David Peace

Nineteen Seventy Seven, the second instalment of the Red Riding Quartet, is one long nightmare. Its heroes - the half decent copper Bob Fraser and the burnt-out hack Jack Whitehead - would be considered villains in most people's books. Fraser and Whitehead have one thing in common though, they're both desperate men dangerously in love with Chapeltown prostitutes.

Red Riding Quartet #2

Nineteen Seventy Seven

Another dose of brutality. Not for the faint-hearted - or squeamish - Peace’s second novel in the quartet centres around the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. Once again, the evocation of time and place is very strong. As is the emotional pull of the central characters. It’s a real page turner. The dialogue is swift and pulls no punches. Pay attention to the cast of characters; I was on the point of making a diagram linking them all together. But that would have put me in the plot, as opposed to outside it. 

Jan Jackson

Sian Wadey

This was the second in the riding quartet and after an exciting start in 1974, I couldn't wait for this.
Eddie Dunford is no longer on the scene, instead the reader follows Jack Whitehead, a burnt out reporter and Bob Fraser, a young policeman. 
Anyone who's read 1974 will recognise these characters, but they're not overly familiar. However, having two narrators isn't necessarily a good things. Whitehead and Fraser sound similar and it can be confusing. Frequently I had to turn back to check and see who I was reading about.
I wasn't born at the time of the Yorkshire Ripper so I was going in more or less blind. David Peace doesn't shy away from violence, or bad language, which makes the book come alive, the characters and scenes leaping from the page. 
It's a brilliant book and I can't wait to read the next installment. From the start to finish, I feel like I'm holding my breath, waiting to see what the next page will bring.

Nineteen Seventy Seven Red Riding Quartet #2

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