Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

An enjoyable read, but I did feel I got lost once or twice and I had to go back and re read some of it.

It's enjoyable, it's different and it's worth giving it a go.

some of it did feel a little repetitive.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read this book. The book starts off with a suicide that might not be a suicide but might be as well again. That sets the scene of the book and made the book very entertaining. Recommended.

Thriller around a Norfolk gangster family and the fallout after the death of the patriarch.

This book was rather slow and staid, indeed I was at page 300 and thinking something's going to happen soon when I realised there were only 30 pages left! There is potential for a sequel, perhaps without all the scene setting it would move faster and have a better plot. I feel practically all this book was was a scene setter for a series of crime books, if so fine bring on the others.
As a resident of Bradwell I was rather distracted by all the street names, Mr Brett's local road name knowledge is excellent but it felt like showing off his local knowledge rather than moving the plot on. Does anyone care that Yallop Avenue turns into Marine Parade for example? Is it necessary to mention it? This is just one example from 100's I could have picked. It appears that the author had a vague idea of writing a gangster story then fitted it in to a real life town with a real super casino plan in place to make it seem more like real life. There really is a plan to build a casino at the end of the pleasure beach along with several other things also based in fact, the town is rather tired and down on its luck and the star hotel really did shut, however I wouldn't want people to assume that everything is true. As far as I'm aware we have no worse a drug problem than any other town, no 'real' gangster families and the tourists still come in the summer, I wouldn't want this book to affect that.
In summary not brilliant for the Great Yarmouth tourist board, a bit of a slow burner and, if street names in Great Yarmouth is going to be your mastermind speciality an essential read.
I'd like to thank Netgalley for giving me access to an advance copy in return for my honest review.

A dark and gritty thriller. When a businessman's body is pulled from the river , the police assume it's suicide but his wife Tatty knows he wouldn't have killed himself. She soon finds sharply knew him at all. Her husband was the local crime boss with more enemies that your average guy.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review

Oh wow, this is the kind of book that makes you question everything in the world and trust no one. And I do mean no one. This is anything unlike I have ever read and I loved every minute of it, I ended up reading this in one sitting.

After the demise of Rich, everything is in chaos, the business, the family, his friends and everything he worked towards. Everyone just seems to have their own agenda and only care about themselves, it is also intriguing the way Rich dies, your constantly left in 'how, what?' mode. Nothing seems to make sense but then it does...

Tatty really surprised me, I expected her to be one of those weak characters who really just cry all the time, that can be a little off putting. But she is nothing like that, she is strong, hot headed, resilient, stubborn and really finds herself after Rich dies. There are a lot of things she doesn't know about her husband Rich, but she really rises up to the situation to take care of things and her family.

Another character that really I adored was Frank, I really admire people who are incredibly loyal even after the person dies, it is not a very easy thing to do so I have great respect for people who do it. He might seem big and intimidating for his size, but he really does care and would do anything for those he loves.

The plot takes an interesting twist as Rich is shown to be playing the game, knowing how to bend the rules and where to avoid any suspicions whilst also gaining his own advantage. He is involved in every crime possible; drug dealing, money laundering, fraud etc. Everything becomes a problem once he dies and secrets come to the surface. The pace was a little slow at the beginning, but you get quite hooked in to the story early on (Ben and Sam are exceptional characters and I love their support for their mother Tatty- both of them are awesome).

I have never read any of Brett's books before, but I completely fell in love with his style of writing. I love how equally dark and alluring the cover as well as the story is, it is mysterious but it grabs you by the throat and compels you to finish the story.

Time to Win is a dark compelling story that once you start reading you can't put it down, it is exceptional in captivating its audience with its twisted tale and ruthless characters.

Gangsters and mobsters in Great Yarmouth. A lot of negative description of the area. From the hype and the beginning I was expecting a mafia/mobster type fast paced storyline but felt this purely gave some background to characters in readiness for a series of stories. The local go getter gangster is pulled from the water, drowned and his previously drug torn widow decides to takeover the 'business' with the help of his henchman Frank. I felt the storyline was flat and the characters needed a lot more fleshing out. A disappointing read for me.

