He Kills Coppers

Description

August 1966, the long hot summer of World Cup euphoria is suddenly shattered by a brutal crime that shocks a nation seemingly at ease with itself. Three characters' fates are irrevocably bound up with this event and consequences that reverberate across three decades. An ambitious detective dragged into intrigues of corruption. A gutter press journalist with a nose for a nasty story. And a disaffected petty criminal pushed over the edge by a violent crime that haunts him. An epic story that looks at morality and corruption on both sides of the law and at the very heart of the state.

Jake Arnott was born in Buckinghamshire in 1961. He has worked as a labourer, a mortuary technician, a theatrical agent's assistant, an artist's life model and a sign language interpreter as well as enjoying many fruitful periods of unemployment. His acting experience has included work on the Fringe in London, Edinburgh and Toronto as well as improvised comedy. He is the author of two other novels, THE LONG FIRM and TRUECRIME.

'[A] highly impressive thriller; a powerfully organized plot is matched by a steely narrative control that pays out just enough information to keep us on tenterhooks. The unfolding of the murder and cover-up is deftly handled, and there's a nice sideline in pithy historical detail: from the psychedelic 1960s to the uncaring Thatcherite '80s, the panorama is always authentic - and always at the service of the narrative.' -- Good Book Guide 'Mesmerizing. Brilliant.' -- New York Times Book Review 'Brilliant ... this bitter tour de force has a feeling of permanence.' -- Washington Post Book World 'Arnott nails every crunch and splatter of his dirty world ... A wicked delight.' -- People 'A British version of James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential.' -- Publishers Weekly 'Brilliant ... you won't be able to put it down.' -- Mark Sanderson, Sunday Telegraph Summer Reading 'Many thought that Jake Arnott's debut, 'The Long Firm', was good but not quite as good as the hype tried to convince us it was. Frankly, Hemingway, Hammett and Greene together would have been hard pressed to come up with anything that good. His eagerly awaited follow-up, 'He Kills Coppers', has arrived - and it's better.' -- Time Out 'Compelling ... Arnott is a writer of many shades and, as in his debut, The Long Firm, shows his penchant for combining challenging storylines with strong storytelling.' -- Max Davidson, Sunday Telegraph 'Arnott is a craftsman at what he does, a real cabinetmaker of pulp fiction, with everything nicely dovetailed' -- Sunday Times 'Intoxicating' -- Scotland on Sunday 'Propels Arnott further into a league of his own' -- Independent on Sunday 'Brilliant' -- Literary Review 'Easily as good, if not better, than the superb Long Firm ... A stylish tour-de-force' -- Big Issue