Paper Soldiers

The streets of Greater Manchester are awash with drugs and weapons, and the gangs that control this multi-million pound business will stop at nothing to protect and grow their business. The Dolsen family are one such gang.

When the head of a rival Yardie gang is found brutally murdered, revenge attacks were always likely to follow, and gang members were unlikely to be the only ones hurt.

DCI Priest teams up with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA); but they soon admit to conflicting objectives which may unravel their alliance, and prove to it be more of a hindrance than a help.

Was DCI Priest was about to undertake his most challenging investigation to date?

Pettinger has written a fast paced thriller which takes care to show the inner workings of a gang in the Greater Manchester area. 

Showing both sides of the story from both DCI Priest and the gang via an undercover agent.

The book was packed with action and there was plenty of content, and the book features one of the most gruesome death scenes committed to literature, there was a moment when you think they will escape the claws of their captors but when that moment hits it is like a 10 ton lorry hitting you at once.

A good sign of any crime series is that the main character does not have to carry the narrative fully, he can sometimes regress to the background and let someone else to the fore as happens here.

While I have not read any of the previous Priest novels, the requirement of previous knowledge was not necessary to enjoy this work.

PAPER SOLDIERS is out now in all formats.

My thanks to damppebbles blog tour for the opportunity

Shark by Will Self

As part of its ongoing creative partnership, WeTransfer<http://we.tl/shark> is collaborating with Penguin Books for the official unveiling of the global artwork for Will Self’s new book, Shark.

This collaboration will make an excerpt of the book available to read, absolutely free and without any need to sign-up, exclusively to WeTransfer’s 55 million global users.

Shark is a mind-bending novel, centring around an incredible real event – the largest ever shark attack in human history, when nearly 600 men were killed after the sinking of the US naval vessel that delivered the bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima.

WeTransfer will be showcasing the book’s striking cover in a unique still life photograph that will link to retail partner Waterstones.com where people can pre-order the title a month ahead of its official launch this September.

Nalden, Chief Marketing Officer and Co-founder of WeTransfer, said: “Striking imagery has been a mainstay of WeTransfer; showcasing the work of exciting artists is an integral part of our user-experience. Likewise, Penguin has continuously enlisted adventurous designers with a strong vision to bring its publications to life, showcasing that printed books are still a canvas for creativity.

“As design enthusiasts ourselves, Penguin is a company we have always admired, not only for their timeless designs but also their innovative approach to digital communication. One of the previous covers we displayed achieved more than 25,000 clicks to Penguin’s online store in 27 days, so whilst we’re delivering stunning imagery on our platform, we’ve shown our global user-base obviously enjoy these books covers as much as we do.”

The launch of artwork for Will Self’s latest novel is just the latest in a series of projects between Penguin Books and WeTransfer, which aim to bring together print and digital creativity.

Celeste Ward-Best, Campaigns Executive at Penguin Books UK, said: “We’re delighted to partner with WeTransfer to unveil the daring cover of Will Self’s, Shark. WeTransfer is one of the most exciting and progressive online businesses out there and we’ve long admired their commitment to showcasing timeless and innovative design.”

The excerpt from Shark is one typical of The Self prose; highly unorthodox with its broken syntax and structure which from the outside can make it seem a hard read, yet it remains engaging and original as one would expect from one of Britain's most respected authors.  The book promises to be one of the highlights of the Autumn slate of releases, and cement Self at the top of the literati in Britain.

To read an exclusive excerpt of Shatk before the 4th September release, going to the following website:  http://www.penguinblog.co.uk/extracts-2/read-an-exclusive-extract-of-shark-by-will-self

And enter in the password: wetransfer

There is also a chance to see the exclusive cover artwork on this link: http://we.tl/shark