"Sirens" is the novel in which Mr Knox introduces the character of Aidan Waits. The novel is currently being reprinted in 2018. Aidan is an English police detective with enough problems from a past that has left him emotionally scared. His wife and daughter were killed in an accident. His mother deserted his sister and him forcing them to be placed in foster homes. In the course of the placement with foster parents his sister became separated from him. He never saw her again. The novel's action begins when Aidan's supervisor instructs him to go undercover in order to breach the inner circle of Zain Carver's criminal mob. The role forces him to accept an apparent discharge from his job based on his theft of documents important to a case. Moving into the field Aidan is also asked by a member of Parliament to look for his runaway daughter who has apparently fallen under the influence of Zain Carver. Mr. Knox expertly brings the two tasks together which has Aidan moving about in the role of a disgraced police detective. Descriptions of the shadowy worlds of illegal drugs, prostitution and murder are as well delineated as the reader will expect. Aidan's actions and reactions in the face of the circumstances provides an introduction to a man fully on the edge of the dark side of life. The character of Aidan Waits is an interesting one that lends itself to many different types of unilateral action against the criminal world. I am sure that Mr. Knox will bring us future novels utilizing his peculiar strengths and weaknesses to bring us well done novels built around Aidan's personality.

A dark, gritty, dirty and drug infused read set in Manchester. This is a book you will hear yourself saying just one more chapter then all of a sudden you have completely finished. This book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Aidan Waits has been suspended from duty and placed undercover to find out just what police officers are on the drug dealers payroll! As this book unfolds it brings you into a life full of drugs, violence, police corruption and dodgy politicians! This is a must read book that I thoroughly enjoyed, I can't wait for the next instalment of Aidan Waits

My trend for amazing books read in 2017 holds firm with this, the brilliant Sirens, by Joseph Knox. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel so I am thrilled with the prospect of even more novels yet to come from this talented writer. Hooray for readers everywhere! You're gonna love Mr. Knox. I have a weakness for gripping police crime novels but Sirens takes it a step further into the gritty underworld of drugs and criminal turf wars than most I read. It is dark, menacing and complex in a twisted, rough sort of way. There are many plates spinning here - lots of subplots to track - which keeps the reader fully engrossed in the action. The story of Aidan Waits, our young detective, builds slowly but not in a noticeably sloth way. Don't let that fool you because the plot ramps up to a shocking level of intrigue, action and vengeance. I stayed up well late a couple nights to see where we were headed and unravel the threads. Sirens does take firm hold and proves there are many levels of good and bad and it is those shades of gray that define people and their actions. You may notice I didn't say a thing about the story other than mentioning Aidan Waits. There's a reason for that. I don't want to spoil a thing. You've got to go into it with fresh eyes so you too can appreciate the genius behind this novel.

Sirens is set in the early months of a very British winter and takes full advantage of the grey skies, swirling rain and dark shadows to enhance the storyline. It truly is “Grey Britain” and not somewhere one would choose to linger. But the characters become increasingly caught up in a sticky web of underworld drug dealing, police infiltration and sliding investigations; add into the mix a politician who lives in high style atop the highest building in Manchester, the Beetham Tower (completed 2006 at a cost of £150 million, apparently) – also the tallest residential building in the whole of Europe – we are talking money. And, as we know, money talks. But in the story not many characters are really ready to talk. Aidan Waits is a disgraced detective, who is described as being young, yet he feels old and careworn, and the fact that he takes speed serves to underline that he is a policeman very much on the edge. He has a choice: face charges for tampering with evidence, or choose to go under cover…. he chooses the latter option. He is given the task of investigating the twilight world of “The Franchise“, a drug network run by Zain Carver, whilst tracking the MP’s AWOL daughter, Isabelle Rossiter, who is tangled up in the dark doings of the drug baron. She is an unstable young woman, a mere 17 years of age, and has already tried to commit suicide. She has two scars jabbed into her neck, joined by a slanting slash, which seem to make a “Z”; can any clues be drawn from that letter seemingly etched into her neck, I wondered as I read? The murky underworld is populated by ostensibly fragile young women – Cath in her leathers and pencil skirts, Sarah Jane with her flurry of red hair – who collect the drugs for the master, and Aidan, in his own inimitable way is drawn to one of them. Are these the Sirens of the title, luring hapless males deeper into the Hadean milieu? Or does the title simply refer to the police vehicles that speed across the landscape? Whichever, Aidan’s love interest soon gets sucked into the surreal world of alcohol fuelled nightclub life, as he himself prowls the streets looking for the way forward. A 10 year anniversary of a missing young woman seems to coincide with the black and white paint daubed at critical points of the narrative, old scores are perhaps being settled, and immediately Aidan thinks of the Burnside gang, inactive, as until recently their top dog was doing time. But he is out now…. As a reader, you will encounter a well crafted story, that slides and bucks as it comes to its conclusion. You will learn much about the drug world, that, for example, heroin is eight, H being the eighth letter in the alphabet; and UV light first appeared in night clubs to impede users seeing their veins to shoot up because you can’t distinguish the veins in the light (who knew!). And the narrative will keep you in a dimly lit netherworld until you burst out from the darkness for a breath of healthy fresh air. You are warned! Manchester can be identified by the towering residential edifice, the dark shadows along Deansgate, and Gorton Cemetery makes an appearance. It is a venal city at this level, certain markers anchor it in Manchester but it could be a story set in any big British city.

So this story is about Aidan Waits who is a police officer gone bad. He is tasked at finding the local MP's daughter who has gone missing but the MP wants to keep it quiet. Why? The start of the story is a little slow but we can gather much of our information here, the way Waits has become involved in the drugs world and other stuff about himself. I found it interesting learning about the drugs world and behind the scenes of the gangs that supply and deal them. I found this a dark and compulsive read and I can't wait to read the next one.