and had a wonderful childhood growing up on a very nice council estate.
Moved to Norwich in 2015 and self-published my first two novels, called Dead Poor and Feel.it.
Spent 15 years working for the greens on the London Assembly as senior press officer, researcher and (for 1 year) business manager for the London deputy Mayor. Now do communications for the Green Baroness and Clean Air London.
My father was a sheet-metal worker, trade unionist and amateur boxer. My mother was an office administrator who is now at the pinnacle of a large family tree consisting of 3 children, 14 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. My extended family is one of the things I love, but here are some more.
Things I love: writing fiction, playing football, my kids (aged 4, 6 and 21), my gorgeous wife, our wonderful planet, festivals, music while I work, the NHS.
Things I’m not keen on drive-by shootings, cuts to services and privatisation, lawless roads, Thatcher, powerful people and corporations who abuse the world.
Things that make me cry None of the above; however, I‘m a sucker for tragic romances.
Things I enjoy discovering new things, cycling, great films and TV series, remembering good stuff, hanging out with the kids, all that amazing live culture that goes on in theatres, clubs and small venues, being on the side of the underdog, good food, drink and friends.
Things I’ve done to earn money delivering laundry, cleaning, decorating, running a clothes stall, owner driver/courier, local trade union official, factory work, library assistant.
Things that excite me the prospect of editing and publishing my next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 22, 2016
Dead Poor is set in the near future and is a compelling read.
The plot keeps you guessing with clever, well timed twists to keep you on your toes. The demonisation of the poor in this story bears disturbing resemblance to current anti welfare policies but with a sinister edge.
A worthwhile read
The plot keeps you guessing with clever, well timed twists to keep you on your toes. The demonisation of the poor in this story bears disturbing resemblance to current anti welfare policies but with a sinister edge.
A worthwhile read
June 28, 2016
In debut author Ian Wingrove's thought-provoking political thriller, a dystopian near-future Britain is, more than ever, a society of the haves and have-nots. Parliamentary government has collapsed and political power centres on the monarchy. There is still a welfare state, but those who use it are reviled and subjected to ruthless means testing. Those deemed to be abusing the system - "scuzzers", as they are called - are publicly named and shamed.
Now someone wants to go even further. An anonymous vigilante has published a violent manifesto online, and before long benefit recipients are being murdered, gunned down in the street. Enter Tom Barlow and his crack team of private detectives. They have been called in ostensibly to make a feel-good documentary about the success of the police investigation, but are actually conducting a more in-depth enquiry of their own. Barlow soon thinks he knows who is responsible for the killings, but as he and his firm get closer, they run up against resistance and corruption in the police - and at the highest levels of power.
A year later, Detective Inspector Daniel Peters' investigation into another double murder reveals multiple connections to the earlier series of crimes - and his prime suspect is none other than Tom Barlow...
Wingrove has written a complex, thought-provoking extrapolation of current social politics in Britain, its relevance made still more urgent by the recent Brexit vote. He interweaves Barlow's investigation with the tale of a police officer named Peters, who is leading an enquiry into another murder that takes place more than a year later. The novel's future Britain setting is convincingly drawn, its differences to ours stark enough to disturb yet close enough to spur recognition. The well-realised cast of characters navigate a dystopian social landscape with the help of plausibly futuristic gadgets that Wingrove introduces skilfully, so that they add to the interest and tension but are never allowed to overwhelm the story.
Dead Poor is introduced as the first of a pair of novels that take place during the same timeframe and involve many of the same characters. This creates a significant problem in that events from the second, as yet unpublished, novel inform the actions of characters in this one, which makes it difficult if not impossible for the reader to understand their motivations. In particular, Barlow has another major job going on at the same time as the serial killer investigation, in which he has been assigned to protect a reality TV star with whom he is infatuated and who has a significant, never fully explained relationship with another major character. Dramatic events related to that assignment are clearly affecting him, but they are not shown, only hinted at in the pages of Dead Poor. This makes for a frustrating read, particularly the dénouement (if that is the right word in this instance), which, without wishing to give too much away, leaves the reader unsure who one of the killers is and why they did it (if indeed they did).
All in all, Dead Poor is an intelligent and exciting read with the Achilles heel of an unsatisfying conclusion.
Now someone wants to go even further. An anonymous vigilante has published a violent manifesto online, and before long benefit recipients are being murdered, gunned down in the street. Enter Tom Barlow and his crack team of private detectives. They have been called in ostensibly to make a feel-good documentary about the success of the police investigation, but are actually conducting a more in-depth enquiry of their own. Barlow soon thinks he knows who is responsible for the killings, but as he and his firm get closer, they run up against resistance and corruption in the police - and at the highest levels of power.
A year later, Detective Inspector Daniel Peters' investigation into another double murder reveals multiple connections to the earlier series of crimes - and his prime suspect is none other than Tom Barlow...
