Fabulous thriller that kept me eagerly turning the pages!! Fantastic characters and plot, could not put it down.

A good story with interesting twists and an easy to read dialogue. Kept interest throughout and with a story that encouraged involvement. Highly recommended.

The man on the street by Trevor Woods.
When homeless veteran Jimmy thinks he witnesses a murder in Newcastle, the police refuse to believe him. He's not quite sure he believes his own eyes. Then he sees missing persons posters matching the description of the man he saw killed, and he realises he wasn't mistaken. But how do you catch a killer when nobody believes a murder has been committed?
Together Jimmy and the dead man's daughter decide to take matters into their own hands and hunt down the murderer themselves. They soon realise it will be a far more dangerous task than they could ever imagine.
But Jimmy has one big advantage: when you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose.
I really enjoyed this book. Jimmy and his dog called dog were my favourite characters. 4*.

Well I never thought I would read a book that made me accept a murderer , an alcoholic and a drug addict as the heroes but this story is so well written and the characters so finely drawn that The man on the street definitely has. Jimmy the main character was so interesting and whilst there were plenty of occasions in the book ( and his life) that things went wrong for him the plot gave enough feel good moments for me not to despair for him.
Some of the descriptions were a bit grim but they were always justified. I’m not sure there could be any follow on books with Jimmy and his reprobate friends but I do hope there will.
Loved it!!

A thoroughly enjoyable read. An intriguing and cleverly woven plot kept me hooked from the start. As it unfolds, homeless Jimmy is caught up in a missing person investigation. With great characters and typical Geordie humour this is a must read for fans of North East crime fiction .

There is little that gladdens the heart more than encountering a debut novel that absolutely strikes a chord with you as a reader, but also promises that you have discovered an author that will probably remain a firm favourite for years to come. With The Man On The Street, Trevor Wood has achieved just that, with a crime novel that is both compelling and unerringly perceptive…

Up to this point I had only read crime novels that if a homeless person appeared in them, it was always as a periphery character, either as a witness to a crime or as a snout, an occasional source of information to the main investigator. What Wood does is put the character of Jimmy front and centre, a homeless man, deeply scarred emotionally and haunted by his military service in the Falklands, as his main protagonist. Rarely, have I read such a well-formed and utterly believable character, and felt such a deep-seated compassion and empathy as a result of this. Accompanied by his constant companion Dog, Jimmy drifts through the city with a cloak of invisibility, trying to keep anonymous and to not attract the attentions of those who derive pleasure from meting out violence on the homeless community. Estranged from his wife and daughter, Jimmy is obviously suffering from PTSD, tormented by nightmares, and with events from the war being triggered by sensory factors like sound or smell. As he unwittingly becomes involved in a murder investigation, Jimmy proves that the old adage that, “a true hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but the strength of his heart.” Despite his tough past, Jimmy has a strong moral core, and when weighing up how far to get involved in events, and how this could impact on him, is drawn to doing the right thing, be it tracking a killer, or protecting those he has a personal alliance with. I also liked the way that Wood dialled down the intensity of Jimmy’s character in his interactions with a couple of his homeless pals, giving wonderful little chinks of humour and lightness to the book.

With the book being set in Newcastle Upon Tyne, this obviously struck a note with me personally having lived there for several years. There was a certain particular joy that as Jimmy circumnavigates the city, it evoked a fond remembrance in me of places I am very familiar with. However, thanks to the clarity of Wood’s description of each locale, Newcastle is vividly drawn, capturing the spirit and verve of this unique city, but also unashamedly depicting the more downtrodden and threatening aspects of it too. Psychogeography plays a real part in the book I noticed, where Jimmy’s mood and fight or flight instinct is very much influenced by the areas of the city he traverses, so there are definite spaces of calm or threat for him, and this worked incredibly well. I also found the scenes depicting Jimmy’s traumatic experience within the confines of a naval ship incredibly powerful and so vivid that you were absolutely rooted in the heat, the noise and panic in the midst of an attack. Consequently, the flashbacks that Jimmy experiences throughout the book take him, and by extension us, back to this scene of trauma in an intensely deep way, arousing empathy in the reader. On a smaller scale I grew up in a naval city during the Falklands and the sight of those damaged ships limping back to port and my school friends losing brothers or fathers in this conflict will never leave me either. This makes the emotional depiction of Jimmy’s trauma all the more affecting and poignant for me personally, and certainly for readers generally.