Thriller concerning the demise of a businessman/villain and the repercussions for his family and friends. The story is set in Great Yarmouth and it's safe to say the author will not be receiving any greeting cards from the East Anglian tourist board. The place is depicted as a dump, peopled by thugs, crooks, illegal immigrants and psychopaths, with some inhabiting more than one category.
The story is straightforward as the widow of the departed crime boss tries to preserve and protect his business empire. The description of Yarmouth and its inhabitants, and the foul-mouthed dialogue, do lend an air of verisimilitude to proceedings and there is a noir-ish feel to the story.
Part one of a series and not at all a bad start, and yes, I probably will read the next offering.

This is really good , english crime set not in London but in Great Yarmouth , reminds me slightly of Scorpian Rising and the work of Bill James .
It sometimes feels slightly over wrought but its fun in that crime sense , well plotted and the characters feel pretty 3d .
This has potential and feels like a tv mini series in waiting

Very descriptive and true regarding the area and people., dark and brooding with glimpses of humour.. An interesting read.

I did enjoy this book but it started out quite slowly and I don't think it really picked up the pace until about 25% through the book.  My husband is initially from the Norfolk Broads so I have visited Great Yarmouth a few times and do know the area quite well, I do think that the author has done well with the descriptive nature and setting the scene and it has made me wonder how much really goes on behind the scenes in these smaller seaside towns. I enjoyed the plot once I got in to it.  Three stars from me.

Hands up who didn’t properly read the synopsis before requesting this on NetGalley – Me! As a result this wasn’t the book I was expecting it to be, however this was a pleasant surprise. The book begins with the murder of local ‘businessman’ Rich Goodwin; I was expecting this to be your standard crime fiction police procedural, and I enjoy them so that certainly wouldn’t have been a disappointment. Instead Time To Win barely mentions the police enquiry focusing instead on Richard’s family and business associates and how they deal with the aftermath of his death.

Time To Win is set in Great Yarmouth, it’s somewhere I’m vaguely familiar with having been there on holiday when I was a teenager, and as much as I love Scottish crime, it was nice change for me to read something not set there, or in one of the big cities. For me this really worked well, and was a believable setting, Rich had clearly been a big fish in a relatively small pond. As the story develops you learn he clearly had his finger in a lot of pies, and it’s interesting following his family as they discover more about the man who was a husband and father.

There are a large number of characters introduced in the book – beginning with the victim Richard Goodwin. All the major characters then introduced are connected to Rich in some way, the majority are family members, we meet his wife Tatty, and their 3 children, his brother, and business partner, Simon and his wife. We’re also introduced to his right hand man Frank. I’m not sure how I feel about a lot of the characters, I felt that throughout the book I learned more about Rich’s business dealings than I did about anyone still living. There were hints about Tatty’s past and what she did before she met Rich but I would have liked to learn more. Everyone is still a bit of a mystery, which lends itself to a continuing series I’m sure, however it left me feeling a bit detached from the characters and not as invested as I perhaps could have been.

I wasn’t sure about the ending, I won’t go into detail as I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone, however for me it felt a bit open-ended, again it lends itself to a follow-up but I would have liked a little more of a conclusion within this book. 350 or so pages is a fair amount to invest in the story and I felt the pay off wasn’t quite there, it seemed to end very abruptly.

Would I recommend it?

Despite my criticisms I would recommend the book. I’m sure it’s not a completely novel idea but for me it’s an interesting take on a new crime series. It’s not perfect but I think there’s definitely potential here, and I’ll be looking out for the next one.

Time to Win is a very different novel in crime fiction from what I have been currently reading. And why? you may ask. Well this is a book where it’s the woman who steps up into a predominantly male world and takes the reins.

Richard Goodwin, was a tough figure in the crime world. A man, who appeared to show no fear and was almost invincible in his own eyes, finds death in the bottom of the river. His car is pulled out from the docks behind his offices with his body locked inside.

