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Book reviews: Drug Gang Takedown, Blood Orange, Late In The Day and more

Belfast author Neil Walker's new book Drug Gang Takedown is out now
Belfast author Neil Walker's new book Drug Gang Takedown is out now Belfast author Neil Walker's new book Drug Gang Takedown is out now

:: Drug Gang Takedown: Drug Gang Part III by Neil Walker is published by System Addict, priced £9.99 (ebook £1.99)

'THIS time, it's war!': So proclaims the back cover of the third and apparently final instalment of Neil Walker's Drug Gang series: this should raise a chuckle from readers who eagerly soaked up the blood-splattered underworld antics of the Belfast author's previous two books, in which ice-cool protagonist John Kennedy and friends were rarely engaged in anything other than blitzkrieg-strength mob-handed brutality.

DGT:DGPIII (as no-one is calling it) delivers a further abundance of vividly described beatings, shootings and dismemberments. The new Sydney-set book opens with the Belfast-born hardnut facing certain death (again), before revealing the sordid, corpse-strewn and vengeance borne genesis of his hooded and cable-tied predicament.

Inevitably, Kennedy deploys his finely-honed martial arts skills and twin .45s-wielding marksmanship to entertainingly explode his way out of trouble – at times literally. Yet, even as Walker's blunt-edged writing delivers these pupil-dilating doses of intoxicating Drug Gang chaos, the nightmarishly familiar cycle of violent nightclub toilet stand-offs, interrogation torturings and savage gunnishments begin to blur together in the queasy manner of a full-blown bad trip for jaded anti-hero John Kennedy, as he attempts to secure the better tomorrow he so badly craves.

A gritty and gripping final comedown for the Drug Gang series.

7/10


Review by David Roy


:: Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce is published in hardback by Wildfire, priced £12.99 (ebook £6.49)

BLOOD Orange is the debut novel from criminal barrister turned writer, Harriet Tyce. Unsurprisingly then, it is a psychological thriller which tells the story of 30-something criminal barrister, Allison Wood, who has just landed her first murder case. Blood Orange has all the vital components of a juicy thriller: Jealousy, betrayal, lies, and twist upon twist.

Allison's marriage is crumbling, as her career begins to take off. She distracts herself from the misery of her personal life by way of an illicit affair with one of her colleagues, and copious amounts of wine.

This is essential reading for fans of Girl On The Train and Apple Tree Yard, and it is just as unpredictable and page-turningly good. It is as dark and disturbing as it is gripping, definitely not recommended for the faint-hearted.

8/10


Review by Frances Wright


:: Late In The Day by Tessa Hadley is published in hardback by Jonathan Cape, priced £16.99 (ebook £9.99)

THERE are certain authors we all think we ought to read, whose works haunt us in bookshops, clamouring to be bought, but who, for one reason or another, we never get around to devoting time to. Tessa Hadley is one such author for me.

Much praised by the likes of Zadie Smith, Hadley has literary clout, and in Late In The Day spins a nuanced tale focused on a pair of married couples, shattered by the death of Zach, the gregarious soul of their friendship.

It is clever and thoughtful, drawing out the frustrations of middle-life and the trials of long, protracted friendships. It's also smattered with musings on art, literature, money – and in truth, is wholly impressive.

Yet, I did not adore it, and instead, put it down feeling uneasy, raw and disliking almost every character. Hadley certainly succeeds in making you feel something, even if it's not what you'd hoped.

6/10


Review by Ella Walker

:: The Beauty Of The Wolf by Wray Delaney is published in hardback by HQ, priced £12.99 (ebook £7.99)

SET in an Elizabethan England where belief in magic, alchemy, fairies and monsters still survives, the novel begins with a curse laid on a cruel lord by a vengeful eco-sorceress, saying the beauty of a son will cause his death.

Billed as a retelling of the Beauty And The Beast, what follows is a rambling tale of hybrid beings, transformations and appearances, which adds little to the power of the classic fairy tale.

A medley of theatre references includes cross-dressing, concealed identity, a troupe of travelling players and a pop-up appearance by Shakespeare himself, but the book's message about the perils of both extreme beauty and beastliness feels lost amidst the plot's many twists and turns.

A whimsical adult offering from the award-winning author of YA hit Maggot Moon (written as Sally Gardner).

6/10


Review by Lucy Whetman


:: Childless Voices: Stories Of Longing, Loss, Resistance And Choice by Lorna Gibb is published in paperback by Granta, priced £14.99 (ebook £10.79)

THE cliched question: 'When are you going to start a family?' is often greeted by eye rolling among young western women. But the asker's causal intrusion could be causing a lot of hidden pain.

In a candid amalgamation of personal experience and extensive international research, university professor Lorna Gibb collects dozens of stories about the many variations of childlessness.

She debunks the myth of 'career-focused, selfish' women and shares heartbreaking personal tales of abuse and even death in cultures that see no value in women who are not mothers.

While short, this is not an easy read – but Dr Gibb's point that sharing experience is the only way to understand each other, and overcome stigma, is true in all societies.

8/10


Review by Natalie Bowen


:: Charlie Changes Into A Chicken by Sam Copeland is published in paperback by Puffin Books, priced £6.99 (ebook £3.99)

SAM Copeland will have you laughing out loud with his new children's book, Charlie Changes Into A Chicken - a side-splitting debut from the literary agent who himself represents a raft of bestselling authors.

The first in a new series, illustrated by award-winning Sarah Horne, sees nine-year-old Charlie McGuffin discover an amazing, but highly unusual power – the ability to change into animals.

Brought on for the first time when Charlie is worried about his sick brother and hears his mum and dad arguing, he soon realises he has no control over his new-found superpower. He drafts in his three best friends to help him work out what triggers his secret talent, before risking public humiliation on stage at his school production.

It is fantastically ridiculous and silly in equal measures, and will have readers snorting with giggles at the thought of spiders with eight bums and what happens when a rhino gets caught short.

Copeland has apparently "threatened to write more" and thank goodness, as this series is moreish.

9/10


Review by Holly Williams