Overview

THE HOTLY ANTICIPATED NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE PICTURES WHICH WAS SHORTLISTED FOR A CWA NEW BLOOD AWARD. Jonathan Craine has left his old life in Hollywood behind him, content to live out his days with his son on a rural farm in California. But when infamous mobster Bugsy Siegel is murdered, Craine is forced to face his past once again. Summoned to Las Vegas to meet mob head Meyer Lansky, Craine is given the impossible task of finder Siegel’s murderers. All he has to help him is an ageing hit man and a female crime reporter with her own agenda. And he knows that if he doesn’t succeed in five days, both he and his son will pay for it with their lives…

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9781786075581

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Reviews

`If you enjoy hard-boiled American crime thrillers then this book is perfect for you. Highly recommended.' * <i>Grab This Book</i> * `When infamous mobster Bugsy Siegel is murdered, LAPD cop Jonathan Craine is summoned by the Las Vegas mafia to find out who's responsible. If he fails, he dies. Taut and atmospheric, this is an excellent classic detective novel.' * <i>Mail on Sunday</i> Top Books of 2018 * `Bolton's excellent novels are skillful evocations of the era but have a genuine darkness at their heart...[Bolton] manages to convey something of the redemptive magic of the movie business.' * <i>Daily Telegraph</i> * 'Brilliantly taut and atmospheric.' * <i>Mail on Sunday</i> * `This is a razor-sharp evocation of the links between the movies and the mob and cements Bolton's promise as a master of vintage Hollywood noir.' * <i>Daily Mail</i> * `The Pictures was an incisive noir thriller...and The Syndicate is just as good... The unravelling of a connection between Hollywood and the criminal world is adroitly done, and the period language never sounds a false note.' * <i>Guardian</i> * 'Former Los Angeles cop Jonathan Craine accepts an offer he can't refuse by mobster Meyer Lansky, plunging him back into the world of violence and corruption that lurks under the glitzy Hollywood facade. Real figures from the late 1940s mingle with the fictional in this terrific follow-up to last year's The Pictures. The powerful writing and masterful plotting carry a reminder of Chandler.' * <i>Sunday Times</i> Crime Club * `Bolton is a fine writer. This is a gripping, gloves-off period tale, sharply told with no holds barred.' * Peter James, author of <i>Not Dead Enough</i> * 'From the shocking start to the dramatic conclusion this is a great and compelling read.' * <i>Bookbag</i> * `Both gritty and glitzy, this evocative noir set in Hollywood's heyday feels like a lost reel from a Bogart classic.' * Thomas Mullen, author of <i>Darktown</i> * `Sharp, skilful and savagely stylish, Guy Bolton blends grit and glamour to stunning effect.' * Chris Whitaker, author of <i>Tall Oaks</i>, winner of the CWA New Blood Dagger 2017 * `A violent, engrossing work set in Hollywood and Las Vegas... Fast moving and written with a deceptively light touch The Syndicate can only enhance Bolton's growing reputation.' * <i>Literary Review</i> * `Bolton perfectly captures the era, with cameos by debauched Hollywood stars, rampant chauvinism and racism, and hearings by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Craine's fear, exhaustion, and desperation are palpable as one lead after another turns to a dead end. This top-notch thriller doesn't pause from beginning to end.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i> * `The movie business rules throughout...in this brilliantly portrayed crime novel... Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, and Cary Grant all have walk on parts in this exhilarating sequel... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.' * <i>The Last Word</i> * `Bolton's evocation of the period and its many real-life characters is perfect and sharply drawn, and I can only think of James Ellroy or Max Allan Collins, both US authors, who have equalled Bolton's feel for the atmosphere and mood of crooked Hollywood, and Craine sports all the colours of a classic troubled hardboiled character... A total success.' * <i>Crimetime</i> *

