Mick Dubois

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Mick is Currently Reading

Mick Dubois is currently reading

London Large Crime Thriller Series Books 4 to 6

by Roy Robson (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, british-detective, action

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Mick Dubois said: " I'll review this book as I read the stories:
1. AMERICAN LOCKDOWN
Harry Hawkins has more or less been forced into early retirement from the London Met. He set up business as a PI and his wife Olivia couldn't be happier with regular working hours and aw ...more "

Jan 15, 2020 09:08AM · see review

Mick Dubois is currently reading

Rebekka Franck Series Box Set: Vol 1-5

by Willow Rose (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jan 05, 2020 12:33PM

Mick Dubois is currently reading

London Large Crime Thriller Series featuring Inspector Harry Hawkins #1-3

by Roy Robson (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, british-detective, action

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Mick Dubois said: " This is a very long book, so I'll review as I read

1.BLOOD ON THE STREETS
This book is the first in a new series (to me) and we meet DI Harry Hawkins, an oldfashioned London cop with strong beliefs and fierce loyalties. 'An eye for an eye' mentality su This is a very long book, so I'll review as I read

1.BLOOD ON THE STREETS
This book is the first in a new series (to me) and we meet DI Harry Hawkins, an oldfashioned London cop with strong beliefs and fierce loyalties. 'An eye for an eye' mentality suits him better than the rules and regulations of modern police work. He's partnered with Ames, a young Cambridge educated computer-wizz girl of Asian descent. Despite being complete opposites, they work well together. He's got a lot on his plate this time; a gang war between Russian and Albanian mobsters is escalating reaps havoc in the streets of London, The wife of his best friend and her sister are shot by a professional hitman in a park.
It's a great and thrilling read, action-packed and full of surprises. This certainly isn't the story of the good old English 'bobby'. There are plenty of victims and the violence and sordidness of war and crime aren't shunned but they're also not glorified or romanticised. I'm curious if the tempo and quality of the stories will continue in the next books. It's a quick read, so I'll find out soon enough.

2. BOUND BY BLOOD
Those who didn’t read the first book in the series will have no problem with this 2nd story. The outlines of those events are recapped several times and it even may feel a bit boring to those reading the box set. I’m rather grateful for attentive writers who understand that not everybody can start to read the books in chronological order. And even if you do so, there can be an extended period between the readings.
After the traumatic events with the gang-war and paedophile ring, DI Harry Hawkins ended up in the hospital with a bullet wound and has since been recovering. When his shrink finally allows him to return to work, he’s restricted to light work and desk duties. As if this is gonna work!
So, when a major pop star is shot in a posh London hotel room, it is DS Amisha Bhanushali and DI Graham Miller-Marchant that are called upon to solve this crime. The supermodel girlfriend witnessed the events but the receptionist who facilitated the murder is killed as well. From doing background checks and phone enquiries, it doesn’t take h long to unofficially head the investigation. He also enlists the help of Andrew Glass, a rookie policeman who turns out a useful and very promising asset.
Both Harry’s son and his old friend Ronnie are in prison. Harry feels bad that his friend has taken the wrap for him but can’t change a thing. Certainly not because Graham, as well as Amisha, are less than forthcoming with the true cause of events.
Young Ronnie gets groomed and brainwashed by the Albanian gang leader that his dad put in prison in the first book. He turns the young man into a ruthless killer, knowing that this will hurt Harry more than anything else.
So, when a major pop star is shot in a posh London hotel room, it is DS Amisha Bhanushali and DI Graham Miller-Marchant that are called upon to solve this crime. The supermodel girlfriend witnessed the events but the receptionist who facilitated the murder is killed as well. From doing background checks and phone enquiries, it doesn’t take h long to unofficially head the investigation. He also enlists the help of Andrew Glass, a rookie policeman who turns out a useful and very promising asset.
It’s not because Dragusha is in jail that the Albanian mafia will stop their activities. Their overlords leave the second in command, Fatos Gazjet handles the business in London as he remains in close contact with his former leader. But a lorry containing ‘live’ goods, breaks down on the M and the driver reports that the ‘merchandise’ has died. The order from prison is to kill all the surviving immigrants as well as the driver. But there’s a glitch and in the dark of the night, the driver escapes in the woods without being noticed.
In the meantime Dragusha had Ronnie kill a rival gang-leader and manages to organise both their escapes. It doesn’t take long before they’re connected with the mass murder grave that’s been discovered, despite been in jail at the time it happened. Harry wants to save his son somehow; Well aware that they’re transgressing all rules and orders, his 2 colleagues support him. In the meantime, the investigation into the Wishbone murder is temporarily put on the backburner.

Be warned, this isn’t a fairytale with a HEA ending. It’s a tragic, grim story about the ugly underbelly of our society. There is a lot of wanton violence -though not as much as in the first book- and people do die in this book, even likeable and heroic major characters.
I don’t know how the brothers chose the names of their main characters, but those of both of Harry’s nearest colleagues are a serious mouthful, and every time they meet a witness or suspect they have to introduce themselves with their full names. It looks as if this is a private inside-joke from the writers.
I have to admit that I get most but not every slang term used in the book. Not a problem for me, it adds real ‘couleur local’ and I think it’s a good way to pick up new words and expressions. There are plenty of free dictionaries and translation apps available. If you’re too lazy to do that, usually the meaning is clear from the context.

TIPPING POINT
I've read a few of the 'London Large' books already when someone told me that I should have read this short story first. It's featured in the first 'London large' bundle, so I followed the advice. Even though I didn't think it was so important to read this short story first, apart for chronological reasons than, it was a fun read. It must be the first story that features Harry Hawkins when he's just not 16. He's been kicked out of school for violence but that was actually for the noble reason of standing up against some bullies. Unfortunately, Harry reacted a bit too violent and is now seen as the culprit. His father isn't too angry and even offers him a job on his garbage-collecting-crew. It's 1974 and virtually the whole country is on strike and the garbage piles up higher and higher in the streets. Rich neighbourhoods offer very good money to clean their streets and H.'s father is one of the scabs taking the cash over solidarity. It's a real eye-opener for Harry when he sees 1st hand what his dad has to put up with on a daily basis. Eventually, he follows the advice of his school-prefect and joins the army. I didn't live in the UK until a lot later, but I have been told by my friends that this was a situation that was both really disgusting and a dangerous health-hazard, so the description given here may be still on the brighter side of reality;
This is an interesting insight into H's background and younger years. It doesn't have much to do with his qualities as a police-detective, but ti introduces us to a young John who'll turn up later on in the books
I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review. ...more "

Mar 20, 2020 04:23PM · see review

See all 5 books that Mick is reading…

Mick’s Notes & Highlights

Book cover for Death's White Horses (Jeff Trask Crime Drama #3)

Death's White Horses (Jeff Trask Crime Drama #3) by Marc Rainer

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I have long maintained that the use of a term such as “police action” to describe a war is ill-conceived, and that the use of the term “war” to describe law enforcement operations is similarly misleading. After 28 years in the military and ...more

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Mick’s Quotes

“Some things in life could not be solved or even contemplated by a rational mind. Roger’s mind, however, had ceased being anywhere near rational about half a bottle of Grand Marnier ago.”
― Andrew Barrett, Stealing Elgar

tags: crime-thriller

6 likes