This is the second in a series
The storyline is very gritty. The plot is complex with lots of twists and turns
This is a very enjoyable well written book.

A gritty thriller, but sadly I hadn't read the first one so was a little lost at times. However I will try to get the first one and read it and then update my review.
Good book though !

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This was a gritty thriller that kept me engaged from start to finish. I loved the main character and the plot was very well written. I think I enjoyed this even more as this is my home town and I loved the setting!

This is a gritty and propulsive thriller that will have you gripped from the very start. An exploration into the darker side of a North East community and written in a very honest and compelling way.

Did I like the book?

Second books can be tricky, especially when the author has set the bar so high with the first one. Thankfully, Trevor Wood wrote an exquisitely tense sequel that lived up to my expectations!

What did I feel?
Happiness at being reunited with Jimmy, Dog, and the gang. Trevor Wood made sure none of their voices changed or was altered and it was just like meeting old friends at the corner of a street.

I must applaud the clever way the author used to build the plot of this second book on the basis of the first one, pulling at threads and knots he’d created before, created new one so that I felt in familiar territory, got ammunition to reinforce my connection to the characters, and find space for new stories.

Witnessing Jimmy grow, get back up, then a bit down, then… You get the idea. His situation hasn’t miraculously changed after the first book. He may be in a hostel rather than in the street, the pavement and its dangers are only a few metres away. Jimmy better stay out of any trouble but… But what can you expect of a good man who had lost his way when his friends need him?

Despite the grey and rash reality, there is an abundance of warmth within those pages.

How would I describe it?

Addictive, original, sure to have an impact on you

4,5 stars

‘One Way Street’ is the second book in the series featuring Jimmy Mullen, who is a homeless veteran and he just happens to be an ace amateur sleuth. I loved the first book in the series called ‘The Man On The Street’ and so I had high hopes for ‘One Way Street’. I wasn’t to be disappointed either. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘One Way Street’ but more about that in a bit.
What can I say about Jimmy Mullen? I think that he is great. Jimmy hasn’t always had it easy in life. He served in the Forces and saw action in the Falklands War. His military experiences have left him with mental health problems and he has a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. His personal life hasn’t fared too well either, although he has started to build bridges with his daughter. Jimmy has become an amateur detective by accident really and he has even been given the nickname of ‘Sherlock Homeless’. Jimmy seems to be a decent man, who has morals and he sticks to them. Jimmy seems able to get on with people in general irrespective of their backgrounds or current status. Jimmy has a strong sense of justice and if something isn’t right then he will not hesitate to investigate until justice has been served.
As soon as I saw the cover of ‘One Way Street’ with Trevor’s name on it, I just knew that I had to read this book at the first opportunity. I managed to get hold of a copy and I squirreled myself away until I had finished reading it. I just couldn’t put the book down. The book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because the book travelled everywhere with me. The pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were turning themselves. This was one of those books that you wanted to finish because you needed to know how the story ended but at the same time you enjoy the story so much that you just don’t want the book to end. I found ‘One Way Street’ to be a gripping read, which certainly kept me guessing and also kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘One Way Street’ is superbly written and then some. In Jimmy, Trevor Wood has created a character who has his faults but who is impossible to dislike. Trevor has one of those writing styles that grabs the reader’s attention from the start and then draws them into one hell of a story. I thought that ‘The Man On The Street’ was good but ‘One Way Street’ is even better. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. I love the fact that the story in ‘One Way Street’ is mainly set in Newcastle with the odd mention of Sunderland along the way. Some of the places mentioned were very familiar to me. Reading ‘One Way Street’ felt like being on one hell of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. Just when you thought that you could take a moment to gather your thoughts, reclaim your stomach and have a breather then off the action would go again. The series featuring Jimmy Mullen goes from strength to strength and just keeps getting better.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘One Way Street’ and I wholeheartedly recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading 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*.

Having described Trevor Wood’s previous book, The Man On The Street as compelling and unerringly perceptive, with it gaining a spot in my Top Ten of 2020, I was more than a little excited to be transported once again to the homeless community of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and the trials that await Jimmy, a unique, unofficial and sometimes reluctant private detective…

One of the major things that impresses me about Wood’s writing both here, and in the previous book, is the way he captures and depicts the underclass that exists just beneath the surface of society, and the unfairness and prejudice with which they are labelled and treated. Bearing in mind that everyone is only one step away from possible homelessness at all times, for a vast variety of reasons, Woods always seeks to really humanise his characters, depicting them not as the commonly perceived idea of this community as being violent and threatening, but a group of people with flaws and weaknesses that have led to them slipping through the cracks of society, some of them through no fault of their own. Woods paints a vivid and perceptive picture of life on the street, the underlying threat of street violence, the fear of abuse, the exploitation of addiction, the fragility of familial bonds, and the cloak of invisibility as ‘normal’ people go about their business around them, but also the friendships and camaraderie that can ease the pain of life on the fringes of society.

