If you enjoy fast-paced London East-end gangster fiction, then this book is for you. With Russian mafiaso, Italian mobsters and Nigerian contract assassins amongst the cast of characters, it provides an international flavour to the skulduggery of the criminal underworld. I was hooked from the first page, wanting to discover what would happen to the main characters. The novel works as a stand-alone book but I think it may be the second in a series (or trilogy?) of books. The synopsis mentions an earlier novel called ‘A good day to die’ and the way the book ends implies another book will follow.

I thought the story was a ripping-yarn. All chapters were very short, many covering some hours in a day or a few days, keeping the action moving at pace. This made it a very easy read. I liked how it was effectively divided into three parts – part 1 covering the first half of a month; Part 2 addressing a two-day period three -years beforehand; and Part 3 taking us back to the then present ie the latter half of the month. This kept the timeline of events tight and really focused the story.

Reading the blurb on the back of the book I immediately thought my favourite character would be Pretty Boy, but it turned out to be the military decorated ex-German commando working as a bodyguard (Franka) I was most interested in. I was curious about the literary-loving Mrs Lewis and her blossoming bonding with Pretty Boy over fine foods and literature. I could easily have been invested in both characters if they had been more fully developed.

I liked the idea of Pretty Boy (I even liked the name!) but without knowing enough about him I could not root for him as an antihero. His first-person narration provided his viewpoint and helped place him in the middle of the action, but lacked depth as a fully developed character, limiting my ability to identify with his choices. Maybe, ‘A good day to die’ provides his backstory? 

I loved the interconnections between lawyers, the police and the criminal underworld; many knowing each other personally or knowing of each other and trading information/favours as a form of currency made me feel that they were all operating in a world where all was shades of grey.

The well written scene involving banter between the two ‘skilled and sought-after mercenaries’ with their ‘unique blend of American and Nigerian accents’ made me laugh out loud.

The synopsis implied Pretty Boy was the main character, but he doesn’t make an appearance until page 36; it’s arguable that the story is equally if not more about ex-Metropolitan police officer Alan Pierce and all his manoeuvrings’. Given the interesting backstory of how these two came into each other’s lives, plus how/why they parted ways, I think an intriguing son-father dynamic could have been made of their relationship. 

As the icy daughter of a Russian oligarch who’s relocated to London, Veronika Lenkov seemed an archetype rather than a fully rounded character. The stereotype of the female being deadlier than the male seemed a bit formulaic. As for the cliché of Angus, I was pleased we lost him as a character almost as quickly as he appeared!

Jamal aka Hackney came across as a stereotype of a gangster – constantly spoiling for a fight. The character made me question how he could have survived long enough to rise through the ranks to run a crime enterprise given his volatility.  

Overall, I enjoyed the quality of the writing which fit the storyline. It was a fun read! I would recommend this book to YA readers and fans of crime fiction, giving it my rating of 3.5 out of 5. 

A Good Night to Kill is published by Quercus Books and will be available in hardback from 27th April 2023.