Search Results for: jake jones

‘BRAZILIAN PSYCHO is a riveting and explosive masterpiece of political crime fiction that deserves to share the shelf with AMERICAN TABLOID, THE POWER OF THE DOG and A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS, and confirms Joe Thomas as one of our very best contemporary crime writers.’ David Peace

‘Complex and compelling, and shot through with moments of horror and beauty, BRAZILIAN PSYCHO is a magnificent achievement.’ The Times Crime Club

‘Fans of Don Winslow and James Ellroy’s epic forays into the societal effects of systematic dysfunction and corruption will want to check this out’ Publishers Weekly

Brazil, 1 January 2003: President Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva begins fifteen years of left-wing government.

1 January 2019: Jair Bolsonaro is inaugurated, a president of the populist right.

How did it come to this?

A blockbusting novel of our times, Brazilian Psycho introduces and completes Joe Thomas’s acclaimed Sao Paulo quartet. Over sixteen years, a diverse cast of characters live through the unfolding social and political drama, setting in motion a whirlwind of plots and counterplots: the murder of a British school headmaster and the consequent cover-up; the chaos and score-settling of the PCC drug gang rebellion over the Mothers’ Day weekend of 2006; a copycat serial killer; the secret international funding of nationwide anti-government protests; the bribes, kickbacks and shakedowns of the Mensalao and Lava Jato political corruption scandals, the biggest in Brazilian history

Brazilian Psycho weaves social crime fiction, historical fact, and personal experience to record the radical tale of one of the world’s most fascinating, glamorous, corrupt, violent, and thrilling cities.

PRAISE FOR JOE THOMAS

‘Brilliant’ The Times
‘Feverish energy’ Guardian
‘Wonderfully vivid’ Mail on Sunday
‘Sophisticated, dizzying’ GQ
‘Vivid and visceral’ The Times
‘Superbly realised vivid and atmospheric’ Guardian
‘Original’ Mail on Sunday
‘A stylish, atmospheric treat an inspired blend of David Peace and early Pinter’ Irish Times
‘Sparse, energetic, fragmented prose’ The Spectator
‘Vibrant, colourful, and complex’ Irish Independent
‘Stylish, sharp-witted, taut. A must for modern noir fans’ NB Magazine
‘Definitive confident and energetic’ Crime Time
‘Brilliant manic energy’ Jake Arnott
‘Wildly stylish and hugely entertaining’ Lucy Caldwell
‘Vivid, stylish, funny’ Mick Herron
‘Gripping, fast-paced, darkly atmospheric’ Susanna Jones
‘Snappy, thoughtful, moving’ John King
‘Exciting, fresh, incredibly assured’ Stav Sherez
‘Happy days!’ Mark Timlin
‘Utterly brilliant’ Cathi Unsworth
‘Had James Ellroy and David Peace collaborated on a novel they’d have written something like this’ Paul Willets

A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK

‘With poignancy, humour and compassion, Jones invites us into “the invigorating chaos of pre-hospital care” . . . a panorama of experiences: the mundane, the ridiculous, the heartbreaking and the tragic’ – The Guardian

‘This beautifully written book, punctuated with wry humour, is a sobering portrayal of the ailing, the distressed and the lonely… Yet it’s also an uplifting read which will make you thankful that should your hour of need arrive, so will someone like Jones’ – Daily Express

A memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life as a paramedic.

A young man has stopped breathing in a supermarket toilet. A pedestrian with a nasty head injury won’t let the crew near him on a busy road. A newborn baby is worryingly silent. An addict urinates on the ambulance floor when denied a fix. This is the life of an ambulance paramedic.

Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years: every day, he sees a dozen of the scenes we hope to see only once in a lifetime. Can You Hear Me? – the first thing he says when he arrives on the scene – is a memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life on the front-lines of medicine in the UK.

As well as a look into dozens of extraordinary scenes – the hoarder who won’t move his collection to let his ailing father leave the house, the blood-soaked man who tries to escape from the ambulance, the life saved by a lucky crew who had been called to see someone else entirely – Can You Hear Me? is an honest examination of the strains and challenges of one of the most demanding and important jobs anyone can do.

Guardian Best Book of 2020
Irish Times Best Crime Fiction of 2020
Times Book of the Month
Mail on Sunday Thriller of the Month
The Spectator Crime Fiction of the Month
Crime Time Book of the Year 2020

‘Vivid, stylish, funny’ Mick Heron


The first time I met Harold Challenor, he frisked me for weapons – I was ten years old.

Bent is the explosive story of the rise and fall of SAS commando, and notorious Detective Sergeant, Harold ‘Tanky’ Challenor.

During the Second World War, Challenor was parachuted behind enemy lines into Italy and France, performing remarkable feats of bravery.

In the grimy underbelly of 1960s Soho, he was a ferocious and controversial presence, mediating between factions of club owners and racketeers, and cultivating informers.

But just how far will he go to break the protection gang that has a grip on his manor?

It can be a fine line that divides hero and villain.

PRAISE FOR JOE THOMAS

‘Brilliant’ The Times
‘Feverish energy’ Guardian
‘Wonderfully vivid’ Mail on Sunday
‘Sophisticated, dizzying’ GQ
‘Vivid and visceral’ The Times
‘Superbly realised vivid and atmospheric’ Guardian
‘Original’ Mail on Sunday
‘A stylish, atmospheric treat an inspired blend of David Peace and early Pinter’ Irish Times
‘Sparse, energetic, fragmented prose’ The Spectator
‘Vibrant, colourful, and complex’ Irish Independent
‘Stylish, sharp-witted, taut. A must for modern noir fans’ NB Magazine
‘Definitive confident and energetic’ Crime Time
‘Brilliant manic energy’ Jake Arnott
‘Wildly stylish and hugely entertaining’ Lucy Caldwell
‘Vivid, stylish, funny’ Mick Herron
‘Gripping, fast-paced, darkly atmospheric’ Susanna Jones
‘Snappy, thoughtful, moving’ John King
‘Exciting, fresh, incredibly assured’ Stav Sherez
‘Happy days!’ Mark Timlin
‘Utterly brilliant’ Cathi Unsworth
‘Had James Ellroy and David Peace collaborated on a novel they’d have written something like this’ Paul Willets