An initial investigation presumes suicide but as all those close to him know, Richard Goodwin loved himself way too much to take his own life.

With his brother Simon left behind to run the business, Tatania Goodwin decides it is now up to her to find out what really happened. The police, seemingly accepting of the initial theory of suicide, leave Tatania, with the assistance of Frank, Richards right hand man, to uncover the truth.

Tatania has three grown up children, all with lives of their own to lead. It is quite unclear in reading the book the full extent of their knowledge of exactly what their father was involved with and I expect this will be expanded as the series moves forward.
Tatania Goodwin is a formidable lady. With a history that remains very much in the shadows of this book, she quickly slots into the role of her husband and looks to continue his rather shady enterprises but with her own stamp on it.

As she attempts to establish the reason for her husband’s unexpected demise, she is soon exposed to some of the more unsavory sides to his character and his business, Unfazed by what she discovers, Tatania starts to establish herself fast in a vacuum that is left open in the local crime scene. Her personality develops more as the novel progresses and it’s not long before a much harder Tatania begins to appear.

The death of Richard Goodwin does not seem to draw too much sympathy from too many people and as Tatania soon discovers there is no love lost between Richard and many of his associates.

With deals to be concluded and individuals to be ‘dealt’ with, Tatania, with the assistance of Frank, soon establishes herself as a woman on a mission, a woman without fear and most importantly a mother who will not see her children’s future destroyed.

In reading Time To Win I was reminded of the TV hip-hop based drama Empire. Empire is, as it’s name suggests, about a family with a business empire and it’s struggle for survival. Tatania Goodwin reminds me of Cookie Lyon, the mother in Empire who will stop at nothing to protect her kids.

In Time To Win, Harry Brett has laid down the roots for plenty more to come. Not a recommendation for Great Yarmouth mind you but a fast read with all the hallmarks of a great series in the making. Characters definitely need to be fleshed out more as the background stories need to be developed but I have no doubt that that is why book one is left so open…….

Possibly made for a TV series dare I say……

Now I don't know about you, but when I think of Great Yarmouth I think of beach holidays (albeit cold ones), caravans, ice creams and long, long tailbacks on all the major arteries that feed their way to the east coast. So when I see Ian Rankin quoted as calling this the Godfather in Great Yarmouth I have to admit to being more than just a little bnit intrigued. How in the fluffy ducks can anyone write a mob type drama set in East Anglia?

Well, that is exactly what Harry Brett has achieved with Time To Win. Opening with the apparent suicide of local businessman and crime Boss, Richard Goodwin this is complex tale of family, double crossing, dodgy dealing and more underhand transactions and criminal intrigue than I ever imagined could happen when I first visited this seemingly sleepy seaside town. And yet far from being out of place or far fetched, there is just something about this book which works.

The story follows Goodwin's widow, Tatiana, and her family as they try to make sense of what has happened and get to grips with the less salubrious elements of the business empire. This is not a necessarily fast paced novel. We are not thrown into the middle of some heavy deal which the family is forced to navigate although there are one or two segments of the story in which we are privy to some of the more negative aspects of the operation.

Much of the book is spent with Tatiana as she attempts to assert herself within the business, much to the annoyance of her brother in law, Simon. She is not a character which it is easy to get to like. Although you do get the feeling that life with her husband was not all rosy, she is just as guilty as he was for a lack of fidelity. To be fair, it is not a book in which many of the characters were particularly likeable. But that didn't stop my enjoyment of the book itself. I think sometimes it's okay to not like the characters and when they happen to be part of East Anglia's answer to the mob and the suspicious and perhaps deadly characters trying to move in to take over. Of all the characters it was Frank and Zach who appealed to me the most. As the youngest child, Zach knew more of what his father really did and seemed a far more down to earth characters. Frank was loyal to a fault, a straight talking tough guy with a surprising edge. Both had something which intrigued me and made me root for them above all others. Don't get me wrong - Zach is reckless and left unchecked likely to get into trouble. Despite his understanding he makes naive choices and without his mother and, more importantly, Frank looking out for him, he'd be in for a whole load of problems. But that is a large part of his appeal - the folly or youth.

