A vacation he couldn’t refuse. A murder he didn’t commit. A hellhole he needs to escape.Harry Hawkins, a tough and experienced former London cop, goes on a surprise vacation to Las Vegas with a group of lifetime friends, expecting to party hard. What he doesn’t expect is to wake up in a dead-end motel with a woman’s corpse in the bathroom and his memory shot to bits.As he starts to piece together … bits.
As he starts to piece together the events that led him there he is moved, by an unseen hand, to a brutal high-security prison, where a reception committee has been eagerly awaiting his arrival. Friendless and alone, he is forced to use every resource of character to survive constant violence, humiliation…and worse. Can he put together the series of seemingly unrelated events that led to his incarceration in a desert hellhole, and escape to take revenge on those who put him there before he loses his life?
American Lockdown is the latest in the gripping series of thrillers featuring Harry Hawkins. If you like gritty, page turning action then you’ll love the latest in this highly acclaimed series from the Robson brothers, a growing force in British crime fiction.
TRIGGER WARNING
If you require a trigger warning of any kind this book is NOT for you.
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Harry Hawkins has more or less been forced into early retirement from the London Met. He set up business as a PI and his wife Olivia couldn’t be happier with regular working hours and away from the constant danger. H himself likes it this way as well. He teams up with a local journalist to solve a cold case murder. Then, one of his life long friends wins a trip to Las Vegas and all 4 ‘boys’ decide to go. But when H wakes up groggy in an unknown hotel room, miles from where they’re staying and with a strangled woman in his bath, he’s in serious trouble. Certainly when DNA evidence confirms that he’s the murderer. He’s been set up in an utterly professional manner. And when he ends up in a high-security prison, he receives daily beatings and torture. Someone high up in the command chain of the prison gang will make him suffer as much as possible for as long as possible (until he commits suicide). His only hope is his former partner, Amisha. She flys there immediately, but will she be able to save him and get him out? And who is the mastermind of this conspiracy and why?
This book is a real rollercoaster. It’s so full of suspense and thrills that you’ll be guaranteed to lose sleep over it once you start to read! It’s not for the fainthearted though, some things in the book are so gruesome that I can’t even describe or tell them. The story itself is great with lots of twists; not a fairytale though and sometimes tragic as even good people die. This is the best book that I’ve read in this series up to now.
London Large, Blood on the Streets #1 – A well written, action filled, suspense novel set in present day London. The multiple battles of old school vs. new police, Russian and Albanian mafias, and the elites of government. The pace is fast and the reader is intrigued by what is on the pages. I couldn’t put the book down. I contacted the authors to review their books after reading Tipping Point, the intro of the old school raising of several of the major characters. Tipping Point should be read first, if possible. 5*
London Large, Bound by Blood #2 – A well written, action filled, suspense novel set, in present day London, that picks up from Blood on the Streets a few months later with the same characters plus. The prime focus is still the continuing battle against the Albanian mafia. I couldn’t put this book down any more than I did the first book. I contacted the authors to review their books after reading Tipping Point, the intro the old school raising of several of the major characters. Tipping Point should be read first, if possible. 5*
London Large, Bloody Liberties #3- Blood and thunder, to borrow a British phrase. A well written, action packed, suspense filled novel that grabs the reader by the throat and doesn’t let go until the end. Then you think about what you’ve read. I couldn’t put the book down; I was immersed in the horror that is so possible today. Good old fashion soldiering, new technology and human perseverance; the combination making a great read. The twisting plot was well thought out and believable; the dialog realistic; and the technology spot on. If you haven’t read the prequel and the first two books, you need to do so. Liberties can be read without them, but they enhance the story and you understand the viewpoints of the characters better. 5*
London Large, American Lockdown #4 – Absolutely the best of this good series. Fast paced; action packed; suspense filled; evil and deadly. It’s even harder to put this book down, the others were difficult to stop reading, but this one makes the others look like child’s play. Every character is well developed and we have the gang from previous books. The plot is a roller coaster ride of horror, hate, revenge, anger and love. Full of emotions: simmering to full blown; you name it, it’s covered. How much can H take? I wonder what the next book will be since it will be difficult to top this one, but I’m sure the Robson Brothers can handle it. This is a 10 star book! 5*
London Large, Tipping Point, Prequel- Must read Tipping Point first before LL Blood on the Streets. The introduction of the old school raising of several of the major characters of the London Large series. This intro clarify any confusion the reader may experience in LL, Blood on the Streets. 5*
Sharp and Short: A collection of shorts about Harry ‘H’ Hawkins, which should be read, in the sequential order of time, before and during the London Large series, especially Tipping Point. Tipping Point will explain a lot about the type of man he is and how he became Harry of the London Large series. Also, there’s some information in this book that is mentioned in the first book and causes confusion for the reader that hadn’t read TP. The other books have background about how H develops his feelings, good and bad, of the people, good and bad, in his life and work. Also, his mates are featured. Good background stories. 5*
Home Front – November, 2003. Age 45. Harry’s reaction to a string of violated, murdered young girls and health scare and his marriage.
