Pocket Notebook – A Novel

Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description

Nofel gyntaf yr heddwas Mike Thomas. Dyma gomedi dywyll sy'n dilyn hynt a hanes Jacob - un a gwympodd oddi wrth ras ac a dorrodd i lawr yn gyhoeddus yn sgil hynny, ac mae'n nodi'r cwbwl yn ei lyfr poced.

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

The debut novel from serving police officer Mike Thomas. An angry black comedy, it follows Jacob's very public breakdown and subsequent fall from grace, all of which he meticulously records in his police notebook.

Dosbarthu

Byddwn yn dosbarthu eitemau sydd mewn stoc o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith, fel arfer drwy Royal Mail Tracked 48. Ar gyfer archebion o flaen llaw, byddwn yn dosbarthu’r eitem o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith ar ôl ei derbyn gan ein cyflenwr.

Dispatch

In-stock items will be dispatched within 3 business days, usually by Royal Mail Tracked 48. For pre-orders, we’ll dispatch within 3 business days of receiving the item from our supplier.

Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

It’s no easy job being a policeman. Even less so when you’re spiralling into a whirlpool of debt, madness and uncontrollable foot fetishism – all the while being scrutinized from on high; just another ‘grunt’ being patronisingly schooled by the new breed of university-educated no marks. But what an inspiration it has provided for Mike Thomas’s imagination, and has led him to crafting what must be one of the outstanding Welsh literary debuts of the year so far. Agonisingly uncomfortable at times, beautifully graphic and an atomic page turner with real substance, Thomas has created a breathtaking novel which grips at the darker side of police work – unashamedly exploring the slimmest (morally speaking anyway) elements of the thin blue line. Cutting in between a narrative of thick, resonant prose, and the increasing lunacy provided by excerpts of central character Jake’s ‘secret’ police notebook, the author invites the reader to reach deep beneath our protagonist’s increasingly fragile exterior to gawp at the bubbling madness exposed beneath. But as much as the notebook elucidates Jake’s easily malleable personal account of his (mis)adventures, the first person narrative confuses as much as it explains, rending the reader hopelessly drawn in with an impossibly intriguing sense of mystery. Whether it be post-binge blackouts where whole segments of plot are tantalizingly excluded, or being lulled into a false sense of security when everything seems to be looking up – one is kept guessing throughout. So in short, I can’t really recommend this book highly enough ... But be warned – for a day or two Jake’s world will become uncontrollably tangled up with your own! So unless you can cope with the rigours of lovable prostitutes, brutal police beatings and vices galore, you’re probably best off leaving this criminally good read well alone!