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Det.Insp. Todd "Ratso" Holtom #1
Hard Place
In this first of series, Detective Inspector Todd “Ratso” Holtom is obsessed with destruction of a murderous global drug-empire run from London. Inspired by the facts of a true crime, Hard Place is set against the background of the war in Afghanistan from where the drugs are coming. Ratso must place his career on the line by pursuing a high-risk strategy against the drug-baron who has used corruption to gain protection.
He enters a political minefield involving Scotland Yard and the Ministry of Defence in London and the Pentagon and State Department in Washington DC. The trail leads to the USA and the Bahamas where Ratso is helped by Kirsty-Ann Webber, a svelte Florida detective.
Ratso races against the clock from country to country towards a series of dramatic confrontations.
He enters a political minefield involving Scotland Yard and the Ministry of Defence in London and the Pentagon and State Department in Washington DC. The trail leads to the USA and the Bahamas where Ratso is helped by Kirsty-Ann Webber, a svelte Florida detective.
Ratso races against the clock from country to country towards a series of dramatic confrontations.
462 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
575 people are currently reading
1226 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Stewart
19 books54 followersBorn in Scotland, Douglas was brought up in England and became a London based international lawyer, later living in Las Vegas. In tandem, he developed a successful career as a widely read author of mystery thrillers and non-fiction with a chart-topper and a W H Smith Paperback of the Week to his credit.
He has written 4 books in a series of international mystery thrillers based on Det. Insp. Todd "Ratso" Holtom, a London detective. Ratso also featured in a short story contributed to Capital Crimes, an anthology, which became a number one bestseller. They are available individually or as a box set of 4.
HARD PLACE, The first in that series was hailed as the best British crime thriller the reviewer had read in 2024.
His 18th book released on 18th November 2025 is DEADLY DESCENT is the second in the series involving Finlay "Dex" Dexter. The first was the acclaimed DEADLINE VEGAS.
Douglas is a member of International Thriller Writers (ITW) of the USA. His true crime book Terror at Sea was regarded as the benchmark on modern day piracy and crime at sea.
His series of three mystery books originally published under the pen-name of Cameron Ross are now available under his own name.
When not travelling,Douglas now lives on the Isle of Man - very different from Las Vegas!
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 25, 2020
3.5*
I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was a pretty interesting crime thriller that kept my attention most of the way through. I do think that the book could have been a bit shorter and it still would have been just as good but I can see why the author wanted to have more in there to flush out the detective parts and make it feel like a case was being solved.
The diversity in characters was nice and it made it more fun to follow along with because you got to use all the different perspectives to piece together the puzzle.
I thought it was very funny that the main character is named “Ratso” because they are a detective and they literally have the word “rat” in their name.
I have the next book in this series and look forward to seeing where it goes!
I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was a pretty interesting crime thriller that kept my attention most of the way through. I do think that the book could have been a bit shorter and it still would have been just as good but I can see why the author wanted to have more in there to flush out the detective parts and make it feel like a case was being solved.
The diversity in characters was nice and it made it more fun to follow along with because you got to use all the different perspectives to piece together the puzzle.
I thought it was very funny that the main character is named “Ratso” because they are a detective and they literally have the word “rat” in their name.
I have the next book in this series and look forward to seeing where it goes!
January 30, 2018
Topdogs
Det. Todd Holtom is out to get the Albanians involved in the drug trade in England. Not just drug dealers, these are the topdogs. Long story but worth the read. Lost of ruthless characters and plenty of action. I give it 3 1/2 stars.
Det. Todd Holtom is out to get the Albanians involved in the drug trade in England. Not just drug dealers, these are the topdogs. Long story but worth the read. Lost of ruthless characters and plenty of action. I give it 3 1/2 stars.
July 4, 2015
Very much enjoyed and now looking for more of this authors titles.
December 23, 2017
Ratso is a cop in London. Kirsty-Ann is a cop in Florida. Both are working on separate cases, but you just know they are going to intersect at some point. It involves drugs.
