Told in a unique voice, with a cast of extraordinary characters, 'Top Hard' is an irreverent crime story set in a memorable time and place. In 1998, it was a finalist for the Crime Writers' Association's New Writing (Debut Dagger) Award. As he watches criminals target a French lorry in an A1 layby, Stones McClure thinks his plans might actually come together for once. He's looking forward to a life full of everything he could possibly want. Money, cars, a pair of fancy cowboy boots - who could ask for more? But things aren't always what they seem. And Stones should know it better than anyone. It's Nottinghamshire, England, in 1998. Derelict pits, decaying villages, rundown housing estates - all surrounded by vast, historic mansions in country parks known as the Dukeries. And there's no sign of Robin Hood to spread a bit of the wealth around. In a world full of injustice, among people still haunted by memories of the Miners' Strike, Stones is a man trying to put his old life behind him for good. But survival in these coalfield villages depends on the Top Hard Rule - you can't trust anyone these days. Now it's all about to go very wrong for Stones McClure. Someone is out to get him. And most surprising of all, it isn't one of the women in his life... Stephen Booth is the multiple award-winning author of the Ben Cooper and Diane Fry series.
Author
Stephen Booth is the author of 18 novels in the Cooper & Fry series, all set around England's Peak District, and a standalone novel DROWNED LIVES, published in August 2019. The Cooper & Fry series has won awards on both sides of the Atlantic, and Detective Constable Cooper has been a finalist for the Sherlock Award for Best Detective created by a British author. The Crime Writers’ Association presented Stephen with the Dagger in the Library Award for “the author whose books have given readers most pleasure.” The novels are sold all around the world, with translations in 16 languages. The most recent title is FALL DOWN DEAD. A new Stephen Booth standalone novel with a historical theme, DROWNED LIVES, will be published in August 2019: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drowned-Live... In recent years, Stephen has become a Library Champion in support of the UK’s ‘Love Libraries’ campaign. He's represented British literature at the Helsinki Book Fair in Finland, appeared with Alexander McCall Smith at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival in Australia, filmed a documentary for 20th Century Fox on the French detective Vidocq, taken part in online chats for World Book Day, taught crime writing courses, and visited prisons to talk to prisoners about writing. He lives in Nottinghamshire.