As I said, this it not a fast paced thriller and if that is what you are looking for then this probably isn't the book for you. This is more of a subdued read. It also probably won't feature highly on the Norfolk tourist boards list of tomes to sell the area as the descriptions of the weather and the landscape are less than flattering. And yet they feel... right. And the hidden dark side of the town also feels right somehow and yet perhaps not as dramatic or as passionate as some may like or expect given the subject matter. But then if this was all major guns and gangs then it would be hard to hide in a town like Great Yarmouth so perhaps this is a more authentic approach than it first appears. However you view it, I know I will never look at Great Yarmouth in quite the same way again.

If I had one real problem it would be with the ending. After all of the build up it seemed to be a little flat and perhaps too convenient. To think of all that has happened, all that appears to be happening in terms of people trying to muscle in, there was not quite enough of crescendo for me and it felt like there could have just been a touch more on offer. A little bit more oomph. But despite this, the book pulled me in and held my attention and I would be interested to see, if this story is revisited, quite how it works out for the characters concerned.

I'd actually like to give this 3 1/2 stars but I don't have that option. I am rounding up rather than down because despite quite a few niggles I have with the book, I do think the series could have potential. It will definitely be interesting to read the follow up and see how the author takes it further, now the scene is set and the major players have been established.
One of my major niggles was with repetition. It was almost like the author didn't quite trust the reader's memory. Certain things were repeated over and over, I am not going to name them all as I may just be being oversensitive to particular things, however I am going to name and shame the over emphasis on both the weather and the location. I don't need constant weather forecasts unless they add something to the plot, nor do I need a blow by blow account of every building passed and road taken on a journey (I know some of them were pertinent to the plot as they gave context on Rich's properties). That just distracts me away from the narrative and puts me off. Gets me thinking that maybe the story wasn't enough, it just seemed like a bit of padding rather than scene setting to be honest; unnecessary. I've read books where the setting is almost a character in its own right, and when done well, it works, it really does, here notsomuch. It just became a bit tedious for me at the end of the day.
So, the story opens with an apparent suicide. The death of major businessman Rich Goodwin. He has fingers in a lot of pies in the area, some legal, some not so legal. Those close to him don't believe he would take his own life and, given his... connections... there are plenty would wish him harm. Rich's business partner and brother, Simon, doesn't know the half of Rich's deals but still wants to take control of it all. Rich's widow, Tatty has an inkling and wants to know the rest, to take the helm, and turns to Rich's long suffering right hand man, Frank, to show her. Which he does in his own way. Also embroiled into Rich's world is his son Zach having done some "IT" work for him in the past. Their other two children live and work in London, away from it all in quite good, professional jobs. Other major players in our piece include Simon's wife, Tatty's cleaner and her daughter, and various colleagues and contacts of Rich's, all with something to add to the story, occasionally that something coming right out of left field. There was something not quite consistent with some of the things that happened, some things they did along the way that didn't quite sit right with me. Again I am not prepared to list them as their inclusion here could seem a bit spoilery. My main bugbear however was the instant transformation of Tatty. The way she went from 0-60 faster than a supercar after the death of her husband. Where was this side of her during his life? Why the complete 180? I didn't quite swallow that. From ignorance to enlightenment overnight; I'd love to get a peep at that self-help book!
Gosh, I sound so down on it all... but I wouldn't be being honest if I didn't mention these things. I would also not be being honest if I didn't add that, despite these things, I did actually enjoy the book. Although my gripes may be many, they are not particularly major. Together they do not add up to enough to tip me over the edge and make me stop reading. In fact, despite all the above, the book did manage to hold my attention sufficiently enough for me to both get to the end and feel mostly satisfied. I did believe and connect with enough of the characters to get me through. Hence the star rating. Maybe I'm just in a benevolent mood. Or maybe I just hope that the author reads this review and takes encouragement and maybe a bit of constructive feedback from what I say (I should be so important!). With the end of the book left where it was, I really want to see what happens next and I hope that I get my answers without having to contend with the meteorology and google maps!

