HARD-HITTING, HARD-BOILED BRITISH CRIME DEBUT Key Sales Points * (Co)author was a career criminal, has spent 14 years behind bars and is now a media professional * gripping, authentic portrayal of the mind and milleu of an ex-con, with a sequel Fat Blackmail - already written and scheduled for 2009 * Arguably the first ever ?criminal procedural? novel. A very different take on the crime genre * Publicity interest already running high, including TV and radio About the Book Lock, Stock nTwo Smoking Barrels meets Raymond Chandler by way of Martina Cole. Set primarily in 1990s Manchester, this is British, urban, gritty crime writing at its best. The story begins with a nameless protagonist leaving Strangeways prison after serving a term for attempted robbery. His sentence was extended for possession of a quantity of heroin - something which he would never touch - and he is keen to know who has fitted him up and why. Very quickly we are drawn into a hardboiled criminal underworld as he investigates, calling on contacts from both sides of the fence. Things go rapidly from bad to worse; he finds his ex-wife and two kids have been scared into moving house and discovers his nephew, apparently now a small-time heroin dealer, has been shot dead. With his old friend and co-conspirator (and ex-wife's new lover) Leon as his only ally, our anti-hero must discover who has laid out this ever-tightening net and strike fast, hard and pre-emptively if he is to avoid losing everything and everyone he holds dear. Last Straight Face is a complex and tightly plotted thriller, tough, realistic, cynical and utterly gripping to the very last page. About the Authors Bruce Kennedy Jones is an investigative journalist specialising in crime and has produced numerous radio and TV programmes. He set up Black Arrow, a production company that has made programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Five. The pair met while Jones was making a major series for the BBC about Britain's prison system. Eric Allison has been a career criminal for much of his life and has spent around 14 years behind bars. At the height of his criminal career he was described by Manchester Police as being among the ?top echelons of British criminals?. He is now prison correspondent for The Guardian and a campaigner for prisoners' rights. They are currently working on Fat Blackmail, follow-up to Last Straight Face. REVIEW 'Frighteningly realistic...The complex web of contacts and characters are handled masterfully. A rare, fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the hidden world of British villainy" Big Issue
