Synopsis:
The Streets of Pretson are alive with music and banter.
But nothing can drown out the sound of breaking bones.
But nothing can drown out the sound of breaking bones.
Inseparable since childhood and feared by their community, Tony, Eddie and Frankie are beyond the reach of justice.
The brutal gang, The Three Dogs, are a law unto themselves.
Detective Jim Hacker has watched The Dogs grow from thuggish youths to psychotic criminals. He seems to be the only one who wants to see their empire fall.
Meanwhile Jamie Strange, a young Royal Marine, finds himself embroiled in the lives of The Three Dogs when his girlfriend, Laurie Holland, cuts off their engagement… to be with the most dangerous of The Dogs: Frankie Verdi.
Jamie Vows to save Laurie, before Frankie damns them both
Jamie Vows to save Laurie, before Frankie damns them both
Every dog will have its day.
Review:
The prologue we receive allows us as the reader to see the back story and understand a few things and sets us up pretty neatly for what we can expect throughout the story. The plot itself isn't seen to be particularly fast-paced, but it works, delivering a well developed and complex storyline
Character-wise, I found them to be fascinating and this made me want to follow their character arc's to the end. For me and many other people I suppose, characters are what drive a story. They are there to be loved no matter their overall appearance of being portrayed as villains or the goodies. You can have the best plot in the world but without the right characters to carry it, it can fall flat, right on its face per say.
There were interesting characters in this novel, but I’ll only write about a few that are really key to me, beginning with The Three Dogs themselves: The novel centres around a criminal gang The Three Dogs. All the way from their early years adolescence through to their adulthood criminal empire. The Three Dogs as a gang, form an interesting mixture of violent gangsters. Preston’s answer to the Krays but set in the 1980s.
The leader of The Three Dogs is Frankie Verdi. A violent psychopath, with no respect for anybody outside of his gang. He's pretty much a terrifying individual, one you would hope never to meet,(and thankfully I havent yet).
Tony Thompson is the biggest in size of all of them, but with learning difficulties, he is merely just the muscle of the organisation and I would say that Tony is the only one of The Dogs that even comes close to having any empathy/sympathy for others.
Finally, we have Eddie Williams, Eddie is a complex character indeed, He is a man living with a secret and a deep obsessional love for womaniser Verdi. He is ruthless with his ambition and devoted to the gang.
All three ‘dogs’ have a extremely strong bond of brotherhood. One that has already withstood many tests. By adulthood the bond is simply unbreakable. Making them an untouchable, savage and brutal gang!
Detective Jim Hacker, the police man working on bringing The Dogs down, is hard-working and I admired his stamina in wanting to deliver justice. Jim Hacker is close personal friends with Harry Strange, meeting when Hacker worked the investigation into Harry’s wife’s death. Harry’s young son Jamie is in the Royal Marines and throughout the novel he comes to face war in the Falklands and the troubles of Northern Ireland but usually with his best friend and fellow squaddie Richard ‘Birdman’ Valance, by his side. However Jamie is dumped by fiancé Laurie Holland, as he returns to camp after his mother’s funeral and Laurie has set her sights on Frankie Verdi, a decision she will no doubt come to regret.
Laurie’s character has had a turbulent and abusive childhood, leading her to believe that access to power, respect and fear will bring safety! Laurie is sadly misguided in this belief.
As the plot unravels we see all of the characters mature and develop; Jamie experiences the brutality of war, which changes every man it touches, The Three Dogs rise in their criminal enterprises and Laurie learns some harsh truths, as the life of a gangster’s moll. This novel is incredibly detailed, and I most definitely recommend! It has violence, gangs, drug empires and portrays the life of a violent gang kingpin. It vividly depicts how the love of money is the root of all evil! Its an easy 5/5 from me and if you're into gang stories or Martina Cole, Roberta Kray and Stephen Leather.
About The Author:
Robert White is an Amazon best selling crime fiction author.
His novels regularly appear in the top ten downloads in the Crime and Action and Adventure genres.
Robert is an ex cop, who captures the brutality of northern British streets in his work. He combines believable characters, slick plots and vivid dialogue to immerse the reader in his fast paced story-lines.
He was born in Leeds, England, the illegitimate son of a jazz musician and a factory girl.
He hated school, leaving at age sixteen.
After joining Lancashire Constabulary in 1980, he served for fifteen years, his specialism being Tactical Firearms.
Robert then spent four years in the Middle East before returning to the UK in 2000.
He now lives in Lancashire with his wife Nicola, and his two terrible terriers Flash and Tia.
