A HEART-POUNDING BRITISH CRIME THRILLER
The police have a pretty big problem.
Somebody has started shooting unsuspecting citizens dead as they go about their daily business in the north west of England.
But it is a very specific type of person that the gun man is targeting. Paedophiles.
In order to keep the public calm, the police have no alternative but to explain the killer's motive.
And that's when things start to get really tricky for the investigating officers.
I suppose excited would be wrong word but I was certainly intrigued by the sound of this book. There are some pretty brutal crime fiction books out there but with the advent of self-publishing it seems self-published authors are pushing the boundaries more, and writing books that perhaps bigger publishers might ask to be toned down. I picked up this book then expecting that, unfortunately it was a bit long winded, not very well edited but otherwise a really enjoyable read that I had read in less than a day. For the most part, it's a really good book but it is let down by the editing. That said the Kindle store is absolutely littered with crap, but often among the detritus you find something worth reading, and One Man Crusade definitely is.
The premise might not be for everybody, and Steven Suttie's advertising campaign didn't go down too well in Tameside, but it still asks a question that I would say most people have asked or alluded to when watching the news. What is the reaction of most people when the latest paedophile is on the news? Outrage, calling for them to be hung, drawn and quartered. In this book somebody takes it upon themselves to start murdering paedophiles across Manchester by gunning them down, the killer has been on a bit of a spree over a fortnight and is showing no signs of slowing down. The killer shoots the convicted paedophiles with an amount of bullets representative of the amount of convictions they have. It's a bit of a Dexter situation. These men have been convicted of one of the worst crimes, yet have now been released. How is this fair? But, is death, is murder the answer? The public don't want to live among them after all. Characters in the book, even within the police have varying opinions on the matter.
A serial killer is always a frightening prospect for any city, and in order to keep citizens calm the police, or rather DCI Miller has no option but to reveal the full truth. This is where politics come into play. Miller is a high ranking officer but still those above him are making him do their dirty work. He certainly has a job on his hands trying to apprehend this killer. Does he even want to catch or stop the killer? With no idea when the killer will strike next, it is an unpredictable, and exciting read at times. It's hard to talk further about the plot, in fiction boundaries are pushed, it's perhaps not the most realistic book I've read recently but it's certainly one of the more addictive. In terms of the ending, again not the most realistic and some might find it silly whilst others might think it's brilliant. I did like it, but just think others might find it a bit too unrealistic to completely get on board with. I think it's the ending you would want in real life, but it's an ending you just wouldn't get if it was real.
I also felt that the book was a lot longer than it needed to be, and I found myself rereading parts because some of it just made no sense. That said though given that I read it in just over 24 hours it's a clear sign that I did enjoy it. But it did remind me why I tend to stick to traditionally published authors, they have their books edited, taking out the unnecessary parts and just giving it that overall polished look and feel. Again though, for an author to write a book and get it out there, and then sell it is very difficult with all the have a go authors cluttering up the Kindle chart. I do recommend this book, Suttie has potential as an author and I'd definitely be interested in reading any books he writes in the future.
Thanks to Steven Suttie for the review copy.
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