Mik lives in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, but travels the length and breadth of the UK as a Project Manager. He's a long-time crime fiction fan, with bookshelves groaning under the weight of signed copies from some of the greats of the genre. He's also a reviewer, and an aspiring crime writer, with hopes of joining his literary heroes on a shelf near you in the not too distant future.
Bill Ingram is your normal everyday guy with a steady job and his own home - that is until his daughter Carol fails to turn up for Christmas as planned.
Bill immediately suspects something is wrong as her behavior (in not appearing home as planned) is completely out of character, and so he drives overnight from Glasgow to London to investigate.
When he arrives in London there is no sign of his daughter, and he discovers she was fired from her job weeks ago. Bill’s desperation to find his daughter takes over his life completely.
As crime thrillers go, this is as gritty as it gets. Alan Jones pulls you into the murky world of gangsters, drugs and prostitution all done behind the façade of a legitimate night-club called Bloq.
I found the characters captivating, especially the owner Aleksander who is evocatively realized as a dark and unpleasant protagonist.
This is a great example of the lengths a father would go to, for the sake of family, and something all parents will relate to, which makes this thriller all the more compelling, as well as claustrophobic.
There are several jarring shocks in this serpentine narrative. The compelling plot kept me turning page after page, after page - until the shocking but satisfying climax is reached.