As I like to give nothing away about plots, guess what? I’m giving nothing away about the plot, but suffice to say as you sail along on a story that keeps you utterly gripped, there is an absolutely bobbydazzler of a reveal at the latter end of the book; unexpected, dark and beautifully done. Taking this in conjunction with the characterisation, location, and the wonderful fluidity of Wood’s writing, The Man On The Street is genuinely one of the most unusual and affecting books I have read for some time. A dead cert for my Top 10 of the Year, although it’s only April, and I will be champing at the bit so see what Wood writes next. No pressure…

Highly recommended.

'The Man On The Street' is the debut novel of Trevor Wood and bloody Nora (excuse the language) what a debut it is too. I absolutely, totally and utterly flipping well LOVED this book but more about that in a bit.
I must admit that I took to the character of Jimmy from the start. He is a homeless veteran with mental health problems. He served in the Falklands War and he went through some truly horrific experiences, which he has never truly come to terms with. Jimmy suffers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which I could certainly empathise with. No I am not a Falklands veteran but I suffer with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder myself so I know how it impacts on daily life, how you can be tormented by flashbacks and nightmares and so on. Jimmy was married and he is a father but he has become estranged from both over the years. Jimmy might be homeless but he has a regimented sort of life and maintains standards as and when he can. Jimmy hears what he thinks is the sound of somebody having a disagreement with somebody else and the sound of somebody entering the River Tyne. Despite everything that has happened to him, Jimmy is still a decent human being and when he meets with the daughter of a missing man, he endeavours to do what he can to help her find her Dad. Does Jimmy manage to solve the mystery of what happened? Well for the answer to that question and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Oh. My. Word. I was simply blown away by how flipping fantastic 'The Man On The Street' is. In fact I had trouble believing that it was a debut novel as the story is so well thought out, so well described and the author's writing style seems to speak of a more experienced author. I hope that makes sense. I made the fatal mistake of picking this book up shortly before I went to bed. Well let's just say that my bedtime was severely delayed and I had a distinct 'lack-of-sleep' hangover the following morning. I would pick the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters but I would still be sat there reading over half a dozen chapters later. I tried to pace myself as to how much I read in one go so that I could prolong my enjoyment of the book but that attempt at rationing was soon thrown out of the window because I was enjoying the book so much that I literally could not stop reading. I seemed to race through the book and the page numbers flew past in a blur.
There were a few things I loved about 'The Man On The Street'. Firstly I loved the fact that the book is set in Newcastle and the wider North East region. Of course I am biased because that's where I live- I just think that it is so refreshing to read about an area with which you are familiar and know exactly where everything is. Secondly, I loved the character of Jimmy and I liked the way in which the author describes how Jimmy's mental health problems affect him on a daily basis and how mental health problems can be really debilitating. The PTSD is described warts and all and not sanitised. Thirdly, I loved the fact that the book took me on a bit of a nostalgia trip with the mention of a supermarket, which has long since disappeared from the high street but it was where we used to do our shopping when I was a kid *whispers* over 30 years ago.
'The Man On The Street' is superbly written. The author grabs your attention and takes you on one hell of an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride through the investigation of the disappearance of a man. The author uses such vivid and realistic descriptions that I felt like I was pounding the streets with Jimmy and helping him with his investigation. This was one of those books that gripped me throughout the story and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
In case you hadn't already guessed, I absolutely ADORED 'The Man On The Street' and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. I look forward to reading much more of Trevor's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I hope this is the start of a new series because I loved Jimmy and would be more than happy to read about him again.
This is an amazing debut, well written and gripping.
The well crafted plot keeps you hooked and guessing till the end, the cast of characters is realistic and interesting, the setting unusual and interesting.
I found this book excellent and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Well I don’t think investigators come any more oddball than Jimmy Mullen (Sherlock homeless) and his trusty sidekick Dog the dog. I had high expectations here due to some of the advance praise that I’d read but I have to say I agree. Jimmy was an excellent central character and I do have a soft spot for Newcastle based tales. A veteran with PTSD living in the streets was sadly very believable. I was enjoying this more the further it went on and finished it thinking oh well that’s that and only then discovered that there’s a second book in the pipeline. I did feel there was more mileage in the character and I’m excited to see what the author does with Jimmy next. Highly recommended.

