Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Crime
Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store
Author:
Nick
Quantrill was born and raised in the industrial English city of Hull. He’s a
prolific short story writer but has also produced two full-length crime novels
with protagonist PI Joe Geraghty. A third is in process.
You can
read more about the author on his website.
Description:
Sam is just
hours out of prison after a stretch for manslaughter. Despite being determined
to get back on the straight and narrow, he’s immediately drawn back into a life
of crime by his best friend Jonno. A drugs exchange goes wrong and before he
knows it Sam is being squeezed between two local hard men – the Nolan brothers
and Roberto Tardelli, whilst he tries to learn more about the death of his
younger sibling.
Appraisal:
Bang Bang… is an excellent story that hits the
ground running. Quantrill is highly effective in subsequently winding up the
tension and by the concluding pages, the characters are fit to burst.
The story
is set in the author’s home town of Hull (where I happened to live for a decade
on and off). Quantrill paints the run down aspect of the area in stark and
accurate fashion, creating an excellent grim backdrop for the criminal element
to play in. However, he manages not to let the city dominate the story. I can’t
recall a single character that is perfectly clean (even the local copper DS
Whitehurst seems to have a potentially shady side). I particularly liked the
Nolan brothers who proudly showed off their new car crusher, and informed Sam
and his friends how it could be used to deal with people that have offended
them, too. They’re not someone I’d like to cross.
This is a fast-read
novella, mainly because the slick, intelligent fashion in which it’s
constructed draws the reader through the story. Personally, I was keen to reach
the end and learn who was the cause of all the troubles – and when it arrived
it was a surprise.
The prose
is gritty and sharp enough to cut yourself on if you don’t handle it carefully.
A great read.
FYI:
Some adult
language.
Format/Typo Issues:
None.
Rating: **** Four Stars
1 comment:
Nice Book
Post a Comment