The Dance of the Pheasodile by Tim Roux (Upfront Publishing) Reviewed by Nick Quantrill

With his sixth novel, Hull native Tim Roux, is certainly one of the city's most prolific writers. A committed champion of all things East Yorkshire, the publication of his crime story, The Dance of The Pheasodile is his well deserved opportunity to take the limelight. With a fulfilling job, a successful wife and two beautiful children, Keith McGuire leads an idyllic middle-class life in the south of England. Everything changes when he visits a hypnotherapist to obtain closure on traumatic childhood events.

Emerging from the session as Harry Walker, a small town villain in Hull, McGuire/Walker is drawn into a deadly dispute with a notorious local gang, leaving both of his realities threatened. Realising that his architectural skills are no longer any good to him, he sets of off on a crime spree, culminating in a kidnapping racket which brings him to the attention of Planty, head of Bransholme gang, The Inbies. Attempting to outmanoeuvre the gang, the scheme goes wrong and an increasingly desperate McGuire/Walker attempts to set Planty up with the police, leading to the inevitable bloody showdown in the centre of Hull.

The Dance of The Pheasodile certainly isn't an easy read, and it's to Roux's credit that he doesn't duck difficult topics, choosing to tackle issues like child abuse, violence and class difference with courage and no little intelligence. With a smooth and engaging writing style, Roux cleverly paints McGuire as a man unsure of where he can turn or who he can trust, constructing a darker and more complex spin on the 'Life on Mars' scenario which builds to an impressive and exciting climax. For more information on Tim Roux: www.a63revisited.com/id16.html Watch the trailer for The Dance of The Pheasodile:

Part One of The Dance of The Pheasodile coming soon to thisisUll.com ...

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Nick Quantrill
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