Dodgers follows East, a watcher for a drug gang, as his world is turned upside down following an incident at the house he had been charged with watching. It's described as literary crime fiction, which means that it doesn't focus particularly on the crimes themselves, but more on how they affect the characters, and how they change the dynamics within the core group of characters. As East travels across America with three other kids from the gang, the true nature of each is revealed, resulting in tensions within the group, and revelations about why each of them was included. The descriptions of the places they pass through were well done, providing just the right level of detail to give context, without overwhelming with pages devoid of plot. The characters are also well developed, especially East, but the lesser characters are all believable in what they do and say. If you're looking for a crime procedural, this isn't the book to go for. It's also not a high octane thriller - considering the subject matter, at times it feels relaxed. It's different to anything else I've read recently, which is no bad thing. Worth a try!

Really enjoyed reading this, the short character list were all intriguing and the relationship between them really made the book flow. Definitely an easy read and one that you can pick up at any time and get into.

This is to be published by No Exit Press in the UK, Crown in the USA and Editions Du Seuil in France. It is the story of a group of young street wise drug gang members in Los Angeles. The main character is known as East who watches houses where the drugs are administered until the police crack down on the gang's activities. East and a small group of other kids from the drug organisation are then sent to eliminate a witness (who happens to be a judge) who could testify against one of the gang leaders. The author, Bill Beverly, captures the characters of the young black kids who are sent on their deadly assignment in such a way that you get to know the characters and have sympathy for them in their many adventures on this road trip adventure. This is a very gritty drama into which I was very quickly drawn. I found this to be a book that was hard to put down once I got into it. My reservation stems from the use of language that was used from the start. I had to read the first chapter twice over to work out what was going on, but once I got used to words, with which I'm familiar, being used in an unfamiliar context it flowed easily. I couldn't quite give this a top star rating but t was very close. The subject matter may not appeal to everybody but I would highly recommend that everybody should give it a try. You may find that you will be surprised!

This is not a book I would of chose to read but I am so glad I was sent it to be reviewed. It is a tale of East and his brother Ty and the lead a life that you would hope that no one would live but sadly this life style exists in real life. The struggles they face haunted me and made me think and the twists and turns left me gripped. I will say at the beginning I struggled for the first 40 to 50 pages but well worth persevering. Bill Beverly has wrote a unique crime story and he is an author who I will be eagerly awaiting his next novel.

I received an ARC of this book from Real Readers (www.realreaders.co.uk) and have to admit that I wasn't particularly thrilled when I opened the package and saw what it was. I'm not a fan of crime novels and the few that I have read have been fairly disappointing, so I wasn't looking forward to having to read it. However, having read 'Dodgers', I can now say that I really enjoyed it, much to my surprise. It tells the story of East, a young boy in a gang who's sent on a special road trip across America with 3 others to assassinate a judge. Needless to say, the road trip doesn't pan out as expected and where East ends up is not where he necessarily expected to be. Although the whole gang scenario and characters might sound a bit cliched, Bill Beverly gives us only glimpses into the lives and backgrounds of the main characters, so we never really know the full 'whys' and the 'hows' of how they end up where they do. Beverly deals with the here and now and as the road trip gets underway and America reveals itself to East, Ty, Michael Wilson and Walter, so too their characters reveal themselves to us. I fully expected the characters to be cliched gang members, but as the novel progresses and the plot develops, neither the characters or the plot turn out the way I expected them to. The conversations between the main characters are often funny, poignant and insightful, and you DEFINITELY don't have to be a crime fan to read and enjoy 'Dodgers'. Highly recommended and an excellent debut novel - the book is released in March by No Exit Press and is definitely one to look out for.