Despite the very human failings of addiction and so on, there is a moral code at work here, epitomised by Jimmy the central character, his homeless buddies Gadge and Deano, and those they interact with in the more ‘respectable’ walks of life in the police and probation service. Jimmy, in particular, has acquired a certain degree of respect after the events of the last book, which has led to a symbiotic relationship with a police detective, Andy Burns, as well as the respect, and sometimes disrespect, of his peers in the homeless community. Wood’s characterisation is brilliantly drawn once again, perfectly capturing the fear and personal upsets of his band of characters, but also the moments of affectionate ribald humour and strong feeling of solidarity, as one character jokingly puts it the sense of all for one, and one for all.

Although still in the grip of PTSD episodes, a consequence of his previous naval career, Jimmy is picking his way through life with more settled accommodation, the chance of love and a further rebuilding of his relationship with his previously estranged daughter Kate, until trouble rears its ugly head. When Deano, his young homeless friend goes missing, Jimmy is compelled to find out why and how this has happened, drawing him into a sordid world of exploitation and drugs, and more than a whiff of trouble. With all the recent press coverage on county lines and using kids to transport drugs across the country, Wood takes an interesting angle on this theme, and we find the power behind this particular throne is not as obvious as it first appears. The grim world of drug dependency, and those that profit from them is put into crystal clear focus, and portrays a dispiriting, but unfortunately, realistic view of the temptations, financial gain, and self destruction that drugs provide.

Once again, Woods uses his setting of Newcastle Upon Tyne and it’s surrounds in One Way Street to great effect, that even as a non-native reader, you will get a sense of the city, its energy- good and bad- and what makes it tick, stoicism, football, and poking fun at Mackems (Sunderland dwellers) feature highly, which as a former resident of this great city always leads to a snigger or two. If you like any of the crime writers who specialise in urban crime, you will definitely enjoy the virtual exploration of the city that Wood provides, and his depiction of the slightly tarnished sheen that all cities have under the surface. I’m a real admirer of this writer’s work and delighted that this book is such a sharp and insightful follow up to his debut last year. Highly recommended.

One Way Street By Trevor Wood is the sequel to the outstanding Man On The Street and I'm happy to report that this is just as good as what gone before.

Jimmy Mullen is back our favorite homeless P.I with his three sidekicks Deano, Gadge and Dog his trusty four-legged friend.
A dodgy batch of spice is killing the street kids and Deano's brother and only Jimmy can piece together all the clues and bring those responsible to justice.
As with any sequel book 2 was always going to be hard to meet the success of what's gone before but One Way Street may not hit all the highs of book one but it is still an outstanding read.
We have more character development this time round especially of Deano and I'm pleased to report some old faces from book one make a return especially Carrie, the writing is first class and Wood once again brings to life the gritty unforgiving life of being on the streets of Newcastle.
I would recommend that one would need to read the first book to understand what is taking place here as Jimmy's back story is not really dealt with it's more Deano's story.
The characters are really colourful and are a pleasure to spend time with ,The plot is cleverly put together with a few red herrings along the way to keep you guessing with just enough thrills to keep you engaged throughout the book never did I find my mind wandering and I wanted to continue to turn the page to the end.

Wood has set up a book 3 which I look FWD. to immensely, this is a great book and well worth your time and hard-earned cash bravo Mr. Wood.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review

A welcome return in this follow-up to gripping crime thriller 'The Man On The Street' featuring homeless veteran Jimmy Mullen aka The Street Detective - Sherlock Homeless. Things are looking up, now living in a hostel, a girlfriend and attending a support group. Unfortunately trouble seems to follow Jimmy, when he helps friend Deano search for his brother Ash, who sadly is found dead in a bin, one of several recent young street deaths, after taking a bad dose of the drug Spice. Jimmy begins investigating to find out what has happened, with help from a motley crew of colourful Geordie characters. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

Excellent follow up to The Man On the Street which shows that there is plenty of meat in this story for a long running series. A unique, engaging protagonist give this a genuinely fresh take on the crime genre, and, although he wears it lightly, it's clear the author has done his research and understands the situations he is writing about.

I loved The Man on the Street and I loved this second novel in this series.
It’s gritty, fast paced and gripping.
A solid and well written novel that makes share Jimmy’s experiences and the life of homeless people.
It’s fuul of twists and turns and it kept me hooked till the end.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc, all opinions are mine

What a fantastic story! The suspense is well-maintained throughout the story and the storytelling is excellent. The author has done a lot of research into writing this book and it shows. A strong message on how drugs can ruin lives is well explained in the story. The ending does justice to the tension built-up from the start.
Engrossing and riveting read.
4.5/5

I was really looking forward to reading this book - One Way Street - Trevor Wood's sequel to his cracking début The Man on the Street, featuring ex-naval, PTSD suffering, homeless sleuth, Jimmy Mullen, based in Newcastle. The plot unfolds well and although it took a while to become fully engaged in the story, it gradually became an immersive read.

The thrust of the story is set at Christmastime, around the deaths of young victims as a result of taking a bad batch of spice. Young and homeless Deano, befriended by Jimmy and Gadge, has had a traumatic life. The reader learns of his background and family, including his neglectful mum and Ashley, his younger brother. In a novel that goes back and forth in time, Deano needs some help in finding Ashley and following up on a lead that takes him to Sunderland, it becomes apparent that a body found in a bin is his brother. As a face from the past comes back to haunt Deano, Jimmy investigates what is behind the deaths, facing dangers, relationship strains and other catastrophes.

Rapidly turning the pages as various twists kept coming I was thoroughly engrossed in One Way Street. Trevor Wood's terrific writing expertly described how hard, frightening and life-threatening being homeless must be. I appreciated the character development in Jimmy, who suffers from dreadful nightmares, though he is attending group therapy sessions for the traumatised, has made some friends and has regained his self-esteem. With the gritty, enthralling plot-line, this is a great addition to the series, and Jimmy might be ready to take on a new role. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for him.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Quercus via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

A gritty contemporary thriller set amongst a community of homeless addicts, who are falling prey to a rogue batch of street drugs. The perfect investigation for Jimmy Mullen, homeless veteran turned investigator,

This book is the second adventure for Jimmy Mullen - this is as well written and tightly packed as the first. Well worth a read!

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read

The second gritty Newcastle-set thriller in this unforgettable series about a homeless veteran turned local sleuth and vigilante. Follow up to the highly acclaimed The Man on the Street.


A series of bizarre drug-related deaths among runaway teenagers has set the North East’s homeless community on edge.

The word on the street is that a rogue batch of Spice – the zombie drug sweeping the inner cities – is to blame, but when one of Jimmy’s few close friends is caught up in the carnage loyalty compels him to find out what’s really going on.

One Way Street sees the welcome return of Jimmy Mullen, the homeless, PTSD-suffering, veteran as he attempts to rebuild his life following the events in The Man on the Street.

As his probation officer constantly reminds him: all he needs to do is keep out of trouble. Sadly for him, trouble seems to have a habit of tracking Jimmy down.

3.5★s

One Way Street is the 2nd book in the Jimmy Mullen series by Trevor Wood after The Man on the Street which I enjoyed. I found this one hard to get into initially, but it soon settled into rhythm with a bad batch of drugs on the street which was killing young people. Deano was in trouble and he, Gadge and Jimmy were searching for answers. The policeman who Jimmy had befriended, Andy Burns, listened to Jimmy, but wasn’t as sure as Jimmy was as to what was going on. So, Jimmy and the boys investigated; got themselves into trouble; but did their best to flush out the evil which was on the streets of Newcastle. But would they succeed?

One Way Street is a hardcore, gritty and intense crime thriller, with plenty of characters – both good and bad - plenty of action and an unusual main character in Jimmy Mullen! Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for my honest review.

One Way Street continues on from The Man on the Street, where we first met Jimmy Mullen, an ex British Navy officer and Falklands veteran. Suffering from PTSD after seeing his mates die in a horrific bombing and fire on his ship, and a spell in prison for an accidental killing, Jimmy is homeless, living on the gritty streets on Newcastle. He's doing better since his parole officer helped get him a room in a hostel and started attending group counseling. He has a community of friends amongst the homeless, is still seeing Julie, the girl he met in the previous novel and is back in touch with his estranged daughter. When Jimmy's young friend Deano needs help to look for his younger brother who he lost contact with when they were young, they stumble across a number of deaths and near deaths of teenagers that may be related to a dangerous new designer drug.

