“Surviving a terrorist explosion, a tutu incident, and a night of celebratory drinking, hungover hero DCI Jack Austin proposes an ill-advised alliance with a newly-turned criminal informant.
After a string of high-profile murders is committed, Austin goes deep undercover – and uncovers a villainous scheme that threatens the Star Chamber.
His world turned upside down, Austin needs to rely on courage, skill and improbable luck. But can he bring the perpetrators of the far-reaching scheme to justice?
Surviving a terrorist explosion, a tutu incident, and a night of celebratory drinking, hungover hero DCI Jack Austin proposes an ill-advised alliance with a newly-turned criminal informant.
After a string of high-profile murders is committed, Austin goes deep undercover – and uncovers a villainous scheme that threatens the Star Chamber.
His world turned upside down, Austin needs to rely on courage, skill and improbable luck. But can he bring the perpetrators of the far-reaching scheme to justice?”
Welcome to damppebbles. As Emma is off counting up the brilliant #R3COMM3ND3D2019 recommendations (and no, I couldn’t type that after one too many beverages!) she’s received in the last couple of days, I’ve jumped into the review hot seat to bring you my thoughts on A Barrow Boys Cadenza. I received a free eARC of A Barrow Boys Cadenza but that has in no way influenced my review.
If you’re the sort of person who remembers these things and looks for patterns, you’ve probably been expecting this review. Having read and reviewed the first and second books in the series (Cause and Effect and Irony in the Soul) and thoroughly enjoyed them, the chances of seeing me pop up with my review of book three were quite high. If you thought this then you have an intuitive mind, one that would fit right in at the station with the Community Policing Team. If you haven’t previously had the pleasure of reading a Pete Adams’ novel then I suggest starting at the beginning, mainly for reading pleasure but also because it is exactly what our central character, Jack, wouldn’t do!
The third book marks a change for me in the Community Policing Team. They have moved from being solely ‘Jack’s team’ with a single leader, to a well-formed team where each member’s voice is heard. The team comes before the individual for each of them. With this in mind you have to question whether Jack is actually the central character or just a hub for developing the other voices. In this book, the emotional development of Jack continues as we see more of his relationship with Amanda, we find out more revelations from Jack’s past, and the personalities of the rest of the team are really shining through. And of course, there is a sinister plot, a crime spree, nefarious daring-do and criminal masterminds to bring to justice!
The plot and character development through the first three books has been seamless, building from low-level crime (don’t ask Jack about mangoes!) through to religious murder, drugs and gun-running, and in this third book the full background to how these crimes link together is revealed. Jack has to tackle his largest foe yet and whether he is dodging bullets in a dockside shootout or trying to infiltrate UK politics, his unique style allows for plenty of laughter and action.
A Barrow Boy’s Cadenza seems to bring the first major storyline to a close, and I will be reading book four, Ghost and Ragman Roll: Spectre or Spook? to find out what Community Policing get up to next. I so enjoy Pete Adams writing and would happily recommend it to everyone. Adams has created characters that by A Barrow Boy’s Cadenza you feel you know, care for and would happily go for a drink with. I’m three books in, with two to go – where will Jack and Amanda take us next? I, for one, can’t wait to find out.
I chose to read and review a free eARC of A Barrow Boy’s Cadenza. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
A Barrow Boy’s Cadenza by Pete Adams was published by Next Chapter Publishing in ebook and paperback formats on 28th July 2019 (please note, some of the following links are affiliate links which mean I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | amazon.com | Book Depository | Goodreads |
Pete Adams is an architect with a practice in Portsmouth, UK, and from there he has, over forty years, designed and built buildings across England and Wales. Pete took up writing after listening to a radio interview of the writer Michael Connolly whilst driving home from Leeds. A passionate reader, the notion of writing his own novel was compelling, but he had always been told you must have a mind map for the book; Jeez, he could never get that.
Et Voila, Connolly responding to a question, said he never can plan a book, and starts with an idea for chapter one and looks forward to seeing where it would lead. Job done, and that evening Pete started writing and the series, Kind Hearts and Martinets, was on the starting blocks. That was some eight years ago, and hardly a day has passed where Pete has not worked on his writing, and currently, is halfway through his tenth book, has a growing number of short stories, one, critically acclaimed and published by Bloodhound, and has written and illustrated a series of historical nonsense stories called, Whopping Tales.
Pete describes himself as an inveterate daydreamer, and escapes into those dreams by writing crime thrillers with a thoughtful dash of social commentary. He has a writing style shaped by his formative years on an estate that re-housed London families after WWII, and his books have been likened to the writing of Tom Sharpe; his most cherished review, “made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think”.
Pete lives in Southsea with his partner, and Charlie the star-struck Border terrier, the children having flown the coop, and has 3 beautiful granddaughters who will play with him so long as he promises not to be silly.
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