When his beloved little brother is stolen away, five-year-old Tommy Farrier is left alone with his alcoholic
mam, his violent step-dad and his guilt. Too young to understand what has really happened, Tommy is sure of only one thing. He is to blame.
Tommy tries to be good, to live-up to his brother’s increasingly hazy memory, but trapped in a world of shame and degradation he grows up with just two options; poverty or crime. And crime pays.
Or so he thinks.
A teenage drug-dealer for the vicious Burns gang, Tommy’s life is headed for disaster, until, in the place he least expects, Tommy sees a familiar face…
And then things get a whole lot worse
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Review
Often books fit into a genre. Sometimes though they don’t because they are a mixture. If I would have to create a box to fit this one in, I would call it dark domestic meets gangland crime.
When, as a child, you are traumatized and victim of domestic violence, you only see one way out: get away as soon as you can even if you are barely old enough to survive on your own. As the author already states in his blurb, there are two solutions: you either live in poverty and turn into one of your parents (or both) or you seek the benefits of a life filled with crime. And crime can get you on the road to earning money, so I guess a lot of them will pick this path.
It will indeed help you with the money problem, but you become a prisoner too. A prisoner for life, until the boss says stop… When will that be though? Well, probably never as long as you deliver.
This really is a heart breaking story. I felt for Tommy, struggling with guilt and trying to handle it the best he could. At least that’s what he thought. Looking back, he probably picked the worst way.
I do admire him. He realizes he has to do something, but that’s easier said than done.
Will he turn his life around? Will he achieve his happily ever after or is he doomed?
An amazing story! It felt very real too. Great read. 5 stars
Thank you, Simon Van der Velde
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About the Author
Simon Van der Velde was born and educated in Newcastle upon Tyne where he trained and practiced as a lawyer. Writing, however, was always the real passion, and Simon has now left the legal profession in order to concentrate on his writing.
Since completing a creative writing M.A. (with distinction) at University of Northumbria in 2011, Simon’s work has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards including; The Yeovil Literary Prize, (twice), The Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal, The Wasafiri New Writing Prize, The Luke Bitmead Bursary, The Frome Short Story Prize, The Writers’ and Artists’ Short Story Prize, The Harry Bowling Prize, The Henshaw Press Short Story Competition and The National Association of Writers’ Groups Open Competition.
Simon is the founder and chair of Gosforth Writers Group and author of the widely acclaimed, Amazon bestseller, Backstories, ‘the standout most original book of the year’ in 2021. His literary crime novel, The Silent Brother is published on 16th June, 2022 by Northodox Press. Simon is currently working on both Backstories II and his followup crime novel, Dogwood.
Having travelled throughout Europe and South America, Simon now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with his wife, labradoodle and two tyrannical children.
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Author Link
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonvdvelde/
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Book Links
Northodox Press – https://bit.ly/3qObqdl
Amazon https://amzn.to/3uK9sNC
Goodreads – https://bit.ly/3ri3std
B for Bookreview 