Wingrove has written a complex, thought-provoking extrapolation of current social politics in Britain, its relevance made still more urgent by the recent Brexit vote. He interweaves Barlow's investigation with the tale of a police officer named Peters, who is leading an enquiry into another murder that takes place more than a year later. The novel's future Britain setting is convincingly drawn, its differences to ours stark enough to disturb yet close enough to spur recognition. The well-realised cast of characters navigate a dystopian social landscape with the help of plausibly futuristic gadgets that Wingrove introduces skilfully, so that they add to the interest and tension but are never allowed to overwhelm the story.
Dead Poor is introduced as the first of a pair of novels that take place during the same timeframe and involve many of the same characters. This creates a significant problem in that events from the second, as yet unpublished, novel inform the actions of characters in this one, which makes it difficult if not impossible for the reader to understand their motivations. In particular, Barlow has another major job going on at the same time as the serial killer investigation, in which he has been assigned to protect a reality TV star with whom he is infatuated and who has a significant, never fully explained relationship with another major character. Dramatic events related to that assignment are clearly affecting him, but they are not shown, only hinted at in the pages of Dead Poor. This makes for a frustrating read, particularly the dénouement (if that is the right word in this instance), which, without wishing to give too much away, leaves the reader unsure who one of the killers is and why they did it (if indeed they did).
All in all, Dead Poor is an intelligent and exciting read with the Achilles heel of an unsatisfying conclusion.
May 18, 2016
Dead Poor is the story of private detective Tom Barlow’s hunt for the individual(s) who are murdering the poor in a not too distant, dystopian England. It is a dark story, with scenes of graphic violence, but also one that is clever, inventive, and complex...perhaps too complex in some respects.
One of the things I found most interesting about the book was the author’s vision for how law enforcement and their tools and technology might change over a relatively short time. For example, Tom Barlow heads a film crew that is tasked with documenting police efforts to catch the individual(s) responsible for the killings. But his crew is also composed of detectives who augment the efforts of the police, assuring that the film has a ‘happy ending.’ In effect, Barlow’s group represents a combination of two current trends – police reality TV and privatized security forces. And as a result, law enforcement in the novel gains a rather unsavory image, where appearance, political gain, and commerce are more important than truth or regulations designed to protect individual rights. It is also a vision that seems more likely than we might like.
But for me, some of the cleverness of these ideas was obscured by two factors. First, the book was constantly shifting timeframes. The story covers two periods over a year apart – Days 1 to 15 and Days 430 to 432. While the titles of each section indicate the timeframe, the book shifts between these periods many times – 27, if I counted correctly. It became tedious trying to keep track of the status of the investigation as you moved back and forth so frequently, and there were times when I thought evidence was mentioned in the earlier timeframe after it had only been revealed later in the story…but I am probably wrong about that. And second, when you step back and look at the individuals involved in the murders, they are strange bedfellows indeed, with highly dissimilar motives. For me, it made the story seem a bit implausible.
For those interested in an innovative, clever, but complex futuristic crime read, Dead Poor will fill that interest nicely.
One of the things I found most interesting about the book was the author’s vision for how law enforcement and their tools and technology might change over a relatively short time. For example, Tom Barlow heads a film crew that is tasked with documenting police efforts to catch the individual(s) responsible for the killings. But his crew is also composed of detectives who augment the efforts of the police, assuring that the film has a ‘happy ending.’ In effect, Barlow’s group represents a combination of two current trends – police reality TV and privatized security forces. And as a result, law enforcement in the novel gains a rather unsavory image, where appearance, political gain, and commerce are more important than truth or regulations designed to protect individual rights. It is also a vision that seems more likely than we might like.
But for me, some of the cleverness of these ideas was obscured by two factors. First, the book was constantly shifting timeframes. The story covers two periods over a year apart – Days 1 to 15 and Days 430 to 432. While the titles of each section indicate the timeframe, the book shifts between these periods many times – 27, if I counted correctly. It became tedious trying to keep track of the status of the investigation as you moved back and forth so frequently, and there were times when I thought evidence was mentioned in the earlier timeframe after it had only been revealed later in the story…but I am probably wrong about that. And second, when you step back and look at the individuals involved in the murders, they are strange bedfellows indeed, with highly dissimilar motives. For me, it made the story seem a bit implausible.
For those interested in an innovative, clever, but complex futuristic crime read, Dead Poor will fill that interest nicely.
March 13, 2016
Dead Poor 16
Ian Wingrove
Genre – Detective, Crime, Thriller, Near Future
286 pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5
My impressions: futuristic, sci-fi, weird, morally corrupt, self-indulgent, heartless, brilliant, greedy.
Dead Poor has a large cast of characters, most of whom are despicable scoundrels. A small group of elite university brats form The Right Club. They propose to have the government move poor people to secure camps where they can be separated from the 'good people', closely supervised, provided with proper blue collar work, and removed from the welfare rolls.
But when a member of the group experiences violence at the hands of the dregs of society, they enter into a revenge pact that overshadows all of their original goals or ideals. They are then quick to exercise behavior worse and more extreme than that of people they have railed and plotted against.
Dead Poor is well written and, while not perfect, has few editing errors for its length. There are a half dozen each of missing words and wrong words used.
