A Good Day To Die by Amen Alonge

 

A Good Day to Die by Amen Alonge.

Published 17th February 2022 by Quercus.

From the cover of the book:

Meet Pretty Boy. Vengeance is on his mind.

His real name:
Unknown

His code of conduct:
Don't be a pawn in someone else's game.
Never underestimate the enemy.
Above all, survive. There is no glory in death.

His mission:
It's been ten years since Pretty Boy left the big city - today he's back. No one knows why, but it's clear that revenge is on his mind: he is determined to make the person responsible for his exile from the London scene finally pay. But his plans seem derailed when he takes possession of a bracelet, unaware that its original owner has set a high price for its safe return. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted and Pretty Boy will have to find out if it is indeed a 'good day to die'.

Jam-packed with action, an unforgettable cast of characters and peppered with dry humour, A Good Day to Die marks the arrival of a fresh and exciting new voice in thriller writing.

***********

Pretty Boy is back on the London scene after ten years in an unknown location. The time is ripe for vengeance and and he is set on a course of action to make the person who led to his exile pay for their sins.

His first move is to arrive at the drug fortress of a face from his past, who now goes by the name of 'Snowman'. Pretty Boy has a bag full of product to sell and needs the money he expects to receive in exchange to set his detailed scheme for revenge in motion. What he doesn't know is that the bracelet 'Snowman' gives him in part payment for the drugs comes with a history - and the former owner is desperate to get his hands on the person who stole it in a foolishly reckless act.

Pretty Boy has become the target from some very dangerous enemies that he did not account for and they are about to interfere with his well laid plans. Will he manage to last out the day and obtain the reckoning he seeks?

What an explosive debut thriller this is! It grabs you from the first page and takes you on a relentless thrill ride rich with vivid characters and violent gangland shenanigans!

The format of the novel is brilliantly unconventional, following the course of Pretty Boy's meticulously planned quest for revenge over the course of a single day, interspersed with vignettes from the past that reveal the whos, whys and wherefores of his story. Meanwhile, some very unpleasant characters are out to get him for his perceived part in the theft of the bracelet, using increasingly vicious means that force Pretty Boy to take a roundabout route to get his long awaited revenge - and to leave a string of bodies in his wake. The whole story takes on a back-to-front structure, brilliantly constructed to ensure all the very twisty threads collide at the very end, and it is oh so beautifully done.

There's no doubt that these pages contain as much violence as it is possible to cram into a story, but at no time does the ferocity of the wet work take away from the slick way that Alonge weaves his cleverly conceived plot lines. Alonge holds nothing back in the way of grittiness, but in many ways the piece has the feel of a gangster caper, filled with dark humour and sexy scenarios, and this drives the action along with perfectly pitched pace.

But this is not all, because beneath the first class, contemporary villainous romp Alonge touches on a stash of thought-provoking themes. I loved the way he brings in a delectable clash of cultures with the make up of his characters in terms of class and race, both on the wider societal front; and more particularly in the obvious discord between criminal fraternities, and how the changing times affect the way they operate. There is a lot to pick apart in the settings Alonge takes us to, exploring issues around lost futures, hopelessness, trauma, abuse and addiction too. The most impressive thing of all is the way Alonge makes you confront all the shades of grey behind what happens in this novel, laying bare the motivations of the characters that live out their lives in the raw underbelly of London, so they become more that caricatures. 

I absolutely loved every little thing about this cracking debut. If the kind of gangster fun that Guy Ritchie produces at his very best is your bag, then you will adore this one too. I cannot wait to see where Alonge goes with the sequel to this book, because the concept is stunning!

A Good Day to Die is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Quercus for sending me a hardcover coop of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Amen Alonge was born in Lagos and moved to London as a teenager almost twenty years ago. He took a Master's Degree at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, then worked as an engineer. He went on to take a screenwriting course at London Film Academy and, for a while, ran the family business, a sports media company that owned the global licensing rights for the Nigerian Football League. He changed careers since, and is currently training to become a solicitor. Amen lives in London with his wife and their son.