No Exit Press - The Drop by Howard Linskey

ABOUT THE BOOK

''Geordie' Cartwright has disappeared, along with Bobby Mahoney's money. I have to find him and fast, or it's going to be my face staring into the business end of a nail gun'

David Blake is no gangster, or so he likes to think. He's a white-collar criminal, working for gangster Bobby Mahoney, enjoying the good life while the money keeps on pouring in. Trouble is, a big chunk of that money has just gone missing, along with Geordie Cartwright, and Blake is getting the blame.

Has Geordie done a runner with The Drop or has he been killed by a rival gang? As Blake goes deeper into the Newcastle underworld, a seedy and violent place filled with dodgy clubs, pubs, lap-dancing bars and brothels, he slowly starts to uncover the truth; there's a rat in Bobby's crew and someone else is planning a take-over. Meanwhile the Serious and Organised Crime squad and an ambitious D.I are both closing in on Bobby. It's just a matter of time before he's finally nicked for good. Blake must uncover the truth before it's too late for them all.

If that were not enough, he has to choose between his girlfriend, the beautiful lawyer Laura and the impossible-to-resist Sarah, his boss's gorgeous young daughter. Sarah might just be the most dangerous person in his life right now, if her dad finds out.

In a desperate and bloody finale, Blake has to make an agonising choice and someone has to pay the ultimate price in 'The Drop'

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CRITICAL ACCLAIM

'Linskey delivers a flawless feel for time and place, snappy down to earth dialect dialogue mixed in with unrelenting violence and pace. A Tyneside Dashiell Hammett to put Martina Cole firmly in her place.'
- Peter Millar, The Times [read the full review]

'The Drop is chosen by Peter Millar in The Times as one of his Top 5 crime thrillers of the year'
- Peter Millar, The Times [read the full review]

'This is some exciting shit, dear reader'
- Nerd of Noir, Spinetingler magazine [read the full review]

'writing that leaps off the page in its lacerating forcefulness... a classic British gangster novel that evokes and matches some of the best writing in the genre'
- Vic Buckner, Crime Time [read the full review]

'The Drop is overflowing with the grit that defines the very best of British gangster fiction'
- M. K. Hume, Bookgeeks [read the full review]

'Howard Linskey does for Newcastle what Ian Rankin has done for Edinburgh'
- Sam Millar, New York Journal of Books [read the full review]

'a brutal, hard-hitting debut which opens up Newcastle's dark, violent underbelly like a freshly-sharpened stiletto'
- Simon Kernick [read the full review]

'A cracker of a tale unrolled with great understatement but loaded with verve and pace. The backdrop is brutal, harsh and downright fatal for some, the characters jump right off the page, and I found the book difficult to put down. No Exit Press has found a real winner. '
- Adrian Magson, Shots [read the full review]

'An absolutely cracking debut novel'
- bestcrimebooks.co.uk [read the full review]

'a razor-sharp debut and Linskey is sure to be at the forefront of Northern crime writing in 2011. A writer to keep an eye on.'
- Nick Quantrill, Harrogate Festival website [read the full review]

'a very successful first novel'
- Chris Shepherd, newbooks [read the full review]

'Plainly put The Drop is a brilliant slice of modern Brit Grit'
- Brian Lindemuth, Spinetingler Magazine - Best Mystery/Crime Fiction 2011 [read the full review]

'A fast-paced, hard-boiled tale that zips along'
- The Crack

'Just finished reading "The Drop" which my wife and daugher bought me for father's day from Waterstones in Hemel Hempstead and I loved it!'
- Jason Gulmohamed, Fan Letter [read the full review]

'Linskey has a knack of expressing a mindset with clarity, humour and realism which along with the earthy vocabulary combines to create a marvellous tale.'
- Crimesquad [read the full review]

'A deftly written crime thriller, which really shows off Linskey's skill at storytelling'
- Luca Veste, Guilty Conscience [read the full review]

'Brilliant. Gangster writing at its best.'
- Paul Cleave - winner of the Ngaio Marsh Award [read the full review]

'Howard on What’s your perfect writing environment and What is your actual one like?'
- crimefictionlover.com [read the full review]