Title: Wasted Opportunity
Review: What could have been an excellent dip into British Noir turns into a predictable hotch-potch of ITV-style crime drama. What sets the book apart from the rest of British crime is the fact that it has no real idea about Britain. There aren't any "elevators" for instance, nor do job centres have spikes to put notes on. And not everyone who's unemployed is an inveterate gambler.Smalltime falls into too many deeply dubious stereotypes to be of any worth. That's not to say it's not well-written, because it is. Unfortunately, the plot is wafer-thin and the characters sketchy at best. Our main protagonist, Chris, is supposedly some sort of chick-magnet, three girls on the go at the same time, but his appeal is never explained. Dashy's bad homelife is straight out of a bad Ken Loach film. As for Kevin... Well, he's really nothing more than a bad guy.All in all, it sounds like an American trying to write for a British audience. And it falls flat...Bloodlines should know better.
Is this product review negative?