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Flack's Last Shift
Harry Flack is reliable and his judgement is cast-iron. For years, as the longest-serving night-lawyer for The Record, he has kept the newspaper out of court. But on the last day of his working life, a new editor arrives. It's Eddie Conrad, and Flack has reasons to seek revenge on him for affairs between them and others that are set deep in the past…
Eliminating legal problems has been Flack's life-blood for a quarter of a century. He knows them intimately; he is Fleet Street's finest. But will creating legal blunders to incriminate Conrad be as easy? Can he do it without implicating himself? And can anyone stop him?
With newsroom twists and turns and a rare sense of absurdist wit, Flack's Last Shift blurs fact and fiction, shining a light on what goes on behind the scenes on Fleet Street. It is a deft portrayal of the newspaper world at a time of unprecedented change and upheaval. Next time you pick up a paper, you'll think twice about how it's ended up on the newsstand.
Eliminating legal problems has been Flack's life-blood for a quarter of a century. He knows them intimately; he is Fleet Street's finest. But will creating legal blunders to incriminate Conrad be as easy? Can he do it without implicating himself? And can anyone stop him?
With newsroom twists and turns and a rare sense of absurdist wit, Flack's Last Shift blurs fact and fiction, shining a light on what goes on behind the scenes on Fleet Street. It is a deft portrayal of the newspaper world at a time of unprecedented change and upheaval. Next time you pick up a paper, you'll think twice about how it's ended up on the newsstand.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published June 9, 2016
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Alex Wade
31 books6 followersAlex Wade was born in Chiswick, London in 1966. Despite an upbringing in Devon he remains a dedicated QPR fan, often travelling from his home near Sennen Cove to games in Shepherd's Bush.
Alex's principal interests as a writer are law, sport (especially football, surfing and boxing), poker (Alex played, while a columnist for Flush magazine, in poker tournaments around the world) and travel, as well as general features, football match reports (for The Game, the acclaimed supplement of The Times) and book reviews (for The Times Books and Times Literary Supplement section).
Many years ago, when he was a media lawyer, Alex worked for leading libel firm Carter-Ruck before becoming now-Express Group proprietor Richard Desmond's first Head of Legal Affairs. Subsequently Alex's unreconstructed tendencies got the better of him. His life went off the rails but boxing played a large part in his rehabilitation. This story is chronicled in Wrecking Machine, a Sunday Times sports book of the week ("superb", "irresistible") but also one that saw Metro's book reviewer characterise it as "drivel" written by "a sexist womaniser who likes a drink or six". Best to buy it and make your own mind up.
Since 2002, Alex has worked mainly as a writer. He has also enjoyed stints as a licensed bookmaker and a sports rights consultant, selling the rights to key properties such as the FA Premier League in territories as diverse as Albania, Georgia and Azerbaijan. He has made a number of media appearances including Sky News, Talksport, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Radio Five Live.
Alex has travelled extensively. He has written about New York, Albania and Kazakhstan; Barbados, Ireland and Andalucia; Captain Cook country, Mexico and Francis Ford Coppola's retreats in Belize and Guatemala. His two sons, Harry and Elliot, are keen surfers, and Alex continues to surf, box and play football despite surgery on his neck in 2009 and any number of sports injuries from repeated shoulder dislocations to broken bones and torn ligaments.
For many years Alex worked as a night lawyer for national newspapers including The Times, Independent and Sun. In 2006 Alex was the lawyer behind the scenes for Frank Skinner and David Baddiel's FIFA World Cup podcasts for The Times, and he continues to provide pre-publication legal advice either directly for clients or via Frugal Speech Ltd, an editorial services company which he runs with his partner Caroline Davidson.
Alex was proud to serve on the committee of Walcot Amateur Boxing Club in Swindon and is pleased to note that Wrecking Machine is, apparently, the most popular book in at least one of Her Majesty's institutions.
Alex Wade's literary agents are Jonathan Harris and David Luxton.
Alex's principal interests as a writer are law, sport (especially football, surfing and boxing), poker (Alex played, while a columnist for Flush magazine, in poker tournaments around the world) and travel, as well as general features, football match reports (for The Game, the acclaimed supplement of The Times) and book reviews (for The Times Books and Times Literary Supplement section).
Many years ago, when he was a media lawyer, Alex worked for leading libel firm Carter-Ruck before becoming now-Express Group proprietor Richard Desmond's first Head of Legal Affairs. Subsequently Alex's unreconstructed tendencies got the better of him. His life went off the rails but boxing played a large part in his rehabilitation. This story is chronicled in Wrecking Machine, a Sunday Times sports book of the week ("superb", "irresistible") but also one that saw Metro's book reviewer characterise it as "drivel" written by "a sexist womaniser who likes a drink or six". Best to buy it and make your own mind up.
Since 2002, Alex has worked mainly as a writer. He has also enjoyed stints as a licensed bookmaker and a sports rights consultant, selling the rights to key properties such as the FA Premier League in territories as diverse as Albania, Georgia and Azerbaijan. He has made a number of media appearances including Sky News, Talksport, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Radio Five Live.
Alex has travelled extensively. He has written about New York, Albania and Kazakhstan; Barbados, Ireland and Andalucia; Captain Cook country, Mexico and Francis Ford Coppola's retreats in Belize and Guatemala. His two sons, Harry and Elliot, are keen surfers, and Alex continues to surf, box and play football despite surgery on his neck in 2009 and any number of sports injuries from repeated shoulder dislocations to broken bones and torn ligaments.
For many years Alex worked as a night lawyer for national newspapers including The Times, Independent and Sun. In 2006 Alex was the lawyer behind the scenes for Frank Skinner and David Baddiel's FIFA World Cup podcasts for The Times, and he continues to provide pre-publication legal advice either directly for clients or via Frugal Speech Ltd, an editorial services company which he runs with his partner Caroline Davidson.
Alex was proud to serve on the committee of Walcot Amateur Boxing Club in Swindon and is pleased to note that Wrecking Machine is, apparently, the most popular book in at least one of Her Majesty's institutions.
Alex Wade's literary agents are Jonathan Harris and David Luxton.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 11, 2022
This was a very disappointing read. Ironically, given the subject matter, it would have benefitted from a good editor. Exposition was clunky, and the author doesn't credit his readers with much intelligence: plot points were often laboured. But good editing, though it would have helped, would not have redeemed this. Characterisation was poor and the plot insufficient for a novel of this length - and I guessed the twist well before the end. Only kept going because I rarely give up on a novel once started. But really, I should probably have done so, in this case.
August 8, 2016
If you want to know what it's like to be a night lawyer at a newspaper this will give you a great insight! Full of amusing stories and characters (I have to say that, being in it!) this was an enjoyable story. The ending was a little tame for my liking and I guessed the twist about half way through, but I still enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews