woodys-uk
Price: £21.93
In stock
36 used & new from £0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Killing The Beasts
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Killing The Beasts (Hardcover)

by Chris Simms (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


10 new from £0.01 23 used from £0.01 3 collectible from £7.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover £19.95 £19.95 Order it used
Paperback (New Ed) £6.99 £4.49 87 used & new from £0.01

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Shifting Skin (Detective Jon Spicer Thrillers)

Shifting Skin (Detective Jon Spicer Thrillers)

by Chris Simms
4.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.58
Savage Moon

Savage Moon

by Chris Simms
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £6.29
Pecking Order

Pecking Order

by Chris Simms
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £6.29
Hell's Fire

Hell's Fire

by Chris Simms
4.2 out of 5 stars (4)  £8.79
Outside the White Lines

Outside the White Lines

by Chris Simms
4.1 out of 5 stars (7)  £13.59
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Orion; First Edition edition (7 Jul 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0752868551
  • ISBN-13: 978-0752868554
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 963,913 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE

'Where this book scores is in the characterisation... Benwell is a perfectly realised example of yuppie grace folding under pressure.'


Review

'An exciting new psychological thriller.' (Carla McKay DAILY MAIL )

'Partly an account of descent into mental illness, partly a satire on the advertising industry and partly an examination of drug culture, but it sticks in the mind most as a diatribe against that pavement menace, chewing gum' (Jake Kerridge DAILY TELEGRAPH )

'a new tec with a refreshingly different personality and approach to the job than the plodders we're used to.' **** (Jon Wise LADS MAG )

'a highly polished study of madness and murder... If you've not read Simms' work before, Killing the Beasts is a great starting point to enter his world of madness. But beware Simms' writing is addictive in the extreme.' (Ali Karim OCTOBER MAGAZINE )

'Where this book scores is in the characterisation... Benwell is a perfectly realised example of yuppie grace folding under pressure.' (THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE )

'the story's dramatic events are drawn out, gradually building up the tension to a page-turning, heart-stopping - and totally unexpected - ending. In turn highly atmospheric and insightful... a good read for those who like traditional British crime tales with a twist. (THE BOOK PLACE )
See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(12)
(9)
(3)
(7)
(7)
(7)
(5)
(6)
(3)
(2)
(2)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Killing The Beasts
75% buy the item featured on this page:
Killing The Beasts 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
Outside the White Lines
7% buy
Outside the White Lines 4.1 out of 5 stars (7)
£13.59
Shifting Skin (Detective Jon Spicer Thrillers)
7% buy
Shifting Skin (Detective Jon Spicer Thrillers) 4.8 out of 5 stars (5)
£5.58
The Edge
6% buy
The Edge 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£7.68
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars High quality crime fiction with a difference, 23 Jan 2006
By N. Quantrill (Hull, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
‘Killing The Beasts’ is the first in a series of crime-fiction novels that follows the caseload of DI Jon Spicer. The story follows a series of murders that leave the police searching for a seemingly random killer. Simms constructs the story imaginatively so as to allow the narrative to jump between his two main protagonists, DI Spicer and his friend, accounts manager Tom Benwell, as they both experience the effects of high pressured, results driven environments. This is perhaps the novel’s greatest strength, as its psychological analysis of Benwell’s descent into madness, as his world collapses around him, is both gripping and all too realistic.

Simms cleverly locates the novel in Manchester as the city builds up to hosting the 2002 Commonwealth Games. This gives him the opportunity to critically examine the way that this city, and in reality, most UK cities are being regenerated, and reflects on the truth that there are always winners and losers in this process. More importantly, this gives Simms an interesting means of lifting his crime-fiction away from the well-trodden ground of the standard serial-killer novel.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing take on the serial-killer novel, 20 Jan 2006
By N. Quantrill (Hull, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
‘Killing The Beasts’ is the first in a series of crime-fiction novels that follows the caseload of DI Jon Spicer. The story follows a series of murders that leave the police searching for a seemingly random killer. Simms constructs the story imaginatively so as to allow the narrative to jump between his two main protagonists, DI Spicer and his friend, accounts manager Tom Benwell, as they both experience the effects of high pressured, results driven environments. This is perhaps the novel’s greatest strength, as its psychological analysis of Benwell’s descent into madness, as his world collapses around him, is both gripping and all too realistic.

Simms cleverly locates the novel in Manchester as the city builds up to hosting the 2002 Commonwealth Games. This gives him the opportunity to critically examine the way that this city, and in reality, most UK cities are being regenerated, and reflects on the truth that there are always winners and losers in this process. More importantly, this gives Simms an interesting means of lifting his crime-fiction away from the well-trodden ground of the standard serial-killer novel.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What a good end to 2008!, 30 Dec 2008
This review is from: Killing The Beasts (Paperback)
I found this book to be riveting! Original and very real on every plane. The story unfolds with more than one suspect and it really could have been any of them! The way Simms takes us through the descent into Tom's mental illness and demise is very realistic, and compelling.

I am resident near Manchester (where the book is based) and followed Tom and Jon through the streets in the city centre where the descriptions are spot on!

Loved it, was sorry for it to end although I read it compulsively, such a page turner that it was! Looking forward to more of the same...
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A perceptive and absorbing whodunnit
Jon Spicer is pulled off a long running car theft operation to lead the hunt for the killer of Polly Mather. His chance to prove he can cut the mustard. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Helen Simpson

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject








i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.