Premiership Psycho

by C.M. Taylor

Kev King has the world at his feet. His is the world of top flight where brands are all, lifestyle is god, adoration is obligatory and there is nothing - and no one - that money can't buy. And up until last season, Kev had the Premier League status to match his premier lifestyle. Now, relegated to a lowly league, forced to watch injured from the bench, and paranoid about his girlfriend's rising celebrity profile, he feels less in control of his life. And it's making him angry. Fighting his way back to the top, he leaves a trail of destruction. But can his millions and his talent keep him at the top of his game - or are his violent secrets about to rob him of everything he has? C.M. Taylor's Premiership Psycho is a compelling, hilarious and horrible insight into celebrity culture and a brilliant fictional portrayal of contemporary football.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Horror

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone even vaguely interested in reading this book should know that you don't have to be a rabid football fan to enjoy it. It helps if you like footy a bit, and you can flub onto the sofa in front of a match on a Winter Sunday to kill a couple of hours without going crazy, but that's about all. I'm pretty much a casual football fan, but thought this book was amusing, sharp, occasionally wonderfully scandalous and often downright piss-funny. The short chapter featuring Garth Crooks - no plot spoiler - which had me chuckling like a lunatic, may alone justify reading it. Go on, risk it. The gamble paid off for me.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. I had to go back and reread parts to make sure I hadn't mis read as the contents shocked me so much. 🤣

[James Atkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRQDoo...

Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho is defiantly a book to admire rather than like. This book is obviously an attempt to capture the genius of Easton Ellis's best work, but it never really succeeds.
One of the things it does cover is the consumerism and the hatred of the poor. There is also an Evelyn stand in, Saskia, whose motives are unclear.
However, Easton Ellis made the audience think: are the murders real? Is Bateman who he says he is? This all benefited from its lack of plot. However, this book has a plot, the murders are real, and Kevin King is no Bateman.
There are some good characters, like the millionaire chairman who eats in fish and chip shops, but most of the characters are not so finely drawn. For football fans there are some careless errors (Valencia in the champions league in 2009-2010 season?) and the fact that its set around a season which finished two years ago, as well as the discussions on 1990's idol Kevin Costner (a poor imitation to Easton Ellis's Genesis chapter) makes the book appear dated.
It's a nice try, but all the power from American psycho is lost.

[Jen Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is possibly lower because the protagonist is so unlikeable, but given how compelling the story is, that is a sign of good writing.

I found this book a fabulous example of hanging on to a meaningful theme (customer service vigilantism) and embellishing in with outrageous, clever, lavish detail.

I Kev'd it in 2 days. Maybe I should give it another star.

Enjoy a season with the remarkable Kevin King - I've never watched football, but I think he makes an appearance in a season 2, which I'll look out for.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up in a local pound shop, having never heard of it or the author, but reading the synopsis and finding out it was a mixture of two of my favourite passions...crime thriller and football...I thought it would be rude not to! And I'm glad I did as it was a very enjoyable read and very humorous in places. It was darkly entertaining and I will look forward to getting hold of the next book as soon as possible. I would highly recommend if you love football and serial killers (though the protagonist is an egomaniac). Excellent :)

[Roland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disconcerting, often disgusting but really well-written. What remains is the very big question ("Cui bono?") and there is the sneaking suspicion that this is about the author needing to make some point rather than anything else.

Must admit to DNF - it just go to the point where it was too much. Would like to know though whose ghost/monster Kev really is - he certainly ain't realas he would, to put it very simply, NEVER get away with either the killings or the second division spell so easily.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave it 1 star as you can't give zero - hated it! Main character was male chauvinist, not interested in all the details about what everyone was wearing - designer label details etc.
Having now read American Psycho, I can see that the author was trying to create a character like Patrick Bateman but failed miserably. Not tempted to increase my star rating (but then I didn't like American Psycho either, although overall the writing was better!).

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, the ending was insane though, still in shock! The protagonist was a complete *insert every swear word imaginable*, I hated everything about him. I guess that's the point of the book though and so it was very well written!

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting satire about the modern game with the added twist of a serial killer

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The psychology must be good as it made my skin crawl. Dark horrible story and I wanted to throw it out the window asap.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like this took forever to finish because I could only really take it in small doses. There were a few laughs in there though, from the likes of your Kev Kings. Not bad for a Poundland purchase.

[Gav Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute utter S**t. Never finished it as was boring and pathetic.

[Kamal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, Twisted and I hated the MC. Great Book.