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Heather Burnside

A Gangster's Grip Paperback – July 14, 2018

by Heather Burnside (Author)

4.3 1,087 ratings

Book 2 of 3: The Riverhill Trilogy

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It’s 1991, and Rita is looking forward to her return to Manchester after a few years in Greece with her husband Yansis. But once back she finds a cuckoo in the family nest – a dope-smoking ‘businessman’ called Leroy. Worse, he is her sister Jenny’s boyfriend, and father of her unborn child. Rita and Yansis retreat to stay with friends Julie and Vinny, now living in a comfortable suburb of the city. But Rita is anxious to find out just what hold Leroy has over her family, and she’ll stop at nothing to find out. The more she learns about Leroy, the more she realises her family are playing a very risky game. Rita’s quest is pitting her against some of the most ruthless men in a very dangerous city, but ultimately she knows it is up to her to expose the truth, whatever the consequences might be.

Book 2 of 3

The Riverhill Trilogy
Print length

358 pages
Language

English
Publication date

July 14, 2018
Dimensions

5.08 x 0.81 x 7.8 inches
ISBN-10

1788546555
ISBN-13

978-1788546553
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aria (July 14, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 358 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1788546555
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1788546553
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.02 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.81 x 7.8 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,087 ratings

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About the author

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Heather Burnside

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Heather Burnside grew up in Gorton, a working-class area of Manchester famed as the original location for the TV series, Shameless. She moved from Gorton to a new housing development and spent her teenage years on one of the toughest estates in Manchester.

During the 1990s the estate became the headquarters for one of Manchester’s predominant gangs. It regularly featured in the local press due to shootings and drug-related problems. Heather draws heavily on this background as the setting for many of her novels.

After taking a career break to raise two children Heather enrolled on a creative writing course. During that time she had many articles published in well-known magazines and went on to run a writing services business before focusing on her novels.

Heather now works full-time on her novels from her home in Manchester which she shares with her two grown-up children.

You can find out more about Heather’s books by signing up to her mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/CP6YP to receive regular updates, or by viewing her website: www.heatherburnside.com.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

1,087 global ratings

5 star		57%
4 star		24%
3 star		14%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Kathryn

Excellent read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

Such an enthralling storyline! Only thing that let it down were typos throughout the book - just missing spaces between words

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

Loved the action and the suspense. Liked the way the author is able to detail the issues with drugs, abuse, and the effects of this on families

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 12, 2016

Verified Purchase

This little owl popped up as I was ordering something else. It said "free". I said "why not?" It arrived today. It is a beautiful piece of jewelry. The above photograph does not do it justice. The chain on it is also very nice. This will make a nice birthday present for my future daughter-in-law who absolutely LOVES owls.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

About halfway into the book - the plot and dialog was hard to follow. Sentences very short, choppy and seemed as thought the author was bored and just felt the need to put something on paper. Some improvement was seen in the last half and towards the end which was totally different then I expected. Thank you.

Helpful

Georgia Rose

Recommended Manchester based crime

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2015

A Gangster’s Grip is a sequel to Slur though four years have passed and Rita (one of my favourite characters from Slur) has settled down with Yansis and is living in Greece. They come back to Manchester to sort out some personal issues and are surprised to find that Rita’s sister Jenny is going out with local bad boy, Leroy, and is heavily pregnant. There is no room for them to stay with Rita’s parents, Joan and Ged, so they go to stay with Rita’s best friend Julie, her husband Vinny and daughter Emily.

Very early in the story it is apparent to Rita that Leroy is up to no good and worried for her sister she wants to warn her off him but with her father also involved in Leroy’s shady world and her sister seeming to be besotted with the man it’s not going to be easy.

I’ll say straight away that this book gets better and better as it progresses. The start for me was a little slow, with sometimes too much description and we didn’t get to see a great deal of Leroy’s bad side until much later on. However Burnside really picks up the pace in the second half, along with the crime, violence and death.

The characters that I thought were particularly well written were Carl, who sells drugs for Leroy, and his wife, Debby. Their lives were dismal, their filthy house and desperate kids horribly realistic. Debby is hooked on heroin the supply of which Carl controls along with beating her; presumably because that is the only way he feels he has power over anything. You can sense his frustration at working for Leroy, having to work the less lucrative pitches because Leroy is getting Winston (oh and there’s a twist there which I won’t share!) to work those and Carl is also having to run around picking up drugs as well which adds to his discontent.

There’s a terrific ‘discussion’ between Leroy and Carl in which Leroy’s aggressive dog Tyson plays a part and as the book builds towards its violent end here’s a snippet.

‘Within moments of setting off, Rita realised they had acted rashly, fuelled by impulse. They should have rung Jenny and warned her, maybe rung the police. But what would they tell them? There might not be any crime to report yet. It was too late now; if they doubled back it would waste more valuable time. Besides, what if Debby was wrong? Rita hoped she was.’

There is language in this novel which might offend some but if you’ve picked up a book set in the gang culture of Manchester then that’s only to be expected. I’m looking forward to what comes next from Ms Burnside and highly recommend this to those who like a little grit in their reads.

Helpful

Benignus

An atmospheric and fast-moving crime novel

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 22, 2015

Rita has been living in Greece, where she has been running a restaurant with her husband Yansis. She has just returned to her hometown of Manchester for a visit. On arrival at her parents’ home she finds a surly stranger ensconced on the settee, smoking marijuana. Moments later Rita discovers that her younger sister Jenny is pregnant by this man. His name is Leroy.

Rita is immediately suspicious of Leroy. Concerned for her sister’s welfare she makes enquiries about him in the local area. These enquiries only exacerbate her concerns. Soon Rita is thrust into a world of stolen goods, drugs and the omnipresent threat of gang violence. Here the divisions between victim and perpetrator are often blurred.

