SOHO, 1935.
SERGEANT LEON GEATS’ PATCH.A snarling, skull-cracking misanthrope, Geats marshals the grimy rabble according to his own elastic moral code.
The narrow alleys are brimming with jazz bars, bookies, blackshirts, ponces and tarts so when a body is found above the Windmill Club, detectives are content to dismiss the case as just another young woman who topped herself early.
But Geats – a good man prepared to be a bad one if it keeps the worst of them at bay – knows the dark seams of the city.
Working with his former partner, mercenary Flying Squad sergeant Mark Cassar, Geats obsessively dedicates himself to finding a warped killer – a decision that will reverberate for a lifetime and transform both men in ways they could never expect.
A couple of years ago I heard about this fabulous book that everyone was talking about. I picked up a hardback copy, fully intending to read it next.
Then it sat on the shelf, cos it’s a BIG book. I picked up a copy on kindle, fully intending to read that. Bookblogger friends on the socials cheered, as I had to read it, it was so good.
[time passes]
Suddenly it seems that Dominic Nolan had another book out. Surely I hadn’t had it that long?
Reader, I had. A not-so-gentle nudge by Liz Barnsley (source of 90% of my book recommendations and a scourge on my wallet) had me off to the shelves to retrieve my copy. It was a Sunday morning, around 10am. This might take me a while, at nearly 600 pages Vine Street is a beast.
I put the book down at around 10pm, having spent a huge chunk of the day immersed in the murky world of Sgt Leon Geats.
My review: I read a six hundred page book in a day, pausing occasionally only to make a fresh cup of tea as the previous one had gone cold.
It’s phenomenally good. It oozes atmosphere, you can almost feel the grit and grime of the streets coming off the page. Geats is an incredible character, but only one of a whole cast who are all brilliantly realised. They’re not all nice people, but they all feel so very much… alive. The story pans out over three timelines covering some 67 years, and it’s just glorious.
And there’s a cat.
Don’t do what I did. Get a copy (or get it off your shelf if you already have it), clear the decks, stock up on tea and biscuits and settle in for a book that will feature very highly on my books of the year list.
Sorry it took me so long, Dom. It was very much worth the wait.
Vine Street by Dominic Nolan is published by Headline and is out now