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is the first book in a series dealing with the criminal underworld in Great Yarmouth. It’s safe to say that Time to Win isn’t going to win any awards from Visit Norfolk. The picture that Brett paints so vividly is of a tired, dirty, depressed town, full of corruption from the local authority to the Police and where the commercial activities of our protagonists are as much a front for money laundering as they are a means of entertainment for visitors and locals alike. Drugs and prostitution feature heavily and the whole Great Yarmouth vista is overlain with a wash of constant rainfall.
This is depression meets thug turned businessman. You can just imagine Ray Winstone as Richard Goodwin in the opening credits. Unfortunately, however, Richard Goodwin does not survive the opening credits. Dragged out of the river by police, this looks like it could have been a suicide, but his family know better.
Brett uses this death to lay bare the criminal dealings in which Goodwin was involved and to portray the impact that his death has on his family and his businesses. His widow, Tatania (Tatty) has hitherto existed in a haze of anti-depressants and vanity projects to keep her busy. But when Richard Goodwin dies, she recognises that it is up to her to make sure that no vacuum in the business is created and she sets out to take control before her rivals can get the better of the empire that she is taking over.
With the help of the trusty Frank, an enforcer who loves his garden, she embarks on a journey to lick her family into shape and ensure that no-one is left in any doubt as to who is in charge.
This is not a book where you are ever asked to care about the characters; there is not one with any redeeming features. Rather you are submerged in the squalid and seedy underbelly of crime – where drugs, murder and the cheapness of life are everyday pictures.
This is where I found myself looking for something more. After the body is dredged up in the opening scenes, there is no real mystery here. The focus is on how Tatty sets about taking over the business, no doubt in preparation for more novels to come.
Unfortunately, I did not find her a compelling character, nor was I wholly convinced by the narrative. These are people we should be very scared of, but in the end I lost interest in them because of the complete lack of anyone empathetic.
If you love harsh Brit grit noir, then this may well be for you, but it’s not the kind of book that floats my boat.

Just a rather dull book with lots of unlikeable characters and set in what seemed the most dreary seaside setting. Certainly won't be a popular book in Norfolk tourist office I shouldn't think.
There was little or no tension and the ending was as drab and dreary as the setting with lots of unanswered plot lines.
On the positive side it was an easy enough read but just didn't seem worth the bother for me.

This is not a book that worked well for me. Rich Goodwin is found dead in circumstances that suggest suicide. He is a well known man locally and crime boss. We see the repercussions of his death on his brother, Simon, his immediate family, Tatty, and his children. A man with his finger in many pies, such as money laundering, drugs, people smuggling, offloading stolen goods, tax evasion, fraud, extortion and protection. This is invariably going to interest a number of people. Tatty who has never been involved with the business, get to grips with the business so she can run it but not without a great deal of drama.

For me, the writing felt flat and the characters just failed to interest me. The sense of location in Great Yarmouth works better, but it just was not enough for me. However, that does not mean others will not like it. Thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for an advance copy of Time to Win, a crime novel set in Great Yarmouth.

Rich Goodwin is found dead in his submerged car. The police believe it is suicide, no one else does, especially his wife Tatiana or Tatty as she prefers. The problem for Tatty is that not all Rich's business interests were legitimate and she is on a steep learning curve when she decides to take over at the helm and find out who wanted Rich dead.

I was quite disappointed in Time To Win. It doesn't have the edgy pace I was expecting from the synopsis and it all seems to come too easily to Tatty. I suspect, however, that this is the first novel in a projected series and that the real fights and struggles have still to come, although, based on this novel, I probably won't bother with them.

I feel the author didn't really get to grips with his novel. There are plenty of threads and allusions but none that went anywhere except Tatty's determination to run the business which seems extremely improbable.

The one thing that stands out in the novel is the sense of seediness and decay in the once thriving resort of Great Yarmouth. The author does an excellent job of conveying this and the sense of hopelessness and unscrupulous opportunity it offers.

Time To Win is an ok read and an easy way to pass a few hours.