Essex Boys: A Terrifying Expose of the British Drugs Scene
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Amazon.co.uk Review
"Violence is a messy business". Bernard O'Mahoney's words don't do justice to the casual brutality that litters his side of the Rettendon murders story. And justice, as opposed to man-made law, is his pre-occupation throughout. Standing toe-to-toe with Tony Thompson's account, Bloggs 19, what drives O'Mahoney's uneasy narrative is the belief that the two men jailed for the murder of three Firm members are innocent. One would be tempted to say that hoodlums assassinating hoodlums is itself a form of natural justice, and that Mick Steele and Jack Whomes were hardly angels, but that panders to the vengeful amorality endemic in that world. O'Mahoney was head doorman at Raquels nightclub in Basildon, where the ecstasy tablet was procured which killed Leah Betts. The dead girl's father holds O'Mahoney primarily responsible for her death, as he was aware of the drug dealing in the club. The first edition of this book, called "So This Is Ecstasy?", was initially withdrawn after Paul Betts objected to the use of the now-famous image of Leah on a life-support machine. Leah is one of the "victims" to whom the book is dedicated, while O'Mahoney's coldly staring eyes now fix you from the cover.
From Brooklyn to Basildon, tales of aggression, loyalty, squabbles and double-dealing swagger fascinate "straight people", many of whom derive a voyeuristic, vicarious thrill. O'Mahoney's flat flow of anecdotes, in which much is left unsaid, builds towards Leah's death, and his own exit from Firm life, with a grim, despairing predictability, but it becomes increasingly difficult to separate the man from the self-glamorising existence of debt-collectors, doormen and gangsters, and the culture of blame and punishment it promotes. In one telling incident, David Arnell, the quietest of doormen, suddenly snaps and badly beats up a customer, illustrating how the atmosphere of violence proves the strongest narcotic of all. O'Mahoney is also the author of Soldier of the Queen, a superior account, detailing his time serving in Northern Ireland, and which fills in much of the personal detail lacking here. Without that, this book-of-the-film-of-the-book, despite its lurid fascination, ultimately punches below its weight. --David Vincent
Product Description
ESSEX BOYS is the brand new edition of the shocking bestseller known as SO THIS IS ECSTASY?. It is the true story of the rise of one of the most violent and successful criminal gangs of the 90's whose reign of terror was finally terminated when the three leaders were brutally murdered in their Range Rover one winter's evening. On their way they had built the drug-dealing organisation that which supplied the pill that killed Leah Betts. They were responsible for a wave of intimidation, beatings and murder. Until, it seems, they took one step too far. Now there is compelling evidence that the men convicted of shooting the dead men are innocent. Which means the real murderers are still at large. Bernard O'Mahoney was a key member of what has been one of the most feared gangs of the decade. His inside account of their cold-blooded violence reveals that facts can be more terryfing than fiction.
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First Sentence
8 JULY 1986. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
8 JULY 1986. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bernard explains his involvment with may of the UK's gangsters who had a strangle hold on the rave scene. A well written book that you will not be able to put down. It is interesting to read this after Dave Courtneys 'Stop the Ride' as there are a few conflicting stories.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
During the early 90's I spent two wild and exciting years working on the doors in Blackpool's club-land. O'Mahoney's book captures perfectly the mood and culture of the time. The only difference in the characters of 'Essex Boys'and any 'Boys'from any other major club-scene are the names and faces, everything else is the same - the same drugs, same personalities, same muscles, and yes, the same Range Rovers (or maybe a Shogun). The book proved completely fascinating to me as I felt that I could almost substitute the people whom I used to know with the main players in this story. O'Mahoney has produced a book written with honesty and integrity (often showing himself in a unsavoury light) that I feel will stand the test of time as a major insight into criminal gangs in the 90's, and the dark side of club culture. He manages to capture the often-curious mix of warmth, humour, and vulnerability present in club land faces, combined with their negative traits of greed, arrogance, and cold hardness. You can really tell that he has been there. For a contrast I recommend that you read 'Bloggs 19' by Tony Thompson. I must admit that I found this work seemed to be a little self-serving, and that the main protagonist appears most concerned to be seen in a good light-unlike O'Mahoney. I feel that the truth of what really happened to Tucker, Tate, and Rolfe lies somewhere in-between the two books, but if you had to plump for one of the two I would go for O'Mahoneys version.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I originally bought this book about 5 years ago. Since that time, I have re-read it many times and can honestly say that this is a very interesting book.
This book is succesful in showing the reader that the underworld is not all money and glamour. This book highlights the true state of the murky underworld that is involved in narcotics and the devestating effect that it can have.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in True Crime.
This book is succesful in showing the reader that the underworld is not all money and glamour. This book highlights the true state of the murky underworld that is involved in narcotics and the devestating effect that it can have.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in True Crime.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Shocking Insight in to a Murky World.
A Shocking insight in to the murky world of drugs violence and intimidation. An inside view of the door staff who rather than attempt to stop drugs entering the club, basically... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Thermic Phil
bland and boring
read this book over the weekend and found it very bland and boring , totally not what i was expecting , the author came across as someone who was only on the outside and was not... Read more
Published 2 months ago by chris kw
My honest opinion
I have scored this fairly high, because it is a good read, one which keeps you entralled from start to finish and therefore felt it desereved it. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Essex Boy
Essex Boys
Good book....still would love to hear what really happened to those three that night....they are where they deserve to be!!
Published 20 months ago by chris78
Essex Boys
Brutal insight into the UK Drug scene and written by a person who witnessed it first hand. Not as well structured as Bloggs 19 in relation to the rettendon murders but seeing as... Read more
Published on 24 May 2010 by Ironcopper
poor
Poor book , well researched but thats all it is , research.
Not as in-depth as what the other "real" key members of the Essex boys have written. Read more
Not as in-depth as what the other "real" key members of the Essex boys have written. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2008 by book worm
a good look at the english club scene
A very good book about the door scene in Essex aswell as the death of Leah Betts, The triple land rover murders in Rettendon and the drug dealing and double crossing that... Read more
Published on 25 May 2001 by dylan.sentance@talk21.com
The real world
A great book.
I dont usually read but as soon as I started reading this book I couldnt put it down. Read more
Published on 20 May 2001
Amazingly in depth
Normally I only read gangster books where I know the subject (i.e Gotti, Capone, The Krays etc). Also I don't normally read gangster stories where the gangsters aren't dressed in... Read more
Published on 10 April 2001
excellent insight of the notorious underworld.
It's crime as we all see at the movies dark and sinister, a true and moving exspose into the world of some true essex boys. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2001
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