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rue_baldry 's review for:
He Kills Coppers
by Jake Arnott
Arnott isn't very good at endings. Also, the 'twist' in this tale was blatantly obvious for a long time before it happened. Those are my only criticisms, though. I loved everything else about this book.
This is the story of three men who don't meet until the end of the book, but whose lives are all impacted by one incident: the killing of coppers of the title. It takes place in the same universe as The Long Firm and a few of the characters from that book are mentioned. Only Teddy Thursby and George Mooney actually appear.
Arnott uses memorable historical events and places his characters and events within them. I've heard a lot about the '66 world cup final over my life: particularly from my dad who was there. I visited Greenham Common in the mid-nineties which was very similar to the description here of Molesworth. I remember football hooliganism and the riots, too, of course. There was a dark nostalgia to reading this.
It covers about thirty years and explores the lives, relationships and psyches of the central characters, and their relationships with the times through which they live. One of the 'topics' is police corruption in the nineteen seventies, so there were similarities to David Peace's Red Riding quartet. I would certainly recommend those to anyone who enjoyed this. They are very Yorkshire-set books, though, and here -- once again -- Arnott uses London almost as a character in itself. It is not the only setting this time and the countryside is well rendered, too.
I've read a lot of Arnott in a short period which is something I try to avoid doing with any author since I overdosed on Atwood after university graduation and had to wait a decade and a half before I read her again. I'm not saturated by Arnott yet, although I can see themes, patterns and common weaknesses in his work. I'm going to have a break for a while but I will certainly read his books in the future.
This is the story of three men who don't meet until the end of the book, but whose lives are all impacted by one incident: the killing of coppers of the title. It takes place in the same universe as The Long Firm and a few of the characters from that book are mentioned. Only Teddy Thursby and George Mooney actually appear.
Arnott uses memorable historical events and places his characters and events within them. I've heard a lot about the '66 world cup final over my life: particularly from my dad who was there. I visited Greenham Common in the mid-nineties which was very similar to the description here of Molesworth. I remember football hooliganism and the riots, too, of course. There was a dark nostalgia to reading this.
It covers about thirty years and explores the lives, relationships and psyches of the central characters, and their relationships with the times through which they live. One of the 'topics' is police corruption in the nineteen seventies, so there were similarities to David Peace's Red Riding quartet. I would certainly recommend those to anyone who enjoyed this. They are very Yorkshire-set books, though, and here -- once again -- Arnott uses London almost as a character in itself. It is not the only setting this time and the countryside is well rendered, too.
I've read a lot of Arnott in a short period which is something I try to avoid doing with any author since I overdosed on Atwood after university graduation and had to wait a decade and a half before I read her again. I'm not saturated by Arnott yet, although I can see themes, patterns and common weaknesses in his work. I'm going to have a break for a while but I will certainly read his books in the future.