It started with a splash. Jimmy, a homeless veteran grappling with PTSD, did his best to pretend he hadn’t heard it – the sound of something heavy falling into the Tyne at the height of an argument between two men on the riverbank. Not his fight.
Then he sees the headline: GIRL IN MISSING DAD PLEA. The girl, Carrie, reminds him of someone he lost, and this makes his mind up: it’s time to stop hiding from his past. But telling Carrie, what he heard – or thought he heard – turns out to be just the beginning of the story.
The police don’t believe him, but Carrie is adamant that something awful has happened to her dad and Jimmy agrees to help her, putting himself at risk from enemies old and new.
But Jimmy has one big advantage: when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.
I thoroughly enjoyed this- a lovely page turner of a thriller with characters I came to care about and a twisty plot that fully engaged throughout.
Our main protagonist is intriguing and beautifully drawn – the literal man on the street, homeless and invisible except to a raggedy group of friends. His past haunts him yet when he witnesses a possible murder, despite misgivings he is inexorably drawn in..
I loved how this was told- beautifully layered revealing character and action fluidly, keeping you immersed in the pages and rooting for all the misfits you meet there. The challenges of a life on the streets are well defined and sit easily within the narrative- at the same time this is a great mystery that isn’t easily predicted.
By the time I got to the highly satisfying end I was utterly in love- with Jimmy, with Dog, with all of them. Well maybe not the ultimate villains of the piece but certainly with the eclectic group dynamic Trevor Wood has put together here. There is a promise of more and I, for one, would embrace the idea of a series featuring these great characters.
Recommended.
You can purchase The Man On The Street (Quercus) Here.
Happy Reading!
