Kirjahaku

Liz is Nicola. Nicola is a stripper. And a stripper is about to die.When Liz Pendle moves from the north of England to go to university in London, her life is about to change in more ways than she can imagine. Persuaded by her flatmate Zuzzi that stripping is an easy way to make money to pay off her student loan, Liz is soon taking her clothes off in some of London's seediest pubs and clubs. But when a stripper is found murdered, Liz is lured even further into this secret world. She must decide just how far she's prepared to go to help unmask the killer."The lifestyle of strip clubs and strippers is both thought-provoking and captivating and from the opening chapter I felt myself lured into areas of London and people that have, until now, been ignored by most writers. Mike Gerrard has done his research well ... This is a brilliant read: fast-moving, exciting and it will appeal to male and female readers alike."Mari Nicholson, award-winning writer"Award-winning travel writer Mike Gerrard turns to the world of fiction in his first novel, Strip Till Dead. He uses his knowledge of geography and cultural traditions to good purpose in a look at the underside of society.The mystery aspect of Strip Till Dead lures the reader into the story, offering clues like breadcrumbs along a woodland path. Gerrard plots his story well and carries it off with flair. The characters each show great consistency of personality throughout, even as they reveal the depth of that personality.Gerrard's descriptions of locales and journeys fortify the narrative with a richness...This gritty novel ... offers a glimpse into the seedy backstreets of a major city from the perspective of a relative newcomer. You'll take a walk in the dark with a young lady who faces it with inner strength."4-star Review of Amazon Kindle Version"This book gives one a look into the world of the stripper in London. The seedy places with even seedier people gave you a feeling of being right on stage with them. Strippers were brought into a new light for me, showing that they are more than the common misconceptions... worth reading."Amazon Kindle 3-star Review

Behind Bars is filled with stories both ancient and urgent of what happens when alcohol meets crime, from illicit stills in the Scottish Highlands to moonshine in the USA, rum smuggled by Caribbean pirates, the roaring times of Prohibition, to current-day gangs selling millions of dollars’ worth of fake Bordeaux and the often-unsolved cases of people walking into a liquor store, stealing whiskey bottles worth tens of thousands of dollars, and walking out, never to be seen again.Award-winning travel and drinks writer Mike Gerrard takes readers on a centuries-long journey highlighting the most bizarre – and expensive – alcohol-related crimes all while revealing the inside world of booze: how it has been distilled, legislated, imbibed, and infused into culture and society for hundreds of years. Discover the evolution of the world-leading whiskey industry in Scotland; how the war in Ukraine has impacted illicit vodka rings; how Southern smugglers laid the foundation for NASCAR; and the machinations behind the Whiskey Ring Scandal, a White-House Prohibition conspiracy involving high-ranking American officials under President Grant.These crimes have not died with Prohibition. In 2018 at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre scientists used radiocarbon-dating techniques to examine fifty-five bottles of rare and expensive Scotch whiskies. Twenty-one of them were found to be fake. Gerrard interviews today’s leading experts that employ cutting-edge testing techniques to investigate suspect bottles of rare and high-priced alcohol. Fake booze goes back even further than that. Archaeologists excavating around Pompeii in Campania, Italy, a region whose wine was much sought-after and expensive, have uncovered evidence that local wine merchants were filling amphorae with wine from other parts of Italy and passing it off as the real thing. Behind Bars smartly and swiftly shows that the link between alcohol and crime is a never-ending story.