this sort of book

You know the sort of book I mean – you dip into it for just a look to see what it’s like, or you pick it up for just a quick read when you should be doing something else, or you think you’ll just catch up with the next few chapters, or you’re not exactly near the end but it’s not far away and you have to know what happens… I’ve just bought the latest book by a writer who I know gives you this sort of book. The first time I ever read anything by him, nearly four years ago, I wrote this:

 I have just finished an absolutely fabulous, stonker of a great read. I stayed up till nearly three last night, then was reading it again by seven this morning… and finished it. I literally could not put it down.
‘Beast’ by Chris Speck is an extraordinary story set in present day Hull; the main character, Tony is a fifteen year old boy recently bereaved, orphaned by the death of his father. I don’t want to say too much about his situation or what happens to him, I would rather you read it and gradually unpeel layer after layer of what happens to him, the challenges he faces and how he confronts them. His main support is his local boxing club in which his father was also very involved. You may guess by the title and the front cover that a beast also is a character and it has a profound affect on Tony, and whose mysterious presence leads him to make certain decisions and take certain actions in the face of a merciless enemy.
As you can guess from how compelled I was to read it, it’s utterly gripping, exciting, moving, very sad, absorbing and despite being almost fantastical in some ways, seems very realistic. What a great writer Chris Speck is, no single word is wasted and he weaves tiny details through the narrative – some play an important part in the story, some just add to the power of later scenes.
Recently I complained about a writer who had made little effort to bring his characters to life and create realistic and believable characters; it’s obvious that Chris has closely observed, listened to and connected with a whole variety of real people in order to create such believable heroes, villains and ordinary, everyday folk doing the best with their struggles in life. Tiny little details – the clothes a group of lads are wearing, the jumper a little boy’s mother has bought him, the sounds, the smells, the voices, the location – it was as if I was watching a film it’s so vivid. The characters are nuanced, faceted, even Tony is complex – which isn’t always the case with the main character. The heroes are not prefect, the villains are horribly believable, violent, corrupt, immoral – and I didn’t really know whether Tony would win against them or not – I’m not going to reveal what happens to him, read it and find out!
As I mentioned, I’ve read some stunningly good books, but honestly, this tops the list!

Chris Speck has written more books since then, a trilogy about a highwayman, a novel about murder on a North Sea trawler, a brilliant contemporary novel set in Hull – and now its sequel, ‘Lockwood’ subtitled a Hull gangland love story is published today!!!! Here is a link to it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lockwood-Hull-gangland-story-Avenue/dp/1739330854