Genre: Crime

Stars: 4

Links: Urbane (publisher’s) website, Amazon UK and Amazon US

The Blurb:

DCI Jack Austin – Jane to his friends and the not so friendly – knew he shouldn’t have come in to work. Following a terrorist bomb, an incident with a tutu and a hangover that would fell an elephant, investigating dead dogs, dodging bullets and being pulled sopping wet from a naval harbour is not conducive to a sunny disposition. But when the Head of Armed Forces and a City Banker are brutally murdered what is a dashing DCI to do? FORCE, a powerful Star Chamber, is under threat and Jack will need to go deep undercover to get to the bottom of the sinister plot. As revelations and rocket attacks threaten to turn his world upside down (and ruin his best pair of trousers), Jack will need courage, skill and a huge dose of lady luck if he is to bring the perpetrators of a nefarious plot that goes all the way to the Prime Minister’s office to justice. As the trail leads to a showdown at the Albert Hall, Jack Austin, quintessential jumped up barrow boy and Portsmouth’s very own self-styled national icon, must fight to save his reputation, the country, and the lives of those who matter most. And work out just what a dead dog has to do with it all

My Review:

Crime, but not as you know it: an originally written, fast-paced ride through the darkest corners of government, the armed forces, banking, and erm Portsmouth.

DCI Jack Austin is direct, ugly, and a magnet for trouble. And, worst of all, he is hungover. But when dead dogs and a few murdered bodies demand his attention, he is forced to put it all on the line for, well, I’m not sure even he knows what.

Part spy-thriller, part crime, part comedy, this book is brimming with originality. The plot is tight, the characters insane but very believable, and the pace relentless (in a good way). One of those that make you view the world in a completely different light. Recommended.

*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.