Sam Dean Thriller - The Late Candidate (Sam Dean Thriller, Book 2)
A gripping, tense thriller guaranteed to keep you up all night…
In 1980s London, Black political leaders who can straddle the racial divide are a rarity.
So when a rising Black politician, Aston Edwards, is murdered, the effects quickly ripple through London’s Afro-Caribbean community.
Then a young Black boy is arrested for his murder, surrounded by rumours of an affair with Aston’s wife.
Sammy Dean, journalist-turned-investigator, is determined to find the truth. When a Black activist’s death is written off as a suicide, Sam begins to think the two cases are linked. With tensions running high, can Sam find the truth before the city erupts?
The Late Candidate is a gritty and authentic representation of London’s multi-cultural history, wrapped up in a tense thriller.
”'In this top-notch first novel… The plot is hard-boiled, the mystery unfolding gradually rather than presenting itself full blown for solution. Phillips's dialogue and his protagonist's voice-over ruminations on everything from racial disharmony to foolishness on TV are spot-on, adding to the pleasure a fresh, transatlantic sensibility and inflection.” - Publishers Weekly
Praise for Mike Phillips -
”'Could have come from the pen of the master, Raymond Chandler” - Today
”'Mr Phillips delivers quality” - The Times
‘Engaging pacy thriller… Phillips’ prose in concise, witty and fluid’ TLS -
”'Phillips… gives a mean streetwise documentary edge to his hero’s hunt for a witness” - Sunday Express
”'There’s much here to suggest that Phillips could be one of our bravest, most incisive social commentators” - Mail on Sunday
‘Phillips’ depictions of urban London share more with Harlem and Los Angeles than the English drawing rooms of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell’ Financial Times -
”'American readers willing to wonder a bit about unfamiliar London landmarks and neighbourhoods will be rewarded by Phillips's subtle psychological complexities and deadpan ironies” - Publishers Weekly