The story is told in two time frames identified by different date systems. That was confusing at first but soon became apparent.
The plot is complex and skips forward and back often enough to befuddle the reader if they don't follow closely.
These characters were well developed and the writing is intelligent and sophisticated.
The plot is fresh and complex as is the writing style.
Since there are elements of futuristic scifi, electronic and mechanical gadgets from the author's imagination are abundant.
Note! There are graphically detailed descriptions of torture that may offend the squeamish.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Ian Wingrove
Genre – Detective, Crime, Thriller, Near Future
286 pages
Rating 5 stars out of 5
My impressions: futuristic, sci-fi, weird, morally corrupt, self-indulgent, heartless, brilliant, greedy.
Dead Poor has a large cast of characters, most of whom are despicable scoundrels. A small group of elite university brats form The Right Club. They propose to have the government move poor people to secure camps where they can be separated from the 'good people', closely supervised, provided with proper blue collar work, and removed from the welfare rolls.
But when a member of the group experiences violence at the hands of the dregs of society, they enter into a revenge pact that overshadows all of their original goals or ideals. They are then quick to exercise behavior worse and more extreme than that of people they have railed and plotted against.
Dead Poor is well written and, while not perfect, has few editing errors for its length. There are a half dozen each of missing words and wrong words used.
The story is told in two time frames identified by different date systems. That was confusing at first but soon became apparent.
The plot is complex and skips forward and back often enough to befuddle the reader if they don't follow closely.
These characters were well developed and the writing is intelligent and sophisticated.
The plot is fresh and complex as is the writing style.
Since there are elements of futuristic scifi, electronic and mechanical gadgets from the author's imagination are abundant.
Note! There are graphically detailed descriptions of torture that may offend the squeamish.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
October 12, 2016
The debut novel from Ian Wingrove is pacey and dramatic. Its not without flaws; as others have identified, the number of characters is overly confusing and at times this, in my view, hampers the first part of the book. Having said that, as the novel progresses, there's more and more to sink your teeth in to. I can clearly remember what. for me, was the hook. The chapter (or perhaps sub-chapter) 'S for scuzzy', is a clever and tense piece of writing which is both highly engaging and unnerving; it felt very plausible. In fact, this book contains quite a lot of interesting social comment drawing the reader in to a near future which is disturbing and quite near the knuckle. Barlow is clearly the central character in this novel but for me it was the tenacious detective 'Peters' that I found myself rooting for; I liked him. I also liked (once I had got used to it) the changes in time from pre to post crimes. This happened throughout the book but worked particularly well as the interview with Peters began to unfold. I found myself glued to the book at this point.
It's always a relief to get to the end of a story and have all ends neatly sewn up. That doesn't happen in Dead Poor. Indeed, at the conclusion I was left with lots of unanswered questions. BUT I think that's ok, apparently there's another book out soon which (I hope) will answer these questions and fill in the gaps. I'm definitely up for reading it which has got to be a good sign!
It's always a relief to get to the end of a story and have all ends neatly sewn up. That doesn't happen in Dead Poor. Indeed, at the conclusion I was left with lots of unanswered questions. BUT I think that's ok, apparently there's another book out soon which (I hope) will answer these questions and fill in the gaps. I'm definitely up for reading it which has got to be a good sign!
January 12, 2016
This book is pacey, ingenious and fun (if I can use that word about a book detailing horrific crime).
It took me a while to get to grips with the numerous characters, but once it got going I was hooked. The plot unfolds with some ingenious twists - I anticipated one or two, which is always a pleasure, but the overall direction of the book wasn't obvious, nor so surprising as to be absurd and unsatisfying.
Set in the near future, the book describes an evolution of welfare policy that is chillingly believable. These predictions underpin the plot, and are woven in without being obtrusive. They don't get in the way of the action, or become ponderous as some sci fi or about social concerns literature is prone to.
I'd thoroughly recommend it - probably an excellent holiday read, if not a bedtime book because it kept my racing through!
It took me a while to get to grips with the numerous characters, but once it got going I was hooked. The plot unfolds with some ingenious twists - I anticipated one or two, which is always a pleasure, but the overall direction of the book wasn't obvious, nor so surprising as to be absurd and unsatisfying.
Set in the near future, the book describes an evolution of welfare policy that is chillingly believable. These predictions underpin the plot, and are woven in without being obtrusive. They don't get in the way of the action, or become ponderous as some sci fi or about social concerns literature is prone to.
I'd thoroughly recommend it - probably an excellent holiday read, if not a bedtime book because it kept my racing through!
April 23, 2016
I really enjoyed reading it, I read it quickly and as soon as I finished I wanted to start the next one. A complex detective story that turns into a pacey thriller in the last third. A book that describes a future, but seems to be talking about the present.
May 22, 2016
LOVED it. The incredible detailed description and the day-to-day race against time totally engross you and bring you along with the story. The themes provide startlingly good insight into the state of our country. Bravo!
January 14, 2016
I really enjoyed writing it and I still enjoy reading it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews