Friday 6 April 2018

JACK STRANGE - MANCHESTER VICE (2017)



Synopsis/blurb....

Get ready for a taut, edge-of-your-seat thriller from best-selling UK author Jack Strange.

Brad Sharpe, a crime reporter for the Manchester Daily News, is tired of wasting his time on petty crimes and go-nowhere stories. Hungry for something bigger, and hoping to revive both his flagging career and his crumbling marriage, Brad connects himself to one of England's most notorious serial killers. This might just be Brad's biggest break, in more ways than one.

Manchester Vice, another thrilling title in the exciting new Noirvellas series of dark crime and noir fiction from Coffin Hop Press

The best book ever written? No, but I really enjoyed this tale of a journalist whose life takes an unusual turn after visiting a killer on his prison death-bed.

I don't really want to reveal too much of what transpires, suffice to say there is gore, violence, dark humour and more than a few chuckles as Sharpe during the course of the book.... commits more than a few dark deeds, reinvents himself as a gonzo - journalist, flirts with celebrity, recovers a flagging libido, takes a mistress, endeavours to resuscitate his failing marriage and tries to outwit a dogged detective, while impotently dealing with a persistent blackmailer.

Lots to like in this borderline horror-cum-crime-mystery-thriller.
Jack Strange certainly lives up to his name with this fast-paced shocker.

4.5 from 5

Mr Strange has more than a few books to his name, transcending several different genres.
His website is here. Catch him on Twitter - @jackstrange11

His short story collection - Dirty Noir was recently enjoyed, thoughts here.
Confessions of an English Psychopath sits on the TBR pile.

Read in March, 2018
Published - 2017
Page count - 325
Source - review copy from author
Format - Kindle

4 comments:

  1. I do like wit in a book, Col. And dark wit can be funny. I'll confess I'm not much of a one for gore or a lot of violence. But the premise is interesting. Glad you enjoyed it.

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    1. I really enjoyed it Margot, but am well aware it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

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  2. Yeah, I going to get this one. Thanks, Col.

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    1. I liked the narrative style and the quirkiness of the tale, Elgin.

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