Own Goals: Amazon.co.uk: Phil Andrews: Books

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'A highly enjoyable cunningly plotted thriller with an amiable, witty P.I. and an authentic behind-the-scenes Premier League backdrop for footie fans' -- Publishing News 'Murder, sex, blackmail and financial chicanery. At last - here's a City team with more problems than Manchester City' -- Colin Shindler, author of MANCHESTER UNITED RUINED 'A sardonic, witty debut' -- Publishing News

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‘A sardonic, witty debut'

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4 Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Breezy Footie Crime, 20 Mar 2003

By	A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This breezy debut by sportswriter Andrews is just the ticket for a light crime read when football's not in season. Set in an unnamed Yorkshire city, the story concerns an unemployed and soon to be divorced bloke who stumbles into becoming a detective by happening to be in a nightclub where an Italian soccer star is accused of sexual assault. Soon after, Steve Strong is hired by the local team to find out who is framing their players in apparently compromising situations.

Unlike far too many amateur PIs, Strong thrashes about, upsetting the applecart over and over, repeatedly letting the beans spill to the wrong people, and getting in way over his head. The bad guys are a nice mix of thugs and greedy suits, and there's even a love interest or two. With repeated references to Raymond Chandler, the book wears its heroes on its sleeve. It's not an overly ingenious whodunit, but it does has something to say about the relationship professional sports has to television money and the big business interests that price out the average fans.

The tale would have been a little more engrossing had the team been real, as Manuel Montalban's use of Barcelona in his footie crime book Offside. Andrews makes up for it by cramming in loads of humor, some of which works quite well, other of which is a little too forced. But if you're looking for a decent, light crime novel to pass the hours, this'll do nicely! And Strong's adventures continue in Goodnight Vienna, which revolves around the national team.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Raymond Chandler meets the Premier League., 11 Dec 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Own Goals (Paperback)

When Steve Strong is asked to investigate an alleged assault by one of the star players of Premier League football team "City", he is keen to play at being a private eye. As the plot develops, and his understanding of what is going on around him grows, Strong becomes increasingly hard-boiled, emulating his hero Philip Marlowe.

Written by an author who clearly has a love of both football and detective fiction this book has femmes fatale, menacing baddies and a well-constructed plot with its share of red herrings. The book also has comments to make about the role of big business in football, how journalists interact with the game and how the fans are treated. The hero has a nice line in self-deprecating wit and the Yorkshire locations are appealing - it is nice to see a familiar modern backdrop to this story told in a classic style.

The book is a page-turner littered with sharp dialogue and plenty of references to modern culture (there are movie quotations and even nods to well known jokes!). I am pleased to see that Andrews has written a second book featuring Steve Strong.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great fun, 21 Mar 2001

By A Customer

Having enjoyed 'Goodnight Vienna' I am now thoroughly enjoying this light comedy crime thriller. It's fast-paced and great fun, and I'm looking forward very much to his next book. The Steve Strong character is a fine creation, and is just made for TV. If you want a well-written, light but intelligent read, you could do an awful lot worse than this novel.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Yet another football book
Own Goals is a readable, sporadically funny thriller centred around a semi-imaginary Northern football club called 'City'. Read more

Published on 6 Jan 2000

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Own Goals (Paperback)

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