No one sees him, but he sees everything – The Man on the Street
Man On The Street – the blurb
It started with a splash. Jimmy, a homeless veteran grappling with PTSD, did his best to pretend he hadn’t heard it – the sound of something heavy falling into the Tyne at the height of an argument between two men on the riverbank. Not his fight.
Then he sees the headline: GIRL IN MISSING DAD PLEA. The girl, Carrie, reminds him of someone he lost, and this makes his mind up: it’s time to stop hiding from his past. But telling Carrie, what he heard – or thought he heard – turns out to be just the beginning of the story.
The police don’t believe him, but Carrie is adamant that something awful has happened to her dad and Jimmy agrees to help her, putting himself at risk from enemies old and new.
But Jimmy has one big advantage: when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.
Fog on the Tyne
This book is set in Newcastle, a fact made VERY clear at every available opportunity. I lived in Newcastle, worked in Newcastle and went to University in Newcastle so am familiar with all the sights. At first it was a treat to read about the Quayside, Rosies and St James’ Park, but by the time the Greggs on Northumberland Street made an appearance it was beginning to grate. It got in the way of a good story.
Behind the very vivid location there was a solid crime debut with violence, secrets and potential suspects everywhere. There was also Jimmy’s homelessness and his backstory that could make separate books alone. I don’t think I have read a book where the lead was homeless before and the little details Wood provided made it feel very realistic.
My favorite part wasn’t the story or the situation the characters found themselves in but the cast themselves. Not the suspects of course but the crew Jimmy gathered around him. Gadge makes a perfect sidekick, Jimmy now has a police contact, a journalist and even a helpful librarian. It’s the perfect set up for a series and I hope Wood finds a way of keeping Carrie in on the act. With Jimmy’s daughter present in the background and his PTSD to work through there is also loads of personal content that could be explored in future books. And even if the Newcastle content is dialled back just a little bit it could still be very firmly rooted in the North East without it distracting an otherwise solid book.
