Two Tribes

Handstead New Town Mystery #4

by Charlie Owen

The fourth novel in Charlie Owen's fantastic Seventies police seriesThe brilliant new novel in the hooligan cop series by the acclaimed author of HORSE'S ARSE.It's the seventies, and the boys in blue are preparing for the mother of all riots. The Albion Army are causing havoc north of Manchester, and DCI Dan Harrison needs to pull off something special if his boys are to retain control. As the picket lines form and the two sides square up for battle, a rare moment of inspiration could the hit movie Zulu provide an ingenious way out of mayhem? Or has the DCI finally lost the plot?

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Humor, Police, Mystery

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Charlie Owen enjoyed a thirty-year career in the police service, serving with two forces in the Home Counties and London, reaching the rank of Inspector. He recently commenced a second career in the security services department of an investment bank. Charlie Owen is married with six children.

Series:
* Handstead New Town Mystery

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing reading, hard to put down. Was policing really like this in the seventies in England? It's a pity Charlie Owen didn't write another book after this

[Ian Penman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great conclusion to the series

I have never enjoyed a series as much for quite a while. The whole picture drawn is one that it clever and darkly funny. Outstanding

[Gareth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite average plodding cop drama

[Lewis Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. First time reading all 4 and it holds up in 2025. As a current cop (Australia) this had me hooked with laughs. 5 stars for sure. Great job Charlie Owen

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

So if you move the setting to London (where I think most of the police jargon comes from and Charlie gained his experience) and change the factory to Grunwicks near Wembley and the National Front to miners and other left wing protagonists then this is essentially what the Special Patrol Group did! So there are a few inaccuracies (probably born of memory fade) like, you didn't get a solicitor in the charge room (not custody suite until 1984) to see the staion sergeant (not custody officer until post PACE) until after charge. Like - teams are called reliefs. Like Storno Personal Radios were crap and you could only rely on the main set.
But ..... it caught the spirit of the times, the comaradery, the sheer crazy humour and raw bravery like no other book I've read. Come on Charlie - tell the bank to stick their security job and get back to writing about the early eighties (before PACE neutered the cops). Stop faffing about in a Northern facsimile town and tell us about Arbour Square (if thats the real Hotel Alpha/ Horses Arse).

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Owen's final book in his series set in 1970s north-western England. The Two Tribes (taken from the famous song) refer to the police of Handstead and the Albion Army, a group of racist skinheads determined to take down an Asian owned factory. All the old favourite characters are here including Psycho, Pizza and Piggy and they're still getting up to the same old antics. A fitting end to the series as the coppers take down the thugs using a military tactic last seen in the movie Zulu! It's funny and sweet and quite sad to see the end.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final instalment in the Handstead Quartet was disappointing.

With the squad having to deal with football hooligans and industrial strike action this presented the reader with another slice of 1970’s British social history. But instead of delivering this interesting premise the author drifted into other boring side stories that had nothing to do with the topics at hand.

Also the main characters of Hotel Alpha are sorely under used, with a nagging feeling the author either ran out of stories or ideas.

[Chris Ingram]

very funny book . best to read these in order though for continuity . the inspector pretending to be mad is particularly hilarious .

[Spurnlad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing Hore's Arse series. A great series of books, funny; sad and a great read.