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Published: Dec. 18, 2011
Words: 79459 (approximate)
Language: English
Ebook short description
You can’t change your past. But your future? John Ray finds a dead prostitute in his car and his best friend is framed for the murder. John sets out to get the real killer, but it’ll mean confronting his own criminal past, risk destroying his future, and losing the only woman he’s ever loved. Set in Leeds. #1 in LS9 crime mystery series.Extended description
You can’t change your past. But what about your future?John Ray, son of crime boss Antonio ‘Tony’ Ray, is the straight one of the family. With a successful business and a lifestyle to match, he wants nothing to do with his father’s criminal world. But what does that world want with him?
A young prostitute is found dead in John’s car, and Freddy Metcalfe, his best friend and employee, is framed for her death. Freddy denies everything but it’s an open and shut case: he’s going down for murder. John sets out to find the real killer.
But things get complicated. A stash of counterfeit money was also found in John’s car, and the police seem more interested in that than in the dead girl. Then Lanny Bride turns up; one of the north’s most ruthless criminals (and an old friend of the Ray family), Lanny is desperate to know who killed the girl. But why? Meanwhile, Freddy is too scared to talk to anyone, even his lawyer.
John’s police detective girlfriend, Denise Danson,... (Read more)
Tags
crime, suspense, mystery, murder mystery, police procedural, money, british, england, amateur sleuth, detective, yorkshire, sleuth, detective novel, great britain, counterfeit, leeds, crime boss, northern england, british fiction, british crime, kerry wilkinson, northern noir, john barlow, ls9Available ebook reading formats
Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.| Format | Full Book | Sample First 25% |
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| Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others) | Buy | Download sample |
| PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing) | Buy | No sample available |
| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Buy | No sample available |
| LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub) | Buy | Download sample |
| Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices) | Buy | Download sample |
| Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting) | Buy | No sample available |
| Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page) | Buy | No sample available |
Reviews
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Review by:
Michael Levitt
on Feb. 06, 2012 :
I was pleasantly surprise how much I liked this book. I haven't been a mystery type of reader, but this book may have changed my tastes.
The twists and turns throughout the book make you try and guess who was the killer.
Even at the end, the multiple levels that the case took on, made you wonder if there was something more.
I highly recommend this book!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)
Review by:
Charlotte E. English
on Jan. 26, 2012 :
I don't usually enjoy books written in the present tense, but in the interests of being open-minded I gave this one a try. What comes across as pretentious in some books actually worked well here. It gave the story an interesting feeling of immediacy.
John Ray is a great hero. He's rather charming without being sleazy, he's popular and confident but without being obnoxiously arrogant. His background is interesting: how do you get away from the stigma of being part of a notorious crime family? I really felt John's frustration at having spent a lifetime trying, and still finding himself typecast as a crook.
The murder mystery was absorbing and pleasingly complex. Barlow handles the complicated story well, feeding clues to the reader at a good pace. There's a lot going on here - counterfeiting schemes (multiple), crime gangs, prostitutes and police, mysterious receptionists and wayward sons - but it all fits together beautifully.
On the downside, there's a revelation about John's recent life that disappointed me a little. It was interesting, and certainly a surprise, but it changes him significantly in a way that I didn't altogether like. Additionally, 'Den' the cop girlfriend lacked something; I didn't get a clear idea of who she is, other than an idealistic cop, or why John loves her. Maybe she needed a bit more screen time (so to speak). That said, this is the first in a projected series of nine books, so I imagine we'll be hearing plenty more about both characters in due course.
This is a read for fans of fast-paced crime thrillers with great plots, vivid language and interesting characters. It certainly isn't a cosy mystery though, so be ready for some grime.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)