Synopsis/blurb…..
When gangland
detective and former cop Eoin Miller wakes up to realize his almost-one-night
stand has gone cold as a corpse in his bed, his gypsy heritage screams for him
to do the easy thing and run. Having abandoned his morals, ambitions, and
relationships for a life of alcohol, denial, and dirty work for local crime
bosses, escape seems to be the only option left. But Eoin is surprised by a
compulsion to root out his unknown enemies and fight for survival.
All too soon, he
finds himself caught in the crossfire between nearly every faction in town:
rival crime lords, drug dealers, politicians, cops - even his estranged wife
has a card in play. His quest to uncover the truth - and prove his innocence -
resurfaces deep pains, old scars, and shattered relationships that threaten to
bury him under regret. That is, if the killer doesn't bury him first.
After a bit of a browse on the Kindle, tabbing through pages
trying to remember what I had bought and forgotten about, Jay Stringer and his short stories Faithless Street jumped out at me. So I was reading the introduction
to them, when Stringer suggests they might be better read in conjunction with
the first Eoin Miller novel Old Gold. Well I’m not going to argue
with the bloke am I? I read both together.
Faithless Street
was on the blog last week – here.
Miller is a gypsy, ex-cop who after a night out drinking and
a successful pick-up, wakes with a hangover head which is just about to get
worse. His companion from the night before is dead. After a panicky episode
when he flees his house, he returns to deal with the situation, only to find the
body has disappeared. Someone is obviously intent on messing with him. Flee or
fight?
Miller chooses to fight.
Great setting, great main character with an interesting back
story…… a gypsy heritage – not without baggage, an ex-cop and an ex-husband too,
now dirtying his hands working as a fixer-finder-messenger for one of the local
criminal gangs, though he tends to steer clear of the dirtier elements of the
job. Well known around town, but with few friends and not much of a
relationship with the policewomen ex-wife who’s intent on climbing the career
ladder.
During the course of our book as Miller struggles to unpick
the fix he’s in, we encounter…… pubs, clubs, whiskey, strippers, hookers,
drugs, cops, careers, ambition, heritage, family, Wolves, beatings, a missing
student, alcoholism, criminal gangs, disappointment and betrayal.
It’s hard to define what I liked most about this one.
Probably the characters and setting shaded it for me over the plot, but
Stringer’s writing and pacing has an easy rhythm that keeps the pages ticking
over. Just one more page, ok – I’ll finish the chapter, ok – just one more…….uh
– boom! I’ve finished!
4.5 put of 5
His full list of books are as follows:
Eoin Miller
Faithless Street (2012)
Old Gold (2012)
Runaway Town (2013)
Lost City (2014)
Novels
Ways to Die in Glasgow (2015)
So 2 down and 3 to go!
Old Gold was bought a year or so ago.
Oh, I do enjoy writing like that, Col, where 'just one more page' turns into 'just one more chapter,' which turns into... I'm glad you enjoyed the story, too. Miller certainly seems an interesting character, and it sounds like an interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteMargot thanks. It's great when you get caught up in a book that way.
DeleteThe pair, Faithless Street, and Old Gold sound good. Enticing. I will look into them.
ReplyDeleteYou can't have one without the other! Haha....hope you enjoy 1 or both!
DeleteI know but this book costs more in any version than the stories, and I don't know when I will get to them.
DeleteI know, it's hard to balance time and money when there's so much tempting stuff to be had. I do feel guilty adding more books to my collection, when I have more than enough already. Where's the logic?
DeleteYep, that's a goody!
ReplyDeleteAgreed mate.
DeleteYes, you did a good job on making Stringer sound good already this month...
ReplyDeleteI like the re-position archives, thank you very much, though they could still go higher to my mind. But, you know, your choice!
He could be my favourite author in November.
DeleteI could swap the archives with the top 10 I suppose. I'll sleep on it! I'll try and reduce the current reads from 3 to 2, that'll help!
Sounds good, Col. Not adding sadly but on wishlist for maybe someday. I've a humongous mountain already.
ReplyDeleteKeishon, no problem. I wish I had your restraint!
DeleteThe restraint is really self-disgust at all the money I've spent on books and still haven't read them.
DeleteThat's a good way of putting it. I have the self-disgust but not the restraint.
DeleteCol, a gypsy ex-cop and a vanishing body conjures up the spectre of a nice thriller.
ReplyDeletePossibly, no probably the best book I'll read this month.......err, maybe
Delete