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2000s: In Manchester, the Sirens roam the streets, but careful of hearing their call..
Sirens
What you need to know before your trail
Detective Aidan Waits, caught stealing something from evidence has now been compelled to take on an undercover job looking for those on the force who are in the company of drug dealers. He is asked to look into the case of a missing girl – the daughter of a MP, someone who is now lurking somewhere in the seedy underworld of Manchester’s bars.
Meanwhile the Sirens lurk the streets too – these are the women who collect drug money from the bars, for the man who oversees, controls and manipulates Manchester’s drug trade – Zain Carver.
But there is a bad batch of heroin on the streets and girls are going missing. Just like a girl did ten years ago. Just what is going on and is Aidan in deeper than he thought?
Travel Guide
Jeepers. This is not the Manchester you’d not want to visit for real. But on the other hand it is a very interesting angle on the city with its landmarks playing the parts of characters and adding more than a little flavour to proceedings.
The Sirens are those who do the drugs behind the scenes, who live from one bar to the next, looking for numbers – clients raise their fingers according to the drug they want – like a deadly kind of bingo, each number gets you a new high. Gives a new meaning to the phrase – “Get lucky and score a line to win”
The city’s Beetham Tower is like a siren in itself – or a beacon shining its deadly shadows across the city for what happens here spreads out across the whole of Manchester. The tower has history, a unique view of the city and an aura to it that creates an air of intrigue and is like a literary pin in Manchester’s map now. Book into the Hilton and read this book right here for the ultimate thrill!
But it’s the Manchester drug and club scene which steals the show so to speak. Zain Carver, the missing girls, the gangs who claim their territory as their own – on and The Bug – “The urban legend made flesh” is a heroin addict you’ll not forget in a hurry.
And then there’s the Temple – or should it be called the Throne? – a toilet turned into a pub – where you can spend a penny or a few hundred on a pint. You still p*** your money down the wall either way..
It’s Manchester as you’ve never seen it before and the Beetham tower becomes the beacon to the Siren call!
Streetview Maps
B) Manchester - Beetham Tower
D) Manchester - Spend more than a penny here!
Booktrailer Review
Susan @thebooktrailer
I read this on a train to Manchester. Was that a wise move? It brought the entire plot even more alive than it was and THAT is no mean feat. It was raining so there I was having just read the line “the rain tapping against the window was making faces at me” and I almost hesitated in getting off the train. I was having palpations, goose bumps and hallucinations all at once – this novel does that to you.
A gritty city and a drug infused plot with corruption rife and the seedy underbelly of the city split wide open. this novel is visceral and not for the faint hearted really as it delves deep inside those dark places you wished never existed. Aidan is a not your usual cop that’s for sure. Damaged yes but not in the way you assume.
And I did think the whole package tied nicely together -with bloody string of course – the menacing cover, the entrails of Manchester’s underbelly spilling out onto each and every page, the Sirens who like the warning sounds they’re redolent of, are loud and glaring blasts of darkness you should really take notice of.
This plot is taunt, authentic, dirty and all together gritty. For a debut especially I’m more than impressed. And it’s the first time I’ve been inside the bowels of a city quite like this. Apt then that there is a real bar called the Temple which is a converted public toilet then!
Highly recommended!
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: Sirens
Author/Guide Joseph Knox Destination: Manchester Departure Time: 2000s
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