Harry

by Glen R. Stansfield

For twenty-five years Harry has hidden a dark secret. He likes to kill. Trained by the military, Harry discovered his desires in the streets of occupied Kuwait but buried them deep within his soul on his return to Britain. Until now. The death of a former soldier releases the forces Harry suppressed all those years ago and he embarks on a crusade to free the streets of London from petty criminals. They trained him to kill, and now they can't stop him.

284 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2016

About the author

Glen R Stansfield likes to kill people – in stories – mostly!

Born in Rossendale, in the Lancashire Pennines, he grew up with a freedom and innocence he believes children no longer enjoy. They were magical times when play was a product of the imagination; a tree trunk became a pirate ship, a stick was a sword: all done without the aid of electronics.

Crafting stories with a twist or two, and with strong female protagonists leading the way, he encourages his readers to examine contemporary social issues, without losing sight of the fact a story must be entertaining.

He has published three novels, Fishing for Stones and Harry, and Out of Darkness.

Contributions to several print and online publications led to the release of a cookbook Around the World in Eighty Dishes.

Glen also has a short story in the anthology, Arabian Noir, the first ever title released by a chapter of the Crime Writers Association.

He now resides in Scotland with his wife Jess, and is currently an ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors, encouraging authors worldwide.

Reviews

[Batool Fardan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it was a bad idea to read this book.
not if I wanted to be on the newspaper under the title "A young woman commits several murders" .

I will blame the author when it comes to that.

but that doesn't mean I didn't like it . with all those different " creative " kinds of murdering , which I loved ! in fact I found myself laughing that evil laugh while reading those parts specifically until I've noticed that I have some mental issues.

Although, Harry storyline reminds me somehow of the anime Death Note. both have the same idea of applying tge law. Deja vu huh ?

one thing I didn't like on this book it is the amount of the different perspectives. few of them wasn't that important to be included in the story. got me really confused, remembering all those names that was a hard work for me.

when it comes to how the story ends , I don't know how to feel about it. but surly not so satisfying to me . got really mixed feeling about it. never thought it will turned up to be " HIM " .

finally, many thanks to the kind person who recommended me this book and gave it to me.
it turns out that was actually my favourite kind of books.

[Lilacraindrops · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had both this book and Glen R Stansfield's first book, 'Fishing For Stones' bought for me as Christmas gifts. This book 'Harry' revisits some of the characters from 'Fishing For Stones'; however it is not necessary to have read 'Fishing For Stones' previously, as the book is also capable of being a standalone.

Well where to begin? I could not put this book down and if that was indeed possible, loved it even more than 'Fishing For Stones'. The characters are strong, three dimensional and very believable. I actually cared for the characters and when finished the book, felt quite bereft as I just wanted to carry on reading, and find out what Glen has in-store for the characters in the future. The story is very clever with twists and turns and surprises along the way. The ending is perfect and leaves it wide open for sequels; which I cross my fingers and toes for.

As in 'Fishing For Stones' Glen draws on what I gather, reading the about the author blurb at the back of the book, his knowledge and experience in certain areas, which, as I mentioned above, makes the story, plot and characters very believable.

I cannot recommend this book enough, and I excitedly wait for further publications from this talented author.

[Seumas Gallacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

…danger stalks the night streets of Tower Hamlets in London… a wave of unwarranted vicious attacks bring serious injury to defenceless street-sleepers… until the inevitable death of a homeless man… the detective hunting the assailants is faced with a parallel crop of reprisal killings to solve as bodies of criminal offenders in the area turn up with regularity… evidence points toward a vengeful figure, living in the shadows of the borough… a man with honed professional killing skills coupled with an addictive hungry lust to watch others die by his hand… Harry’s rules govern his own brand of justice…

[Jo Roderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another terrific novel by Glen R Stansfield. While Harry doesn’t quite follow on from Fishing for Stones, it does share some of the same characters, which is always a plus as far as I am concerned. However, it must be noted that Harry is not the same character from the previous book.

In keeping with the author’s style, the characters are distinct, and tangibly real, even those operating outside of the norm. There is an arc of change and development for most of them, which makes for refreshing reading. Additionally, there prevails a sense of hope in the writing.

There are some interesting twists and reveals as one progresses, and it’s the marque of an excellent writer. The structure of the novel lends itself to the creation of a robust series, each book self-contained, and I’m rather eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

Overall, Harry is a great read without the senseless and vivid gore. I found it to be creative and original. If you enjoy a good mystery or crime story, this one fulfils both.

[Su Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed this author’s debut novel “Fishing for Stones” I immediately purchased this book on it’s release with the intention of reading it straight away.  Unfortunately, for various reasons, I have only just been able to do so and have definitely missed out on a treat.  Whilst very different from his first book I was not disappointed.   By introducing new characters along with using a couple from the first novel lent a nice feel to the story but by no means does the reader need to have read the first to fully enjoy or understand the second.  Without giving anything away, the ending was not what I expected which in itself was a pleasure and surprise.   I am intrigued to find out what Mr Stansfield has in store for his next novel - please keep up the good work!  Definitely recommend!

[Simon Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Violence strikes the heart of London with the death of a rough sleeper after other attacks on them leave a community in fear, the police struggle to find a motive and that is made worse when attacks start targeting the criminal underbelly......
Through this moves Harry, like a great White shark or a prowling Tiger explosive violence and destruction travels with him.....a need to kill honed on the modern battlefields brought home and looking for release.....
With sharp prose, believable characters the Author brings us a powerful first book. looking forward to more

[Hesham N. Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I believe the grasp of the whole murder mystery environment of the story was good, I wasn't quite amused with most of its events, which I felt as though some of the chapters were just there to delay the inevitable.

I lost track of the murder at some points throughout reading and couldn't really tell who was who, since the author was presenting so many characters so randomly in their own stand-alone chapters (which some I felt as though had nothing to do with the story at all... irrelevant)

The book is entitled "Harry" and to my surprise I feel like he barely showed up (up until the end of course)

And the writing itself was mostly based on character/personality descriptions that could go on for a whole chapter (which I kind of liked really, cause it focused on who these people actually were on the inside whether they were relevant or not) there was a variety of interesting people I can tell you that. And overall, I think for any crime genre lovers out, this book would be enjoyable (but not to those who compare this newly debuted author's work to other big time crime novelists out there)