“…not for the faint hearted…”Terry Valentine could have made something of himself had it not been for easy women, hard drugs, football violence and the horses. Now, he’s washed-up. A loser. A failed wannabe living an invisible life. Going nowhere fast, his obsessions alternate between suicide and the next fix of Doom, the latest designer drug – a highly addictive synthetic hybrid of crack, E … hybrid of crack, E and opium.
By a stroke of fortune, Terry takes a job driving Chloe, a beautiful young escort who caters for Nottingham’s successful businesswomen. The two form a bond. Then Chloe encounters a tycoon, a wealthy magnate who can have everything she wants. Whenever she wants it.
And what she wants is Chloe, a sentiment that is certainly not reciprocated.
But she isn’t the type to take no for an answer. Using her infinite resources, Chloe’s untrustworthy pimp, her Man of Business (a cunning, ex-Guardsman), and an army of hired goons, she sets out to claim her prize by any means necessary. And there’s only one man who can save her.
What readers are saying
“A novel that will surely reach cult status.“
“…sexy, beautifully written, violent.”
“…left me speechless, numb, shocked.”
“My girl crush on Chloe has only just faded…”
“Well-written, gritty drama.”
“Gritty tale of action and emotion.”
“…bare bones no-nonsense writing at its finest.”
“….characters so well drawn, you can practically smell them…”
“…quirky, engaging. 5 solid stars for the British gangster.”
“Gripping tale and one I found hard to put down. “
“A compelling read.”
“Mark Barry is one of the best writers I’ve encountered in ages.”
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Some books treat you to a great cast of characters, a compelling plot line, and a denouement that leaves you narratively sated. Others grab you by the collar, throw you in the back seat of the car, and drag you on a ride-along down gritty streets populated by a kind of citizenry you likely never imagined or encountered in real life. That would be Once Upon A Time In The City Of Criminals.
Author Mark Barry has displayed his literary bona fides in a collection of books that are each brilliantly original, with stories that follow the exploits of uncommon characters who tend to surprise. His signature style typically uses sharp, irreverent humor to not only make points, but off-set the sometimes harrowing violence and drama that finds its way into his plots; Once Upon A Time In The City Of Criminals follows suit.
The story is a simple set-up with an unremittingly fierce delivery: Terry Valentine, a burnt-out, aging, former hooligan, works as a bodyguard for a lovely young lesbian prostitute name Chloe, and despite the disparity of age and sexual orientation, he falls hard for his winsome charge. The inconvenience of this happenstance becomes clear when a wealthy and powerful customer of Chloe’s, a woman who runs both a corporate conglomerate and a cadre of thugs who make sure her every wish is met, decides Chloe is her one-and-only. Toss in a pimp whose history with Terry is ripe for revenge, prodigious drug and alcohol use on a collective basis, and a cultural proclivity for violence, and the story becomes as gritty as any mash-up from Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller.
There are a few narrative similarities between this book and Barry’s earlier novel, Carla, but Once Upon A Time In The City Of Criminals ratchets up the drama, relying less on wit and pathos and more on the “feels like you’re there” experience of street life in a tough urban setting.
The very specific local colloquialisms employed generously throughout were often challenging for this non-Brit to understand, making one wish there was a glossary or even subtitles of some kind, but once you surrender to the context, it’s clear the best way to go is to let the gist roll over you, instead of attempting to ferret out an exact translation!
This book may not be for everyone—there’s a certain literary anarchy in Barry’s choice to eschew standard punctuation and format, and the violence is raw and plentiful—but any reader looking for something bracing, a dive into a fully-fleshed world with characters so well-drawn you can practically smell them, will discover a book that feels more like a crazy-car ride than a story. There’s a certain exhilaration in that!
This is not the first Mark Barry book I have read and it definitely won’t be the last. My preferred way to read his books is to shut off the outside world and sit curled up comfortably as I breathlessly devour the book in one sitting. Sadly I don’t have the luxury of that amount of free time at the moment and whilst perhaps I should have saved this to indulge in when I went on holiday there was no way that was going to happen. I have been waiting for this and waiting any longer was not an option.
This book is bare bones no nonsense writing at its finest, written from the point of view of Terry Valentine – Loser, Jailbird, Hooligan, 50 year old crackhead but most importantly Protector. The one he protects is the alluringly beautiful Chloe, fun, loving and young but who works as a lesbian prostitute, and is cool, classy and sophisticated when she does so. I loved the conversations between Terry and Chloe when he’s driving her to her tricks, there’s an unspoken rapport between them. He speaks to her with reverence because he worships her, and despite himself falls in love with her.
But he’s not the only one. Hope Calder, one of Chloe’s clients, falls in love with her too and being the rich CEO of a huge company is used to getting her own way. No is never an option and she’s surrounded with those who are there to make sure she gets what she wants. When Chloe goes missing Terry enlists the help of his friend, Francis Pike, to go and get her…and they start with her pimp, Neville, an old enemy.
The banter between Terry and his mate Pike is brilliantly sharp, made up of the small time crime stuff that works so well in British gangster films. The fact that they’re driving around in a dirty pink Fiesta conjures up the image immediately.
‘Pike walks straight in without knocking. Surprise, surprise, he’s had the same idea as me, in a crimson Adidas tracksuit and gold striped Adidas Forest Hills. He’s wearing his Hackett cap. He smells like a tart’s knickers but I don’t place the brand. He’s a good three stone overweight and he should have thought about that before considering the tracksuit combo, but he’s a deceptively hard bastard and fast too – I’ve seen him in action. I feel like offering him a coat for modesty’s sake. He’s carrying a canvas holdall, which he plonks on my desk.’
Barry has this ability to have you laughing out loud one moment before tensing up the next and the twists of humour help to soften the violence, of which there is plenty. But I didn’t find it overly graphic.
But here’s the thing in amongst all the quick wit and aggression there’s the heart-breaking centre of this story and as I’ve found with Barry’s previous books it’s done perfectly. I wish I could say more but I can’t without giving away too much, and you don’t want that do you…not when you have the joy of reading this yourself in front of you. You lucky things…
Suffice to say that yet again Barry leaves me teary eyed and emotional. Terry has a list of descriptive words he uses about himself…they are all true…but I’d like to add the following – Loyal, Loving and Loved…