Col Bury's Crime Fiction Choice #21 - A GOOD DAY (Tales from the Longcroft Estate - volume 1) by DARREN SANT...

This short eBook opens with a pigeon scavenging for food, quickly setting the scene on the Longcroft Estate in an original way which made me smile knowingly.  Not that I scavenge for old kebabs, but with the credit crunch kicking in who knows, eh? The upshot, I knew where I was from the outset - in a harshly real place.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a selfish heroin addict, and I have to say that Sant's portrayal was as authentic as I've ever read.  I was particularly struck by the warped views of the addict and how he saw the decent folk in society as scum, and with the same contempt they rightly had for him.  Clever that.

When our druggie gets new neighbours, this gritty story takes a dramatic twist, which questions the morality of the man drowning in a sea of drugs.  The intrigue in this tale drags you along, and it ends with a second, bonus gut-punch, which again made me smile at the author's prowess.  Thoroughly enjoyable read, and a reminder of what goes on as we all innocently go about our daily routines.

My only negative would be that I wanted more, which is obviously a positive too.  So, I'll be buying more of Sant's work for sure.  Starting now with volume two, COMMUNITY SPIRIT.

Check out Darren Sant at Amazon, or at his blog.