Today the blog tour for How the Wired Weep by Ian Patrick arrives here at Suze Reviews... and I'm delighted to share my review. Many thanks to Emma Welton at damppebbles blog tours for the invitation and to the author for my review copy.
The Blurb:
The Wire crosses the pond.
Ed is a detective who handles informants. He recruits Ben, a young man, who is treading a dangerous path into the criminal underworld.
Ben's unsure of where his loyalties lie. They have to find a way to work together despite their differences.
Both men are drawn into the world of Troy, a ruthless and brutal leader of an Organised Criminal Network.
Ben is torn between two worlds as he tries to walk the impossible line between criminality and helping Ed combat crime.
He lives in fear of discovery.
When your life is thrown upside down who do you turn to in order to survive?
Set against the backdrop of the 2012 Olympic Games, How the Wired Weep is a fast paced urban thriller where time is against both men as they attempt to serve their own agendas.
How the Wired Weep was published in paperback and digital formats on 30th June 2020 and is available to purchase on Amazon UK and Amazon US.
My Review:
Ed works in the covert policing team of the Metropolitan Police. He and partner Sienna work with informants, or Covert Human Intelligence Sources, from amongst the criminal underworld, rewarding them for any valuable information they pass on. Ben is one of Ed's best informants, a young man struggling to balance passing information on to the police whilst not raising the suspicions of his crooked mates. But he also needs to weigh up what or who pays best - crime or police?
To be honest, when I started this book I really wasn't sure I'd enjoy it as it was different from my usual read. But I soon found myself drawn in to the lives of the two men. Written as a two hander with first person chapters from the points of view of both men.
Ed is a good man, working hard to improve the safety of London's streets. But this means he works long, odd hours causing stress at home. And we see that he cares about his informants - he wants them to do the right thing, to better themselves, but is constantly frustrated by budget constraints. Ben is not an easy man to like. His education has been on the streets, his employment on the wrong side on the law, and drugs have impacted his life. Full of attitude, we see his life unfold through his own eyes and in his own words as his chapters are written in a street vernacular, which took a little getting used to but only because I wasn't expecting it. And a word of sympathy for Ed 's wife and Ben's girlfriend, for want of a better word (it's fair to say,he's not a romantic guy).
The storyline builds up steadily to its denouement and it was really interesting to see each event, big and small, from two different points of view. Both men are facing changes in their personal lives which made them even more like two sides of the same coin. The tension fair rises towards the end and i was totally invested in the outcome for both men. And it was an outcome which was unexpectedly emotional, for me anyway.
This is a raw, gritty thriller. There's no gloss here, just some brutal reality. With two completely rounded central characters, it feels very authentic and Patrick has obviously put his policing experience to good use here. After an uncertain beginning as I wasn't sure what to expect I thoroughly enjoyed this and look for reading more from this author.
The Author:
Ian spent twenty-seven years in the Metropolitan police the majority as a Detective Sergeant within the Specialist Operations Command. He specialised in Child Protection and was part of a Major Investigation Team that targeted abusers and investigated the murder of children.
His last seven years were spent in the Covert Policing Command where he managed a specialist covert unit dedicated to the detection and disruption of organised criminal networks across London and the UK.
Rubicon, Stoned Love, and Fools Gold are published by Fahrenheit Press.
His last seven years were spent in the Covert Policing Command where he managed a specialist covert unit dedicated to the detection and disruption of organised criminal networks across London and the UK.
Rubicon, Stoned Love, and Fools Gold are published by Fahrenheit Press.
How the Wired Weep is a standalone novel.
Rubicon is in development with the BBC for a six part TV series.
He's appeared at Bloody Scotland in 2018 as a spotlight author on the opening night with Val McDermid and Denise Mina.
Ian's undertaken a mentorship with Write4Film Scotland and is developing a script for a short film. He's also an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy Scotland. He lives in Scotland where he divides his time between family, writing, reading and photography.
You can follow Ian on his website where you can subscribe to his newsletter and get updates on blogs, events and books.
Author Social Media Links:
Thanks so much x
ReplyDeleteIt was my pleasure. x
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