May 30, 2024
The Best British Crime thriller I have read this Year!
Inspired by a true story, born and bred Detective Londoner Todd “Ratso” Holtom is as hard as nails. He is also a Top Detective and with his special crime team two being Tosh and Jock have been tasked with taking on Boris Zandro and his drug empire. Boris is downright evil, very elusive and considered a untouchable man as is his drug empire, who seems to have people in high places covering his back. This is a gritty thriller that you have to stick with as it just gets better and better the more you get into it! So stick with it and enjoy.
Murderous Zandro has and is untouchables who have evaded capture despite numerous attempts has a huge global drug running empire which takes “Ratso” around the world where along the way he is helped by a Florida detective called Kirsty-Ann Webber adding some romance and chemistry to the story. What I really liked is the pace and different characters within the story and the twists and turns that make it all the more interesting. Just a enjoyable British Crime Thriller made better for me because I knew so many of the places mentioned. So one to look out for! (Oh, along the way you also find out why he is called Ratso!”
Inspired by a true story, born and bred Detective Londoner Todd “Ratso” Holtom is as hard as nails. He is also a Top Detective and with his special crime team two being Tosh and Jock have been tasked with taking on Boris Zandro and his drug empire. Boris is downright evil, very elusive and considered a untouchable man as is his drug empire, who seems to have people in high places covering his back. This is a gritty thriller that you have to stick with as it just gets better and better the more you get into it! So stick with it and enjoy.
Murderous Zandro has and is untouchables who have evaded capture despite numerous attempts has a huge global drug running empire which takes “Ratso” around the world where along the way he is helped by a Florida detective called Kirsty-Ann Webber adding some romance and chemistry to the story. What I really liked is the pace and different characters within the story and the twists and turns that make it all the more interesting. Just a enjoyable British Crime Thriller made better for me because I knew so many of the places mentioned. So one to look out for! (Oh, along the way you also find out why he is called Ratso!”
July 3, 2025
I really enjoyed this book - wide canvas, complex threads, other countries, fast-paced, almost 'James Bond'. I'd have given 5 stars for that. But ...
Even though I got this book from Amazon and it was published by "Chewton" (if that is an actual publisher) there were some pretty bad editing clunkers. Several sentences in different places were garbage and made no sense - accidental editing cut / paste, maybe? And some of the chapters were not separated out, with their headline appearing in the flow of text.
And I do like a book that conforms to Kindle standards so I can quickly nip up and down by chapter, so useful in a story like this with very different characters and places to keep in mind. This book was not one of them...
Anyway, I'll be looking for some more of Douglas Stewart's stories and hope the content will be as good as this one nearly was.
Even though I got this book from Amazon and it was published by "Chewton" (if that is an actual publisher) there were some pretty bad editing clunkers. Several sentences in different places were garbage and made no sense - accidental editing cut / paste, maybe? And some of the chapters were not separated out, with their headline appearing in the flow of text.
And I do like a book that conforms to Kindle standards so I can quickly nip up and down by chapter, so useful in a story like this with very different characters and places to keep in mind. This book was not one of them...
Anyway, I'll be looking for some more of Douglas Stewart's stories and hope the content will be as good as this one nearly was.
March 6, 2025
Although this police thriller ended with some exciting action, I did not enjoy reading it in general. There were large parts of the novel that were quite boring, and I did not like the main character, a policeman nicknamed Ratso. Although in his late 30s, his behavior was what you would expect of someone in their late teens. A man who is supposed to be his best friend is killed following his instructions, and before the friend is even buried, he is trying to have sex with the friend's wife—hardly honorable behavior. His team, all policemen, act like juveniles, not the type of characters one would expect policemen to be. I will not read another novel by this author.
January 27, 2018
Non stop action.
What a cracking read it is everything a good crime thriller should be. Fast paced, interesting and believable. The characters are well thought out, and the situations they find themselves in scary and always dangerous. The lead character is a tough no nonsense policeman who will do everything to get the criminals. If you like James Patterson and David Baldicini you will like this.
