A fast moving read with the potential to work on your social conscience or heighten your cynical despair about life in inner cities (specifically Manchester). Not the most politically correct read I've ever had. The three main characters are drawn from disadvantaged white, gay and Asian communities and the plot reflects the more negative stereotyping of those cultures. However, there is a certain inevitability about that in any thriller depicting the seamier side of the human psyche in whatever setting and the characters have sufficient depth to move us beyond the stereotypes. The interweaving and ultimate collision of the three plotlines works well and is convincing enough, and there are some flashes of humour to lighten the way!
