Virtual Tour for Wrong Crowd by Richard Godwin

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for Wrong Crowd by Richard Godwin.  Please leave a comment or question for Richard to let him know you stopped by.  You may follow all of the stops on his tour by clicking on the banner above.

Wrong Crowd

By Richard Godwin

Publisher:  Down and Out Books

Release date:  September 29, 2015

Genre: Crime/Mystery

Format: eBook/Print

Length:  198 Pages

ISBN:  978-1937495992

ASIN:  B014Q19HM0

Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N 

About the book:

A sultry novel in which an art thief finds himself out of his depth in a criminal maelstrom when he meets a beautiful woman with no past.

When Claude meets Maxine in the Caribbean he falls for her. He does not expect he will start an affair with her back in London, then again he does not expect to have to call on the help of his old mate Spike, nor that will they become embroiled with Russian gangsters Vladimir and Grigory.

But then Claude will do anything to hold onto Maxine.

Peopled with thieves, hustlers, gangsters, gun runners and pimps, Wrong Crowd is a slick and action-packed ride into London’s low-life. East End villains and the Russian Mafia collide in a fast-paced novel of deceit and criminal obsession that sparkles as it speeds towards its astonishing conclusion.

About the Author

Richard Godwin is the author of critically acclaimed novels Apostle Rising, Mr. Glamour, One Lost Summer ,Noir City , Meaningful Conversations , Confessions Of A Hit Man , and Paranoia And The Destiny Programme.

He is also a published poet and a produced playwright. His stories have been published in numerous paying magazines and over 34 anthologies, among them The Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime  and The Mammoth Book Of Best British Mystery , alongside Lee Child, as well as the anthology of his stories, Piquant: Tales Of The Mustard Man. His novels have sold numerous foreign rights.

Richard Godwin was born in London and obtained a BA and MA in English and American Literature from King’s College London, where he also lectured.

Author Links

Web – http://www.richardgodwin.net/

Blog – http://www.richardgodwin.net/blog

Twitter – https://twitter.com/stanzazone

When I first read the description for Wrong Crowd, I wasn’t sure it was going to be my kind of book but I wanted to read something a bit darker than the cozy mysteries I’ve been reading lately so I thought I would give it a try.  I have to admit it wasn’t quite what I expected.  Colorful characters, a gripping plot and curiosity kept me turning the pages from start to finish.  A dark, dialogue driven crime thriller, Wrong Crowd by Richard Godwin is not for the faint of heart.

Recently divorced and on a much needed vacation in the Caribbean, Claude meets Maxine, a stunningly beautiful younger woman, on the beach.  Quickly obsessed by her beauty and the idea of what being with her would represent, Claude becomes involved with a woman who will force his return to a life of crime.  Will their involvement, and the actions Claude must take to give Maxine the life she wants, lead to a future together or will his actions drive them apart?

Mr. Godwin does a good job developing his characters right from the start.  While we know a little bit about Claude, from his own viewpoint, we know almost nothing about Maxine.  Claude’s instant sexual obsession with her is intense and when they are reunited in London, he works quickly to become the only man in her life – regardless of what it takes to do so.  As the story develops it becomes clear that Maxine has plans of her own which leads to their involvement in darker, more brutal elements of crime.

The secondary characters are colorful and contribute a dark and occasionally a very brutal element to the story.  I especially liked Alain, aka Al, Claude’s brother, and Yarrow, a business associate of his, who both turn out to be quite important in Claude’s life.  I thought the author did an excellent job with his portrayal of “Spike”, an associate of Claude’s we meet early in the book, and Vladimir and Grigory, the Russian mobsters Claude becomes involved with, three characters who provide the dark and more brutal elements in the story.  I thought the story was well paced, and while I thought some of the author’s frank and explicit language was a bit much, it was true to the “low-life” criminal element his characters portrayed.

 

Will Claude’s involvement in a darker element of crime destroy the man Maxine has fallen for?  Will his obsession with Maxine lead to more danger than Claude can handle?  You’ll have to read Wrong Crowd to find out, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Mr. Godwin’s work.

My Rating:   4 out of 5 Crowns   

FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour for a fair and honest review.