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The Dead Sit Round in a Ring
 
 

The Dead Sit Round in a Ring (Paperback)

by David Lawrence (Author) "Four people sitting in a ring ..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (27 Feb 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141004878
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141004877
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11.2 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 515,921 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review
A macabre tableau is discovered in the living room of a Notting Hill flat. Sitting in a circle are four corpses - one of whom, Jimmy Stone, has died by having a sharp object pushed lethally between his ribs. The Notting Hill area is DS Stella Mooney's beat, and it falls to her to crack this grisly mystery. Stella is adept at moving smoothly between the extremes of Notting Hill's social panoply, from the million-pound upscale houses to the grim, drug-ridden sink estates; she is as able to deal with yuppie stockbrokers as she is with pimps and prostitutes. But her skills seem to avail her nothing in this case, for which the operative word is 'rings': from the grotesque ring of bodies to vice rings peddling girls from Eastern Europe, Internet rings specializing in memorabilia connected with brutal murders and the family circles of organized crime. If this weren't enough, there are Stella's own demons: she is waking up at three a.m. each night, sweating from the same terrifying dream. And when her private life becomes embroiled in the quest for Stone's murderer, she finds herself very close to a breakthrough - but one that may have a grim cost to her. David Lawrence rarely puts a foot wrong in this dark and atmospheric thriller: the brooding sense of death and danger ratchets the tension up progressively as Stella Mooney gets very close to the bleak solution of her case, and the set pieces are orchestrated with considerable skill. But the key appeal of the novel is the resourceful, vulnerable heroine: Stella is one of the most distinctive creations in the crime field in some time, and is the perfect fulcrum for Lawrence's gritty, unusual narrative. (Kirkus UK)

Sunday Telegraph
'An accomplished first novel. I look forward to her next case'

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Four people sitting in a ring. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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 (1)
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 (4)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Quality Crime Fiction, 28 Mar 2004
By L. Davidson (Belfast, N.Ireland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
After reading some disappointing and mediocre Crime Fiction novels, I was delighted (and relieved)to have my faith in the genre restored by "The Dead Sit Round In A Ring", a novel which I would rate alongside the best of Mo Hayder and Tony Strong in terms of quality. It is well written, the characters are credible, the dialogue and plot realistic and well constructed. Like Hayder and Strong , there is a lot of gore and violence depicted and disturbing insights into new urban depravities such
as Murderabilia Websites and 15-minute-trick Slavic prostitutes.

The plot revolves around the sympathetic DS Stella Mooney and her investigation of the murder of a minor underworld figure. The investigation takes us into the depths of the West London criminal fraternity and beyond ,exposing Eastern European vice rings and Corleone-esque mafiosi families.

A lot of the plot is not overly original, revolving as it does around individuals brutalised and traumatised by the Bosnian War (Mark Burnell's "Gemini" covers similar ground) and this perhaps reduces the impact of the book. However I enjoyed the vivid depiction of inner city West London life that Lawrence portrays: Harefield Estate is a very modern Blairite Hell- a lawless City State ,the gangsters' Isse Miyake wearing women, the sybaritic lifestyle of the assassin. This detail and the careful characterisation make "The Dead Sit Round..." a winner. I found myself not so interested in DS Mooney's love life ,torn as she was between mysterious journo Delaney and her long term partner , George.Of all the characters , George was the least credible - for some reason I imagined him as the George out of the "George and Lynne" cartoon in "The Sun" -a rather incongruous one dimensional Alpha Male figure.

However , in the round, this novel is entertaining and well written and a good example of superior Crime Fiction.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A very worthy read, 9 May 2002
By A Customer
The cover gives no information about the author, so I guess this was a first novel. A very good one it is too! The crime is unusual and the seedy side of London is exposed throughout the book. It is very well written and excellently paced. I could not put it down. If this was a first novel, I will certainly be looking out for the next, and the next, and the next... Keep writing Mr Lawrence.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fist Novel of a Great Author, 23 Aug 2003
By C. Fisher "Claire" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
I read this book not expecting to enjoy it i admit. From the first page you are thrust into the world of criminals and a lovable detective who has many issues in her life to deal with.
The story behind the charcters is intriguing and makes you want to turn page after page to find out what happens.
If you like crime novels then this is a must read. An excellent first for David.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars a good slice of british crime
There is something about reading british crime fiction that is far bleaker than reading a novel based in the states or elsewhere, perhaps it seems more real if it is based outside... Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2006 by Hugh Sutherland

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent first novel
I took a chance on this new author and to be honest it was real slow going. However once i got past the first one hundred pages, there was no stopping. Read more
Published on 25 May 2005 by R. markus

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