What a cracking read it is everything a good crime thriller should be. Fast paced, interesting and believable. The characters are well thought out, and the situations they find themselves in scary and always dangerous. The lead character is a tough no nonsense policeman who will do everything to get the criminals. If you like James Patterson and David Baldicini you will like this.
February 19, 2018
Great read
Oh this is an awfy good read! Downloaded it for free and really got stuck into it from the very beginning. Short quick paced chapters,believable characters & thrilling plot on an international scale. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to continuing more journeys with Ratso
Oh this is an awfy good read! Downloaded it for free and really got stuck into it from the very beginning. Short quick paced chapters,believable characters & thrilling plot on an international scale. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to continuing more journeys with Ratso
June 3, 2018
Chilling
Ratso doesn't get paid enough, considering the jeopardy that his life is in. With corruption everywhere, no one to trust. Back handers, drug oligarchs connected with government and graphic torture scenes.
Ratso doesn't get paid enough, considering the jeopardy that his life is in. With corruption everywhere, no one to trust. Back handers, drug oligarchs connected with government and graphic torture scenes.
June 1, 2020
What a find
Found this book when looking through a very long list of police procedural books and am i glad i did. An amazing start to the series. Book two downloaded and ready to go.
Found this book when looking through a very long list of police procedural books and am i glad i did. An amazing start to the series. Book two downloaded and ready to go.
March 22, 2025
Lots of action and British slang.
It keeps you interested. For someone like me some slang and vocabulary had me checking the dictionary. That causes a hickup in the flow but did not detract from the story.
It keeps you interested. For someone like me some slang and vocabulary had me checking the dictionary. That causes a hickup in the flow but did not detract from the story.
August 8, 2025
A rock and a hard place.
Ratso, a real coppers coppers the respect of his team, even though they take the piss. But when it comes to getting the job done, they are a proper team. But they don't get the head honcho the fat bastard in the Middle East.
Ratso, a real coppers coppers the respect of his team, even though they take the piss. But when it comes to getting the job done, they are a proper team. But they don't get the head honcho the fat bastard in the Middle East.
December 13, 2017
A good British crime mystery novel, the first in the Ratso series. Full review available here: http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/view...
January 12, 2018
Brilliant
International cooperation for international crimes. Ratso is a real career policeman. He is so dedicated he takes failure personally. Never underestimate him. Must read.
International cooperation for international crimes. Ratso is a real career policeman. He is so dedicated he takes failure personally. Never underestimate him. Must read.
October 19, 2018
Good read
Good insight into the business men and women using the drug trade for their own ends. This book also shows the invaluable work of our police force.
Good insight into the business men and women using the drug trade for their own ends. This book also shows the invaluable work of our police force.
March 2, 2024
Couldn't finish
Too crude, for my taste and too British to appreciate. None of the characters had any appeal, just tough crude personalities.
Too crude, for my taste and too British to appreciate. None of the characters had any appeal, just tough crude personalities.
March 7, 2025
A bit on the long side. 3+
April 24, 2025
BY THE BOOK !
Highly exciting and unable to stop turning pages. International being contained by law enforcement!special luxury lifestyle brought under control by gangsters.
Highly exciting and unable to stop turning pages. International being contained by law enforcement!special luxury lifestyle brought under control by gangsters.
June 28, 2025
Good read
Enjoyed this book.good story,good characters,plenty action and a good ending..well worth a read ..May try the next adventure of there is one
Enjoyed this book.good story,good characters,plenty action and a good ending..well worth a read ..May try the next adventure of there is one
July 4, 2015
Hard Place is a great read with a fast paced story line. A well researched novel which provides a fascinating insight into the world of drugs and international gangs. Those who enjoy a well written crime novel will enjoy Hard Place.
August 4, 2015
This was a very enjoyable read. It's a fast moving thriller in which you feel you really get to know the characters as they try to break a powerful drugs network. Each chapter leaves you eager to continue reading. This was the first of Stewart's novels I've read, but I will definitely read more.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews