4.5*
#2 in the Jimmy Mullen series
My first book by this author. It reads well as a stand a lone
Set in Newcastle, Jimmy is a homeless PTSD suffering veteran who is a sleuth come vigilante.
This time it involves deaths of a bunch of runaway teenagers thought to be due to a rogue batch of spice, that isn’t been investigated by the police.
He has a companion called Dog, and a budding romance with Julie.
The book contains elements of both humour and sadness.
I really like Jimmy and his loyalty to his friends, and his unusual friendship with a policeman which was forged in book #1.
I found Jimmy’s character to be likeable, he is very loyal to his friend Deano.He also has dogged determination. I found myself rooting for Jimmy throughout the book.
It gives a realistic insight into the lives and struggles of the homeless, and the constant threat of violence that they face. The book is gritty but not gory, and has an earthy feel that fits well with this street crime fighter.
The pace I found to move between medium and slow, the character engagement kept my attention.
It’s different, and very engaging. I recommend this book, and I’ll be catching up with man on the street.

A good sequel to Man on the Street. Helps the reader to understand what homeless
people go through. A good who done it that keeps you guessing.

Ex-Navy vereran Jimmy Mullen is supposed to be keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. His probation officer has got him a place in a hostel and he’s started seeing Julie, a Big Issue seller. Life finally seems to be looking up. But when his friend, homeless drug addict Deano finds out his younger brother has died after taking Spice he turns to Jimmy for help.
The police appear to be treating it as just another drug death but Deano is convinced there is more to it. Jimmy agrees to help and with Gadge, another homeless friend the three set out to find where the drugs came from and how they killed Ash.
Finding the dealers will take Jimmy to places that even he thinks are dark and it could put his freedom at risk. How far will he go to help his friends and what will it cost him?
WOW!! I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book but I liked the sound of it and I wasn’t disappointed.
This is a story of friendship built on hard won trust and shared experiences. So well written you could almost smell and feel the dirt and grime that life on the streets leaves on people.

Set amongst the dark grim reality of homelessness where drugs ruin lives and life is hard, this has a degree of realism and honesty about it to draw you into the plot. Jimmy, a rough diamond, sets about putting right many wrongs on the mean streets of Tyneside. Believable characters and plot that builds slowly but tells a complex story with some great characters. I didn’t read the first novel but this stands on its own and is highly enjoyable.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3996752421

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

The second outing for homeless Jimmy and Dog. I loved the first book but was sceptical about how a follow up would work. I needn't have worried, Trevor Wood has done an excellent job of providing an engrossing and entertaining story. Just as gritty as the first book with plenty of twists. It is the characters, however, that make this series so enjoyable. Jimmy and his ever increasing number of friends create a wonderful community around which the story is woven. I look forward to continue reading of their exploits.

The second episode of this Newcastle based dark tale of a homeless veteran involved in a search for stolen drugs that are killing youngsters. Jimmy Mullen and his motley crew of friends suspect that several drug deaths are linked but despite Jimmy’s friendship with a policeman he saved in the first tale he is forced to investigate himself. A series of very violent events are strewn throughout the story but there is also very dark humour as well which all works well in this exciting yarn. Thoroughly enjoyable!

I can’t say I absolutely loved this book because, although it’s true to life, I found parts of it dark and disturbing. It made me feel very sad, and so, so sorry for the homeless. There again, there are many lovely and kind people who try to help others, and that lifts my heart. The story was an extremely well-written but complex plot which did take me quite a while to get into and understand. I wish I’d read the previous book and think I would have enjoyed this one more if I had. Saying that, the author did a brilliant job of helping new readers to catch up on what had gone before. I absolutely loved Jimmy and Dog, and would definitely like to read more about them. Some parts of the story were a little far-fetched for me (I like plots to be at least ‘almost’ believable), and I got a bit confused with the jumping back in time. Overall though it was a good read and I enjoyed the human nature, friendship and loyalty aspect. Great stuff.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read the book in return for an honest review.

Jimmy is a very likeable character and throws everyone's preconceptions about homeless people out the window. It is a different take on the usual crime dramas and the author is to be applauded for this.
for me it was rather slow to get off the ground and was rather too "underbelly" for me
A book I would recommend to others although probably not for me ultimately

4.5 stars

Jimmy Mullen is a homeless veteran who suffers from PTSD and uses his many skills to turn detective. When a series of strange and deadly drug related incidents occur, Jimmy is drawn into it and yet again fails to stay out of trouble although it’s all for the right reasons.

Instead of the famed taste of Newkie Brown we have here the dark flavour of Newcastle Noir! This brilliant ‘toon’ makes a fantastic backdrop to the storytelling and you can hear the Geordie accent in the excellent dialogue. Many of the characters are all on society’s periphery, they’ve all got traumatic, difficult and heartbreaking backgrounds which gives the novel a distinctive edge with the author dealing with this very compassionately. It shows the reality of homelessness and the difficulties faced but also shines a light on places that help such as The Pit Stop. It’s a very compelling and absorbing read which examines the underbelly through the premise of a lethal batch of spice. The characters are all well portrayed and the thing that strikes me the most is the loyalty of Jimmy, Gadge and Deano despite the danger they’re in. Jimmy is a terrific character- he’s very intelligent, brave with a good sense of humour though it does stray to the dark side which is no surprise! DS Andy Burns and Sandy the probation officer are excellent characters too, I especially like Sandy’s wry humour. I think one of the biggest strengths of the book is the characterisation. The plot is complex with some good twists and turns, it’s quite violent in places but never over the top. The storyline is gritty so it wouldn’t be realistic without characters who think with their fists or worse. The pace is quick throughout and maintains the interest as you try to work out the puzzles the plot presents and it has a good ending. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that life begins to improve for Jimmy and his pals as they all deserve a break.