A Gangster’s Grip is the sequel to Slur and Part 2 in a proposed Manchester-based crime trilogy. This instalment sees the return not only of the vibrant and vivacious Rita, but also her dependable friend, the now matured protagonist of Slur, Julie. The book boasts an array of colourful and contrasting characters, including sinister Leroy and conscientious Yansis, as well as the gang-affiliated miscreant Carl and his heroin-addicted wife Debby.

Author Heather Burnside adeptly utilises pathos in this atmospheric, fast-moving, plot-driven and eminently readable crime novel, which is set in the early 90s, in what was a dark chapter in Manchester’s illustrious history.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Georgia Rose

Recommended Manchester based crime

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

A Gangster’s Grip is a sequel to Slur though four years have passed and Rita (one of my favourite characters from Slur) has settled down with Yansis and is living in Greece. They come back to Manchester to sort out some personal issues and are surprised to find that Rita’s sister Jenny is going out with local bad boy, Leroy, and is heavily pregnant. There is no room for them to stay with Rita’s parents, Joan and Ged, so they go to stay with Rita’s best friend Julie, her husband Vinny and daughter Emily.

Very early in the story it is apparent to Rita that Leroy is up to no good and worried for her sister she wants to warn her off him but with her father also involved in Leroy’s shady world and her sister seeming to be besotted with the man it’s not going to be easy.

I’ll say straight away that this book gets better and better as it progresses. The start for me was a little slow, with sometimes too much description and we didn’t get to see a great deal of Leroy’s bad side until much later on. However Burnside really picks up the pace in the second half, along with the crime, violence and death.

The characters that I thought were particularly well written were Carl, who sells drugs for Leroy, and his wife, Debby. Their lives were dismal, their filthy house and desperate kids horribly realistic. Debby is hooked on heroin the supply of which Carl controls along with beating her; presumably because that is the only way he feels he has power over anything. You can sense his frustration at working for Leroy, having to work the less lucrative pitches because Leroy is getting Winston (oh and there’s a twist there which I won’t share!) to work those and Carl is also having to run around picking up drugs as well which adds to his discontent.

There’s a terrific ‘discussion’ between Leroy and Carl in which Leroy’s aggressive dog Tyson plays a part and as the book builds towards its violent end here’s a snippet.

‘Within moments of setting off, Rita realised they had acted rashly, fuelled by impulse. They should have rung Jenny and warned her, maybe rung the police. But what would they tell them? There might not be any crime to report yet. It was too late now; if they doubled back it would waste more valuable time. Besides, what if Debby was wrong? Rita hoped she was.’

There is language in this novel which might offend some but if you’ve picked up a book set in the gang culture of Manchester then that’s only to be expected. I’m looking forward to what comes next from Ms Burnside and highly recommend this to those who like a little grit in their reads.

One person found this helpful

thrillergirl

A Gritty, Gripping Manchester Gangland Tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed Slur, the first in the trilogy, particularly the bits about Rita, and was delighted to see her take centre stage in A Gangster’s Grip.
The backdrop to the action is Manchester in 1991 and again, the sense of place and historical details are spot on.
Rita’s matured in the years that she’s been away, but she’s still the same feisty girl, desperate to protect her sister Jenny from Leroy and his thugs. The other characters are well-drawn too – you even get a sense of what makes the bad guys tick. I particularly liked all the dog-eat-dog gang politics and double-dealing, plus the sense of menace that the author creates so well.
As with Slur, I loved the authentic Northern dialogue. Yes there is some bad language, but does anyone really expect gang members to speak in the Queen’s English?
The plot is gripping and picks up pace nicely. The ending is satisfying, with all the subplots coming together.
All in all a great read, especially recommended to fans of Martina Cole.

David Purkiss

Another brilliant read by heather Burnside.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 22, 2022

Verified Purchase

When you read a book or books by heather Burnside you know you are in for an outstanding read because these trylogy books are all brilliant and this one is another one gangster girl in the riverhill trylogy is explosive reading.read Heather's books for yourself and you see what I mean?
D.l.purkiss?

Benignus

An atmospheric and fast-moving crime novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 22, 2015

Verified Purchase

Rita has been living in Greece, where she has been running a restaurant with her husband Yansis. She has just returned to her hometown of Manchester for a visit. On arrival at her parents’ home she finds a surly stranger ensconced on the settee, smoking marijuana. Moments later Rita discovers that her younger sister Jenny is pregnant by this man. His name is Leroy.

Rita is immediately suspicious of Leroy. Concerned for her sister’s welfare she makes enquiries about him in the local area. These enquiries only exacerbate her concerns. Soon Rita is thrust into a world of stolen goods, drugs and the omnipresent threat of gang violence. Here the divisions between victim and perpetrator are often blurred.

A Gangster’s Grip is the sequel to Slur and Part 2 in a proposed Manchester-based crime trilogy. This instalment sees the return not only of the vibrant and vivacious Rita, but also her dependable friend, the now matured protagonist of Slur, Julie. The book boasts an array of colourful and contrasting characters, including sinister Leroy and conscientious Yansis, as well as the gang-affiliated miscreant Carl and his heroin-addicted wife Debby.

Author Heather Burnside adeptly utilises pathos in this atmospheric, fast-moving, plot-driven and eminently readable crime novel, which is set in the early 90s, in what was a dark chapter in Manchester’s illustrious history.

cjmp41

An excellent book looking at the seedier side of Manchester

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

An enthralling story line about life in some of the not so good areas of Manchester and the drugs and violence involved.
I was a little dissapointed in that about 75% of the way through the book I was able to clearly see how this was going to end which took the edge of it.
However I will continue to follow Heather as I am sure she will make an effort to hide the endings in with a few unexpected twists.

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