He Kills Coppers: Jake Arnott - Softcover

Arnott, Jake

Softcover

ISBN 10: 034074880X ISBN 13: 9780340748800

Publisher: Sceptre, 2002

Synopsis

Jake Arnott's 'mesmerizing, brilliant' (New York Times Book Review) second novel, a literary thriller that delves into corruption on both sides of the law and at the heart of the state.

During the long hot summer of 1966, a senseless murder shocks the nation and brings the World Cup euphoria to an abrupt end. Yet it marks a beginning for three men, who are inextricably linked to the crime and its consequences: an ambitious detective struggling with his conscience; a tabloid journalist with a nose for a nasty story; and a disaffected thief, haunted by his violent past.

Spanning three decades of profound social change, this gripping novel explores corruption on both sides of the law and at the very heart of the state.

About this title

Review:

Jake Arnott's He Kills Coppers opens in August 1966 when the feel-good factor is running high as England enjoys World Cup victory and a seemingly endless summer. But the sunshine brings some nasty creatures out, and the brutal slaying of three policemen in a west London street sends shockwaves right to the heart of the nation. For three men, the killing is more than a front-page outrage. For Billy Porter, a war-time hero turned petty thief, it's a plan that went fatally wrong. For Frank Taylor, a Detective Sergeant trying to climb the Met's career ladder without resorting to corruption, it's a bereavement--the loss of a loyal comrade which must be avenged. For Tony Meehan, cub reporter on the Sunday Illustrated, it's nothing more than a fortuitous scoop that assures him his job. But reporting the crime awakens sinister urges that he's unable to resist and soon Meehan is creating his own news. Three men who've never met; three lives inextricably linked, in a chain of events that changed history.

Those who raved about Arnott's debut novel The Long Firm will not be disappointed by its successor, a tale combining the tension of a hard-boiled crime thriller with a Dickensian eye for detail. The sounds and the spirit of 60s London are evoked with almost filmic precision, while the plot advances in that swift, inexorable fashion of the very best myths. A few of its peripheral characters, such as Jeannie, the whore with the conscience ("I never want to rely on bad money again"), and Mooney the Masonic vice-cop ("Through the Mysteries of the Craft you can keep yourself clean"), might be slightly clichéd, but the principal trio of narrators is vivid and utterly convincing. For a story that combines morality, the authentic whiff of Soho sleaze and a plot that goes straight for the jugular, readers need look no further. --Matthew Baylis

Review:

Brilliant ... you won't be able to put it down. (Mark Sanderson, Sunday Telegraph Summer Reading)

Mesmerizing. Brilliant. (New York Times Book Review)

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)

Brilliant ... this bitter tour de force has a feeling of permanence. (Washington Post Book World)

[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)

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)

Arnott nails every crunch and splatter of his dirty world ... A wicked delight. (People)

Intoxicating (Scotland on Sunday)

A British version of James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential. (Publishers Weekly)

About this edition

• Publisher: Sceptre
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 034074880X
• ISBN 13: 9780340748800
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336