`Bolton's excellent novels are skillful evocations of the era but have a genuine darkness at their heart...[Bolton] manages to convey something of the redemptive magic of the movie business.' * <i>Daily Telegraph</i> * 'Brilliantly taut and atmospheric.' * <i>Mail on Sunday</i> * `This is a razor-sharp evocation of the links between the movies and the mob and cements Bolton's promise as a master of vintage Hollywood noir.' * <i>Daily Mail</i> * `The Pictures was an incisive noir thriller...and The Syndicate is just as good... The unravelling of a connection between Hollywood and the criminal world is adroitly done, and the period language never sounds a false note.' * <i>Guardian</i> * 'Former Los Angeles cop Jonathan Craine accepts an offer he can't refuse by mobster Meyer Lansky, plunging him back into the world of violence and corruption that lurks under the glitzy Hollywood facade. Real figures from the late 1940s mingle with the fictional in this terrific follow-up to last year's The Pictures. The powerful writing and masterful plotting carry a reminder of Chandler.' * <i>Sunday Times</i> Crime Club * `Bolton is a fine writer. This is a gripping, gloves-off period tale, sharply told with no holds barred.' * Peter James, author of <i>Not Dead Enough</i> * 'From the shocking start to the dramatic conclusion this is a great and compelling read.' * <i>Bookbag</i> * `Both gritty and glitzy, this evocative noir set in Hollywood's heyday feels like a lost reel from a Bogart classic.' * Thomas Mullen, author of <i>Darktown</i> * `Sharp, skilful and savagely stylish, Guy Bolton blends grit and glamour to stunning effect.' * Chris Whitaker, author of <i>Tall Oaks</i>, winner of the CWA New Blood Dagger 2017 * `The movie business rules throughout...in this brilliantly portrayed crime novel... Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, and Cary Grant all have walk on parts in this exhilarating sequel... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.' * <i>The Last Word</i> * `Bolton's evocation of the period and its many real-life characters is perfect and sharply drawn, and I can only think of James Ellroy or Max Allan Collins, both US authors, who have equalled Bolton's feel for the atmosphere and mood of crooked Hollywood, and Craine sports all the colours of a classic troubled hardboiled character... A total success.' * <i>Crimetime</i> *

`Bolton's excellent novels are skillful evocations of the era but have a genuine darkness at their heart...[Bolton] manages to convey something of the redemptive magic of the movie business.' * <i>Daily Telegraph</i> * 'Brilliantly taut and atmospheric.' * <i>Mail on Sunday</i> * `This is a razor-sharp evocation of the links between the movies and the mob and cements Bolton's promise as a master of vintage Hollywood noir.' * <i>Daily Mail</i> * `The Pictures was an incisive noir thriller...and The Syndicate is just as good... The unravelling of a connection between Hollywood and the criminal world is adroitly done, and the period language never sounds a false note.' * <i>Guardian</i> * 'Former Los Angeles cop Jonathan Craine accepts an offer he can't refuse by mobster Meyer Lansky, plunging him back into the world of violence and corruption that lurks under the glitzy Hollywood facade. Real figures from the late 1940s mingle with the fictional in this terrific follow-up to last year's The Pictures. The powerful writing and masterful plotting carry a reminder of Chandler.' * <i>Sunday Times</i> Crime Club * `Bolton is a fine writer. This is a gripping, gloves-off period tale, sharply told with no holds barred.' * Peter James, author of <i>Not Dead Enough</i> * 'From the shocking start to the dramatic conclusion this is a great and compelling read.' * <i>Bookbag</i> * `Both gritty and glitzy, this evocative noir set in Hollywood's heyday feels like a lost reel from a Bogart classic.' * Thomas Mullen, author of <i>Darktown</i> * `Sharp, skilful and savagely stylish, Guy Bolton blends grit and glamour to stunning effect.' * Chris Whitaker, author of <i>Tall Oaks</i>, winner of the CWA New Blood Dagger 2017 * `A violent, engrossing work set in Hollywood and Las Vegas... Fast moving and written with a deceptively light touch The Syndicate can only enhance Bolton's growing reputation.' * <i>Literary Review</i> * `The movie business rules throughout...in this brilliantly portrayed crime novel... Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, and Cary Grant all have walk on parts in this exhilarating sequel... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.' * <i>The Last Word</i> * `Bolton's evocation of the period and its many real-life characters is perfect and sharply drawn, and I can only think of James Ellroy or Max Allan Collins, both US authors, who have equalled Bolton's feel for the atmosphere and mood of crooked Hollywood, and Craine sports all the colours of a classic troubled hardboiled character... A total success.' * <i>Crimetime</i> *

Author Information

Guy Bolton lives in London and has worked in publishing, film and television. He currently works in drama at the BBC. Guy is also a screenwriter whose work has been optioned by Bedlam Productions, Hat Trick and Tiger Aspect. The Pictures is his first novel. Last year it was short-listed in the Telegraph Harvill Secker crime writing competition.

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