After losing her sister to an overdose, Chief Superintendent Jo Howe is desperate to tackle the world of drugs that consumes the shadowy backstreets of Brighton. Operation Eradicate is her response but not everyone sees it as a positive development.
For self-made millionaire Sir Ben Parsons it is a threat to his business – his colossal empire relies on addicts who survive on Respite Pharmaceuticals’ substitute drugs. With connections in the highest levels of government, media and organised crime, Parsons unleashes a brutal counterattack on Howe.
How will she survive being caught in the line of fire?
It is such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for City on Fire by Graham Bartlett today. Many thanks to Josie Rushin from Allison and Busby for inviting me and for sending me an advance copy of the novel.
I thoroughly enjoyed Graham Bartlett's debut, Bad for Good and thought Force of Hate was even better but City on Fire is the best book yet in his Jo Howe series. As the former chief superintendent and division commander of Brighton, it's not surprising that his writing is so believable – scarily so, at times – but it's his compassion, both for the police officers themselves and for the victims, some of whom are routinely viewed in negative light by the media and wider public, which is particularly impressive. In City on Fire, his empathetic yet honest depiction of drug addicts is evident throughout this tautly plotted police thriller.
Graham Bartlett's extensive knowledge of Brighton means the sense of place in this series is always excellent but his focus isn't on its popular image as a vibrant seaside resort. While clearly fictional, his examination of the underbelly of the city is acutely plausible and as the novel progresses, it's alarming to realise how fragile the infrastructure we take for granted could actually be. At the start of the book, however, Chief Superintendent Jo Howe has just cause to believe her radical drugs initiative, Operation Eradicate, is helping the city revive.
Having lost her sister to a drug overdose, she has a deeply personal reason for the policy being a success but as her life falls apart, she is put in an impossible position. Jo is a wonderful character, her unwaveringly steadfast principles are admirable but does there come a point where her stubbornness becomes too much of a risk? Graham Bartlett's insightful exploration of the mental toll inflicted on Jo after all she has endured is superbly expressed and as both her personal and professional life is shattered, her agony is painful to witness. Meanwhile, her colleagues, especially her closet confidantes, Gary and Bob are under huge duress too and their anguish as their relationship with her is sorely tested by the actions they feel forced to make, is obvious.
With the city's police feeling more vulnerable than ever, Sir Ben Parsons and his extensive network of accomplices – the greedy, the guilty and the terrified – seems to hold all the power, and the tension rises inexorably as the unequal fight becomes cruelly aimed against Jo herself. As evidence points to Operation Eradicate beginning to achieve its aims to help the users into treatment and the dealers into prison, Sir Ben is concerned that his lucrative new drug, a substitute for heroin, will run short of addicts. Although he is a ruthless businessman, his primary incentive for needing Synthopate to remain lucrative is closer to home; it's difficult to feel any sympathy for him but Graham Bartlett ensures we understand his motives and he is a multi-dimensional figure throughout. His cold-blooded disregard for the pitiful victims of his remorseless plot is shocking but he is arguably not the most chilling character in City on Fire, with the mercilessly ambitious Tony Evans willing to go to any lengths. Although most of the violence occurs off the page, their callous brutality is never in doubt and the rise in Brighton's mortality rate as a result is often harrowing.
The exciting climax to City on Fire is nerve-rackingly intense and with a diminished yet determined Jo in the thick of the action, the conclusion to this compulsive novel is as moving as it is heart-pounding. City on Fire is a gritty, rivetingly perceptive crime thriller and as Graham Bartlett's writing goes from strength to strength, I can't wait for more. Very highly recommended.
City on Fire is published by Allison and Busby. It can be purchased from the publisher's website, from bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Kobo, Amazon or your favourite independent bookshop.
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