The Boxer Boys by Nick Rippington – Book Review

PUBLISHERS BLURB 

Some Family feuds just won’t go away… For 40 years the Dolans and the Marshalls have lived side by side on the same rundown housing estate in east London.

While teens Gary Marshall and Arnie Dolan forge a close friendship, fighting constant battles to survive both on the streets and closer to home, the relationship between their parents is complicated and, at times, toxic. Gradually family secrets emerge which have their roots in the early 80s… and Gary and Arnie realise their entire upbringing was built on lies.  

MY REVIEW 

 

This is a box set of three novels by Nick Rippington. 

First: 

 

CROSSING THE WHITEWASH

Gary Marshall and Arnie Dolan have been friends since they were 13 years old, and had named themselves the Boxer Boys.

Gary had dreams of being a professional footballer, but after a night out, a series of events put an end to his dream.

This tells of their lives to the present day, their friendship, the laughs and their criminal and sometimes violent activities.

As they grow up, lives change, but then the past catches up with Gareth.

A thriller full of humour, sport and action.

 

SPARK OUT (prequel)

This is set in the 1980’s , the politics, music and the Falklands War.

Mo Dolan, is a really nasty piece of work and really wants to be a big time gangster type. Violent and brutal. Will his son end up the same?

Lots of descriptive writing the political atmosphere of the time and about the horrors of the Falklands War. A thriller with a political edge.

 

DYING SECONDS(sequel)

Again the story revolves around the violent Dolan crime family. 

Gareth, who used to be Gary is working for a welsh newspaper as a sports journalist after moving on from his earlier way of life. But then his father is murdered, his old friend Arnie Dolan has been arrested. Is he responsible or was some one else responsible? And why?

Again, set with a backdrop of politics (Brexit) and sports with the murder mystery too in a totally engrossing read.

Thank you to Sarah at Book On The Bright Side for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the ebook. This is my honest, unbiased review.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

NICK RIPPINGTON is one of the victims of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal you never hear about. 

As the newspaper’s Welsh Sports Editor, he was made redundant with two days notice when Rupert Murdoch closed down Europe’s biggest-selling tabloid in 2011. 

On holiday at the time, Nick was never allowed back into the building, investigators sealed off the area with crime scene tape and seized his computer, which contained all the secrets to his Fantasy Football selections.

Handed the contents of his desk in a black bin bag in a murky car park, deep throat style, Nick was at a crossroads – married just two years earlier and with a wife and 9-month-old baby to support. Options were limited but self-publishing was booming. Having hit on an idea for a UK gangland thriller taking place against the backdrop of the Rugby World Cup, in 2015 he produced Crossing The Whitewash.

The book was praised by many, received an honourable mention in the genre category of the Writers’ Digest self-published eBook awards and more than 25 five-star reviews on both sides of the pond. 

Almost two years after Crossing The Whitewash came the second in the Boxer Boys series, a prequel called Spark Out, which was released in paperback on July 1 and for Kindle on July 10, 2017. The book received an award for best cover of 2017 with the Chill With A Book website, along with a readers award, before receiving the IndieBRAG medallion from a prestigious site covering Independent writers and publishers throughout the world.

The third book in the Boxer Boys series Dying Seconds, a sequel to Crossing the Whitewash, was released in December 2018.

Married to Liz, Nick is now a full-time back bench designer on the Daily Star sports desk and has two daughters – Jemma, 36, and Olivia, 8. A Bristolian at heart, he lives near Ilford, Essex. In the past he has worked for the Sunday Mirror, Wales on Sunday and Media Wales in Cardiff as an executive editor.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buckrippers

Twitter: @nickripp

Goodreads Author Page:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14194075.Nick_Rippington

 

Blog: On the website – Say Hello to My Little Friends

 

Website: http://www.theripperfile.com

 

Amazon Author Page in the UK: 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nick-Rippington/e/B0135YST78