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David Richmond has a good rapport with the university students in Manchester. Blending in with the college crowd, the twenty-one-year-old Brit is a dealer selling a mixed batch of pharmaceuticals—primarily cocaine, but also ecstasy and cannabis. David's involvement in a life of crime, which started a few years back, looks to be the best thing he’s got going since he hasn't made any headway in anything else, especially with woman. David's attitude begins to change when he meets Laura, a university student. Just as David considers bettering himself for the sake of Laura, his boss, Dino, offers him an opportunity to make big money. Choosing to take on this dangerous mission, David cannot know how events will unfold or how they will impact his relationship with Laura.
Newton weaves a fictional story within a factual realm. Drawing from his forty years of experience as a UK detective, Newton has contrived a plot that is a balanced combination of storytelling, light romance, and the real world of drug trafficking. While alternating character scenes from chapter to chapter, Newton shines a light on the lucrative but cutthroat lifestyle of drug dealers. In some respects a reflection of a TV police show like Law and Order, Newton's narrative gives a glimpse of what goes on, not just in drug trafficking, but also in the behind-the-scenes police work. And like a police show, Newton's scenes do become frenzied. Yet amid a flurry of heart-racing moments, Newton reveals David's human side, the side that he longs to embrace. Although he has a difficult time leaving the criminal underworld behind, David desires a normal existence—one in which he doesn't have to hide or fear for his life. Readers should not be surprised if they find themselves sympathizing with this unpredictably unstable character. A riveting read from beginning to end.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review