Counter Punch – October, 1984; February, 1985. While still in the army, H handles an extended family problem against a crime lord, with an American GI by H’s side.
On Tour – 1978. Nineteen year-old H, Shy Nervous John and Ronnie as part of the Anglers Athletic under-21s on tour in Amsterdam and Hamburg. Their first time out of England.
That’s Life – November, 1995. Little Ronnie is born and H lives his code about his friends, his “own”.
Unsafe Space – November 2017. As a private investigator, a case leads him to a university where the students are brainwashed by their professor into destruction and hatred.
Tipping Point – January, 1974. Prequel – Must read Tipping Point first before LL Blood on the Streets. The introduction of the old school raising of several of the major characters of the London Large series. This intro clarify any confusion the reader may experience in LL, Blood on the Streets.
Sharp and Short: End
A good read
The ‘London Large’ series follow the adventures of a (now ex) police inspector, Harry Hawkins, who is a larger than life, old school copper, with a heart of gold but a very ‘direct’ way of dealing with issues (think the old tv series the Professionals on steroids).
In this book Harry (‘H’) who is now a PI faces up to an adversary from his past, can he bring him to justice this time?
All the books in the series are very well written and are unapologetic for their realism and (justifiable in terms of the story) violence, this one is no different, and isn’t for the faint hearted reader, but for those who do read it, boy are they in for an exciting ride, it literally does provide edge of the seat entertainment.
There are lots of book in this genre, but this series, and this book in particular stand out for the characters who are very well written and believable and also the quality of the writing, especially the descriptive passages which really stand out.
This book works very well as a stand-alone, but it is really worth reading the series to get the full character and relationship development.
I received an advance copy of the book, but have voluntarily written this review based on my honest opinions.
Way past evil #5 – Garry and Rob have done it again! We have all the old, living characters from the other books. H is a PI now, with Ronnie and John, and playing a new role for him, “good cop”. Ames is trying to bring H back to help with a copycat crime, which he doesn’t want to do at all.
The storylines are interesting; the crimes are the unusual bad, horrifying in some cases and definitely earns the title; and the past comes full blast to haunt H’s present. There’s a lot of darkness in this book, which sort of makes some of the earlier books mild in comparison, but nothing new for this genre; we’ve seen them before but now it’s the Hawkins’ characters that are targeted.
Sorry, as much as I want to talk about this fast paced, action packed (yep, still happening) twisting story, I’m not doing a book report; someone else will ruin the story for you, not me – you should have the right to enjoy an unknown adventure into H’s world. God love em.
This is a good addition to H’s series and I hoping the next one is nearing completion since the ending opens a whole new can of worries – no, not a cliffhanger, just a three-word statement made. Who needs drugs when there are books like London Large in which to get lost. I contacted the authors to review their books, how serendipitous that was. 5*
London Large, Blood on the Streets #1 – A well written, action filled, suspense novel set in present day London. The multiple battles of old school vs. new police, Russian and Albanian mafias, and the elites of government. The pace is fast and the reader is intrigued by what is on the pages. I couldn’t put the book down. I contacted the authors to review their books after reading Tipping Point, the intro of the old school raising of several of the major characters. Tipping Point should be read first, if possible. 5*
London Large, Bound by Blood #2 – A well written, action filled, suspense novel set, in present day London, that picks up from Blood on the Streets a few months later with the same characters plus. The prime focus is still the continuing battle against the Albanian mafia. I couldn’t put this book down any more than I did the first book. I contacted the authors to review their books after reading Tipping Point, the intro the old school raising of several of the major characters. Tipping Point should be read first, if possible. 5*
London Large, Bloody Liberties #3- Blood and thunder, to borrow a British phrase. A well written, action packed, suspense filled novel that grabs the reader by the throat and doesn’t let go until the end. Then you think about what you’ve read. I couldn’t put the book down; I was immersed in the horror that is so possible today. Good old fashion soldiering, new technology and human perseverance; the combination making a great read. The twisting plot was well thought out and believable; the dialog realistic; and the technology spot on. If you haven’t read the prequel and the first two books, you need to do so. Liberties can be read without them, but they enhance the story and you understand the viewpoints of the characters better. 5*
London Large, American Lockdown #4 – Absolutely the best of this good series. Fast paced; action packed; suspense filled; evil and deadly. It’s even harder to put this book down, the others were difficult to stop reading, but this one makes the others look like child’s play. Every character is well developed and we have the gang from previous books. The plot is a roller coaster ride of horror, hate, revenge, anger and love. Full of emotions: simmering to full blown; you name it, it’s covered. How much can H take? I wonder what the next book will be since it will be difficult to top this one, but I’m sure the Robson Brothers can handle it. This is a 10 star book! 5*
London Large, Tipping Point, Prequel- Must read Tipping Point first before LL Blood on the Streets. The introduction of the old school raising of several of the major characters of the London Large series. This intro clarify any confusion the reader may experience in LL, Blood on the Streets. 5*