“An atmospheric depiction of 1960s London” – Chasing the Game review
Chasing the Game has been praised for generating “an atmospheric depiction of London in the 1960s” in its latest review.
My debut crime thriller, a fictional account of the real-life theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy from Westminster Central Hall in 1966, was reviewed by footballbookreviews.com, a website that delivers passionate coverage of original, thought-provoking and independent football-related literature in various forms.
The review adds to the overwhelmingly positive reception Chasing the Game has received since its release in 2014. A summary of how the novel has been received by literary critics, including media reviewers and established crime fiction bloggers, can be found here, while a round-up of what readers think of the book is available by clicking here.
The full review of Chasing the Game by footballbookreviews.com can be found here, but segments of it are below:
“In Chasing the Game Paul Gadsby provides a fictional account of the events around the robbery and the subsequent recovery of the trophy. As such the football element is only a minor thread in a book which is essentially a crime thriller.
“Gadsby provides an atmospheric depiction of London in the 1960s, where gangster Dale Blake is battling with discontentment amongst the ranks and an unhappy home life. The theft of the trophy and the hoped-for ransom money are seen by Dale as a way to sort out the problems he is encountering in his life.
“This is a read which is in parts gritty as it explores the murky world of gangsters, but which also has a softer side as it explores through the central character Dale a number of areas including family relationships, leadership, power and respect… Gadsby provides an entertaining and well-paced read in relation to a fictional exploration of the events in London before England’s finest footballing hour.”
Chasing the Game featured in The Guardian
I’ve written an article published in The Guardian about the true-life crime that sparked the narrative behind my new novel Chasing the Game.
The colourful, in-depth feature describes the theft of the Jules Rimet (World Cup) trophy in London in 1966, as well as dramatic events in Rio in 1983 when the trophy was stolen once again, never to be recovered.
Another feature I wrote about the 1966 theft was published in the London Metro newspaper – ‘Holding the 1966 World Cup to ransom: The curious theft of the Jules Rimet trophy’ can be found here.
To read more about Chasing the Game and the real-life crime that influenced its narrative, please click here.
Chasing the Game can be ordered from the publisher Matador here, or on Amazon (paperback version) or ebook (just £1.99).
The book has already received several rave reviews in the media, including from Britain’s biggest crime website Crime Fiction Lover and the highly revered Crime Time. To read a summary of those and more glowing reviews for Chasing the Game, please click here.
[Top]Crime Fiction Lover the latest to praise Chasing the Game
One of Britain’s biggest crime fiction websites, Crime Fiction Lover, has followed in the footsteps of other leading media sources by awarding my debut novel Chasing the Game with an excellent review.
Led by a team of expert contributors and critics within the genre, Crime Fiction Lover is one of the most firmly established and well-respected websites around, covering news, reviews and features across a wide range of crime from atmospheric noir and thriller mysteries to hardboiled detectives and police procedurals.
Reviewer David Prestidge read Chasing the Game, my fictional depiction of the real-life theft of the World Cup trophy in London in 1966, and the full review can be found here.
Amongst his comments, David wrote that the story provides ‘a mixture of criminal incompetence, jealousy and black comedy, which presents itself as a plausible account of one of Britain’s greatest unsolved mysteries.’
He added: ‘This is a London where the smart boys smoke Dunhills because the slimline pack doesn’t spoil the cut of their suit jackets, a Mark II Ford Cortina could just about take a man’s breath away, and Michael Caine was doing something similar to young women with his screen portrayal of the amoral Alfie.
‘I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The prose is unpretentious, brisk, and will move the reader through the 200-odd pages with minimal effort. Gadsby has taken a real-life event that remains a mystery to this day, and provided a perfectly plausible, well-timed and entertaining fictional account.’
This write-up of Chasing the Game comes after further glowing reviews greeted the book’s release, not least from the highly-revered Crime Time website as well as critically acclaimed author Guy Portman and blogger ‘Book Addict Shaun’.
So far on Amazon, the book has attracted eight reviews; seven of them 5 star and one 4 star.
To read more about Chasing the Game and the true crime that influenced its narrative, please click here.
[Top]World Cup trophy theft – new book revives the tale
My new crime thriller Chasing the Game – a groundbreaking fictional take on the real-life theft of the World Cup trophy in 1966 – has just been released.
The solid gold Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from Westminster Central Hall three months before the tournament and famously discovered by a dog named Pickles in a London street a week later, wrapped in newspaper. But the circumstances behind the crime, and its perpetrators, remain unsolved to this day.
Chasing the Game brings this intriguing tale to life, weaving a set of vivid characters into the tale to create a gripping – and shocking – version of a story that still draws much speculation today.
For more details on the background behind the 1966 theft of the Jules Rimet Trophy and the plot of Chasing the Game, please click here.
The book enjoys a timely release in the build-up to this summer’s World Cup in Brazil, a country where the Jules Rimet Trophy was actually stolen again in 1983, and this time never recovered.
You can order Chasing the Game from the book’s publishers Matador as well as several leading retailers including Amazon, iconic independent bookseller Foyles and Waterstones.
The book is available as a paperback as well as an ebook in all major formats.
More updates about the book will be posted on this website and on my Twitter page, @PaulJGadsby
If you would like to order a review copy for your newspaper/magazine/website/blog, or discuss an interview with the author, please feel free to email pauljgadsby(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
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