The difficulties of living on the street are dealt with compassionately in this novel by the author and each character has their own worth and dignity regardless of the reason they are on the streets. There are those who are cruel to the street people but there also the selfless volunteers who offer food and support to help people survive and get back on their feet. Jimmy is a wonderful character, intelligent and with a sense of humor, who has grown a lot since we first met him. While he may never get over his PTSD and nightmares, he has forged new friendships, a good relationship with his estranged daughter and regained his self esteem, while helping the police uncover who has been selling the deadly new drug to teenagers. He might just be ready to take on a new job and I can’t wait to see what the future holds in store for him.

EXCERPT: One of the things he knew anything about was cars - he'd nicked enough of them - and he recognized the bare bones of some classics, even a newish looking Range Rover. His mum used to say that everything was disposable 'these days' - turned out she was right. He just wished the list didn't include him. Wanting to take a better look, he stood up too quickly and immediately felt sick again, ducking straight back down behind the shell of an old BMW, trying to get his breath under control, to stop his heart racing. It wasn't easy, not with them still after him, their knives ready to carve him open. If he listened carefully, he could hear them . . .

ABOUT 'ONE WAY STREET' (JIMMY MULLEN #2): A series of bizarre drug-related deaths among runaway teenagers has set the North East’s homeless community on edge.

The word on the street is that a rogue batch of Spice – the zombie drug sweeping the inner cities – is to blame, but when one of Jimmy’s few close friends is caught up in the carnage loyalty compels him to find out what’s really going on.

One Way Street sees the welcome return of Jimmy Mullen, the homeless, PTSD-suffering, veteran as he attempts to rebuild his life following the events in The Man on the Street.

As his probation officer constantly reminds him: all he needs to do is keep out of trouble. Sadly for him, trouble seems to have a habit of tracking Jimmy down.

MY THOUGHTS: Trevor Wood has created some very interesting characters. Not only Jimmy who suffers from PTSD, but the older Gadge, bordering on genius, the young Deano, a child really, substance and drug abuser, and, of course, Dog. All people with good hearts. Their methods of getting to the truth may be somewhat unorthodox, but they make for a damned good read. Even the skeptical policeman, DS Burns, whose life Jimmy saved in 'The Man on the Street' is an interesting character and comes into his own in this second book. Jimmy isn't slow to call in favours from him, but not so quick to share his information.

Even though this book is centred around drug dealing, something I usually prefer not to read about, I was excited to pick up 'One Way Street'. Wood's writing is easy to read, his dialogue natural. The plot swept me along and I became so caught up in the machinations of the characters, that the subject became almost irrelevant.

There is almost a little romance for Jimmy, and he reconnects with his ex-wife, mother of his daughter Kate. There is a lot of development in all the characters. We learn a lot more about the backgrounds of Gadge and Deano, and Jimmy once again demonstrates his unswerving commitment to his friends. Stubborn but loyal to a fault.

Wood also highlights the plight of the homeless, the reality of their situation, the difficulties they face; things that most of us give little thought to.

There is a great deal of violence in this book, but nothing that seemed gratuitous. It is the world as it exists for the people that this trio get involved with.

I am looking forward to meeting Jimmy (Sherlock Homeless) and his friends again. Nice work Mr Wood. P.s. - I enjoyed the pizza joke 🤣😂

⭐⭐⭐.8

#OneWayStreet #NetGalley


THE AUTHOR: Trevor Wood has lived in Newcastle for twenty-five years and considers himself an adopted Geordie. He's a successful playwright who has also worked as a journalist and spin-doctor for the City Council. Prior to that he served in the Royal Navy for sixteen years. (Google Books)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Quercus Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of One Way Street by Trevor Wood for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

I was so impressed with book 1 that I was really keen to read this even though though it has a drugs theme which generally I don’t like reading about. It was great to catch up with Jimmy and Dog again. There is something about Trevor Wood’s writing that makes it really easy to read and perfect as a distraction for me as I was stressing about moving house. Perhaps there was a little bit of counting my blessings too as I at least have a house unlike most of the characters here. Deano featured heavily in this book and we learned the story of his troubled childhood and early teenage years. He is another great character and while the plot is good with lots of twists and turns, I think the strength of these books is the characters. I sincerely hope there will be more to come in this series as it kind of feels like we are just getting started. This is best read as a follow up to The Man on the Street but would work as a standalone.