The main character in this story, Jimmy, reminded me of a homeless Jack Reacher. A guy who can’t help himself when it comes to helping out people he doesn’t even know who are in trouble and always ends up getting into trouble himself. Jack Reacher doesn’t have the criminal record that Jimmy does and Jimmy doesn’t have the fighting capabilities that Jack Reacher has but they are both likeable guys who you want to see win the war anyway. A great read.

In this first novel from Trevor Wood we meet Jimmy Mullen, currently homeless and living on the streets. Since his discharge from the navy following a direct hit on his ship during the Falklands war he has suffered flashbacks, nightmares and hallucinations.
His marriage finally broke down for good and he found himself in prison.
Hes now out on parole but is finding life no easier.
Though he has managed to make a couple of good friends amongst the other homeless men. They look out for each other and having become almost like family.
One night, sleeping down by Newcastle Quayside he awakes to raised voices. Two men arguing, he cant see a lot in the darkness but when he hears a splash and then quiet he searches in the water but can see noone.
Its not his problem he decides though when he spots an appeal for a missing man from his daughter, Carrie, he decides she needs to know what he saw.
For her sake he decides to report it all to the police.
Sadly, as he expected, they seem to think the word of someone on the street is of very little interest or value.
Someone though is very interested and so begins Jimmy`s risky search for the truth.
All the characters in this story are excellent,the plot has plenty twists and turns to keep you guessing.
I really enjoyed this tale from start to finish and hope to meet Jimmy again in another book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus books for the chance to read this as an ARC.

This was a dark and gritty thriller with some really interesting themes. Jimmy is a homeless navy veteran living on the streets of Newcastle. He has a chequered past and has done some things he is not proud of although as the story progresses it becomes clear he does have a good heart.
Jimmy suffers from flashbacks and nightmares so when he hears what he thinks is an argument and then a splash of someone falling in the river he is not sure if he has imagined it. Was someone murdered or was it all in his own head?
Jimmy can’t forget what he has heard so when he hears that young student nurse, Carrie, is looking for her missing father he steps up to give her his information and is persuaded to go to the police.
Carrie and Jimmy form an unlikely bond as even with Jimmy’s statement, the police seem to be doing little to find Carrie’s Dad. Jimmy gradually decides to help- Carrie reminds him of his own daughter whom he has not seen for many years.
There are chapters in the book set in the past which explain what has happened to Jimmy and these are equally compelling.
As well as being an excellent thriller with an unlikely hero this is also an interesting examination of how PTSD affects people for many years. It also makes the reader think about homeless people and how they’ve ended up in such a dire situation.
I really liked Jimmy and in his interactions with his street friends- his innate kindness shines through as he looks after Gadge and Deano.
The setting of Newcastle was well described- the author is obviously a local to the area and this shone through bringing the area to life.
I was really pleased to see that this book is the first in a series as the end of the book definitely left me wanting to find out more about Jimmy and his friends.
The Man on the Street is a thoroughly enjoyable five star read and highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

This books starts right in the action and just keeps going. The story has a real rough and ready feel about it which gives the story a great gritty atmosphere. Jimmy and his friends are really likeable rogues and the most unlikely of heroes.

Jimmy, homeless, and living on the streets finds himself the only witness to what may or may not be a murder having been the last person to see Roger Carpenter alive. Jimmy has had a very chequered past that continues to haunt him as his past life is revealed through a number of flashbacks. Does he want to get involved? Did he really see what he thought he saw? When his daughter Carrie reports Roger as missing they form an unlikely alliance trying to get to the bottom of his disappearance whilst working against the police who seem to accept the story that he has run off with one of his women friends.

From a serious point of this view this also shines a light on the prejudices and stereotypes of homeless people and complexities of living with PTSD.