I listened to the audiobook version of Breakers for my 20 Books Of Christmas challenge. Sadly I will not be able to finish the challenge this year – but it is a new year’s resolution to finish at least one challenge next year!

Blurb:

There are two sides to every family…ju

Seventeen-year-old Tyler lives in one of Edinburgh’s most deprived areas. Coerced into robbing rich people’s homes by his bullying older siblings, he’s also trying to care for his little sister and his drug-addict mum.

On a job, his brother Barry stabs a homeowner and leaves her for dead, but that’s just the beginning of their nightmare, because the woman is the wife of Edinburgh’s biggest crime lord, Deke Holt.

With the police and the Holts closing in, and his shattered family in devastating danger, Tyler meets posh girl Flick in another stranger’s house, and he thinks she may just be his salvation … unless he drags her down too.

Review:

First things first, where on earth have I been?! I’ve never read anything by Doug Johnstone before but I have missed out in a big way! I loved his writing and the opportunity to immerse myself in a gripping story in a new city. I felt the narration helped with this as Angus King breathed life into Edinburgh and the people who live there.

The strength of Breakers lies in its characters. I am not particularly familiar with Tyler’s lifestyle, but Johnstone made the cycles of addiction and crime easier to understand, and I found myself sucked into Tyler’s life. I had great admiration for the way Tyler cared for his younger sister, Bean, and I often felt sympathy for him despite his deeds being essentially unpleasant.

As Breakers reaches its end, the tension grows quite rapidly! I found I had to put down everything else and listen intently as I was so caught up in the action. There were some events that I did not expect, but I finish Breakers feeling hugely satisfied.

Breakers is available from Amazon.