Vinnie Got Blown Away: Nicky Burkett

Jeremy Cameron’s Nicky Burkett series marks a turning point in British crime writing. Darkly comic, stylish, and violent, it offers a radical contrast to the British tradition of a murder mystery set among the middle classes, revolving instead around the dispossessed, the petty criminals, and the local boys of northeast London.

In Vinnie Got Blown Away, Nicky finds his childhood friend Vinnie dead at the base of an apartment building and sets out with friends to avenge the killing. But first they have to find the murderers—a far more dangerous band of criminals—before Nicky and his mates can take them on. The result is a hilarious hybrid of Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino, with dialogue that crackles off the page, unforgettable characters, and a stunning sense of place.

The first in a series of crime novels to follow the fortunes of charismatic small-time crook Nicky Burkett, Vinnie Got Blown Away is an addictive new take on life and crime in London.