Overall, this is such an enjoyable, well written book with plenty of thrills and spills. At times the lively and engaging writing feels tele-visual and I think it would make for terrific tv viewing with the backdrop of an atmospheric Newcastle.

Ps. Please sign me up for number 3!,

With thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I'm not sure how but I have already read and reviewed this book. Reading the first half I kept having the strange sense of deja vu until something happened to confirm I'd read it before but I couldn't remember the ending!
An interesting, easy, clever read with engaging characters.

Trevor Wood - One Way

Having enjoyed Trevor Wood's debut novel The Man On The Street I was keen to read how he would follow it up.

We are back on the on the streets of Newcastle with Jimmy and his friends Deano and Gadge. The characters are superbly developed, full of depth, life experience, motivation and the struggle to get by and stay out of trouble.

Jimmy is our 'homeless hero', the 'street detective' who can't help himself from trying to protect others while searching for the truth. This novel shines a spotlight on young Deano with his harrowing history revealed in detail. I'm sure fans of the first books will lap it up, it also works really well as a standalone.

This book gives an unflinching portrayal on life on the streets with the threat of violence, the drugs and damaged souls, and a vivid social commentary on the underclass that many ignore.

The plot is multilayered and involved, a search for the truth and a batch of dangerous drugs that is leaving dead teenagers in its wake. For me, the characters and social observation really shine through and make it stand out in the gritty, urban crime genre.

Highly recommended.


Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus

Having received this book just after finishing the first of a trilogy by another author who was new to me, I decided to put the trilogy to one side. Wrong move..
I found ‘One Way Street’ a book that didn’t exactly grab me from the off, while the characters, I felt, left a little to be desired. But I plodded on.
Not for long, however, as I decided that this book wasn’t for me and returned to the trilogy I had been reading.

When the body of a runaway teenager turns up in a bin, a connection to homeless veteran Jimmy Mullen is made. However, someone doesn't want Jimmy to investigate it - he was dubbed "Sherlock Homeless" the year before after solving a case, and someone has a lot to lose. As the bodies start piling up, so does the pressure on Jimmy as his friends and family are in the crosshairs.

This is a good book - you don't need to have read the first one to get a grasp on the characters. It does take a while to get going though - I wasn't really into the book until about 30% of the way through!

North-east England: Newcastle and Sunderland: a crime landscape usually frequented by Ann Cleeves and Vera. But now there are some new kids on the block: Trevor Wood and Jimmy, oh, and I mustn't forget Dog. I rather think they've come to stay. I don't think Vera will mind.
Trevor Wood writes with great affection for his characters. It permeates every single page. The plot unfolds well and never lags for a moment.
J. Jefferson Farjeon wrote several novels in the 1930s using a homeless man - Ben - as his investigator. It is good to see Jimmy as a modern reincarnation. A timely, gritty novel by a writer we are going to hear a lot more from.
I enjoyed this book so much I sat down and read it again six months after my first reading, something I almost never do, but it was an absolute pleasure to read it again. I now in eagerly await the third book in the series.

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.

This is Trevor Wood's sequel to his cracking debut, The Man on the Street, featuring ex-naval, PTSD suffering, homeless sleuth, Jimmy Mullen, aka Sherlock Homeless, based in Newcastle. Much like the second album, the second book often does not come easy, as the author himself admits, and this did not feel as fluent at the beginning, and it took some time for my interest to be fully engaged but eventually it all works out and becomes a immersive and absorbing read. This novel revolves around the young homeless lad, Deano, that Jimmy and Gudge have befriended. In a novel that goes back and forth in time, we learn of Deano's traumatic background and family, a mother that neglected him, his younger brother, Ashley, playing truant from school, getting into trouble and ending up spending time in a young offender's institution at HMP Northallerton, unable to find and reconnect with his mother and Ashley upon release, being exploited on the streets until he is rescued, but still reliant on drugs to get him through in daily life.

It is Christmas and Deano is nowhere to be found as Gudge and Jimmy look for him, it turns out he had discovered accidentally from Colin, the vicar from St Thomas's, that Ash, his brother, was in Sunderland. In Sunderland, Deano had met Ginger and had a bad experience with spice, a drug used by many young and homeless people. On the streets, your friendships are everything, and as Jimmy tries to help Deano find Ash, it transpires the worst has happened as Ash's body is recovered from a bin, he had died from hypothermia whilst under the influence of spice. It soon becomes clear that a number of deaths have occurred, the young victims under the influence of a bad batch of spice, although one young girl, Amy Pearson, is rescued from drowning, but in a coma in hospital. As a face from the past comes back to haunt Deano, Jimmy investigates what lays behind the deaths, facing dangers as his life falls apart, his relationship with Julie under severe strain and he is forced to leave his hostel.

Wood does a terrific job in describing just how hard, terrifying and life threatening being homeless is, the life saving and necessary work done by the charity and volunteers who run The Pit, providing food and other services for those in need. I appreciated the character development in Jimmy, still suffering dreadful nightmares, he is attending group therapy sessions for the traumatised, and how those there provide help and assistance, such as Mac with his skills in the martial arts. Jimmy gets help with the IT proficient Gudge, is building a close relationship with his social worker daughter, Kate, reconnects with his ex-wife, Bev, and seeks refuge with Carrie, the nurse he had helped previously. This is a great and engaging addition to the series, and I was delighted to see that Jimmy just might be setting up as a PI. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC