RJ Barker is a rare talent, and one who can be entertaining in any genre he sets his mind to. Get familar with the work of RJ Barker, he's very good.

Reviewed by my co-blogger, TS Chan.

A Numbers Game was an enjoyable mystery read that has great emotions and the hallmarks of RJ's humour.

RJ Dark is the alter-ego of RJ Barker, who debuted with a stunningly phenomenal but criminally underrated fantasy trilogy, The Wounded Kingdom. I've also read the first book of his sophomore series, The Tide Child, and for the first time ever, absolutely loved a book that was predominantly about ships and seafaring. Safe to say, I've come to trust this Barker guy to write a darn good yarn anytime of the day.

So when I found out about his alter-ego writing modern crime mysteries set in his homeland, I naturally jumped at the chance of reading it. While fantasy has and will always be my favourite genre, I've been increasingly drawn to crime mysteries/thrillers of late. And I'm particularly to partial to those written by British authors (thanks to my late discovery of the wonderful Grand Dame of Mystery, Agatha Christie, and of course, Arthur Conan Doyle).

Anyway, back to RJ Dark and his debut mystery novel, A Numbers Game. The first thing that hit me as I read this book was that the humour was spot on and thoroughly RJ. I've followed the author on Twitter and also met him in person, and let me tell you that he is a gem. It was little surprise that I found the writing in this gritty modern British mystery setting to be vivid, engaging, funny and yet poignant at times. It was pretty much exactly what I would imagine RJ Barker will sound like writing non-fantasy fiction that pay homage to his roots.

I actually thought that the mystery wasn't as interesting as the interplay of the characters in the book. What made this book for me was the friendship between Mal and Jackie. While I liked Mal enough on his own with his self-deprecating, honest internal monologues, the scenes where Jackie was with him were the best parts of the story. The characterisation of Jackie was also more fascinating than Mal, and makes for a most unlikely pairing between the two of them. A trope which I've always loved, especially when combined with the rogue with a heart-of-gold.

This will be a relatively short review as I really couldn't say much about the plot save for what was already mentioned in the synopsis. All in all, it was an entertaining read and I think that anyone who enjoys British crime mysteries with some grit and humour will enjoy this book.

The Numbers Game takes place in and around the fictitious Blade’s Edge estate in Yorkshire where the main characters, Malachite Jones and Jackie Singh Khattar, grew up. We get a warts and all portrait of life in one of the roughest council estates in the area, but tempered with nostalgia and affection. Mal is tasked with finding the £8m winning lottery ticket that disappeared after the death of Larry Stanbeck, a member of the most powerful criminal family in the district.
Everywhere Mal turns someone is threatening him with violence as he tries his best to find the ticket. It’s a good job Jackie has got his back. The relationship between Mal and Jackie is at the heart of The Numbers Game. It also features a large cast of interesting supporting characters that are well drawn and easily differentiated. The story is fast paced as the action takes place over the course of just a week. I understand that the author usually writes fantasy novels and this is his first foray into crime fiction. I really enjoyed this introduction to Mal and Jackie, with its dark humour and vivid sense of place, and look forward to reading the next book in the series, Incy Wincy.
Thanks to Wavesback and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

Gritty, gripping and highly entertaining. It's bit different from my usual read but i had a lot of fun in reading it and hope that the author will write other thriller.
The violent and criminal underbelly of Yorkshire, two great characters and a solid plot full of twists and turns.
Even if the book is quite violent there's plenty of humour that I appreciated.
An excellent story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

There is a real skill to delivering a thriller which has lashings of tension, violence and murder but also keeps fun in its soul and gives the readers laughs and empathy and two lead characters you will want to see return as soon as possible.  Kudos, therefore, to RJ Dark for the hugely enjoyable A Numbers Game; first in a new series to feature "psychic medium" Mal Jones and his extremely deadly best friend Jackie Singh Katter.

Jackie sends Mal a new client: Janine Stanbeck. Her husband recently died in a motorcycle accident and Janine wants to know if Mal can communicate with her late husband as she needs to know where he hid his winning lottery ticket. Janine is very cynical and does not believe Mal can help her but desperate times call for desperate measures and Mal may well be her last chance to get her hands on the unclaimed millions.

Unfortunately for Mal, Janine is the daughter of the local crime kingpin and the Stanbeck family is to be feared and (if possible) avoided. And Janine is not the only person looking for the missing ticket - her father would quite like to get his hands on it too...as would the Russian gangsters who would also like to see the Stanbeck family taken out of the picture so they can extend their own influence. All these interested parties would like Mal to find the missing ticket. Actually they all expect him to find the ticket and they all expect Mal to ignore any other people who may want the ticket and pass control of the money to them. Mal, caught up in the middle of the mix,would really like everyone to leave him alone but that does not seem likely.

Mal will need to rely upon Jackie to keep him safe and help him out when the going gets heavy, which it does. Jackie is the violent part of the duo and when the pair are backed into a corner the fists will fly and Jackie frequently surprises the larger and more intimidating thugs who will cross their path.

I had a blast reading A Numbers Game. Mal needs to understand the man at the heart of the problem and to know the secrets of a dead biker who seemed to be forging a path away from the criminal background the rest of his family. Jackie has to keep Mal alive. Together the pair are fantastic fun to read about and it's one of those books you zip through as the action comes thick and fast.

Characters are brilliantly developed, nobody likes Mal and the police are determined to lock up Jackie; just how the pair keep it together is something of a minor miracle. More books in this series would be very welcome, no better feeling for a reader than getting characters you instantly like and want to read again.

The story centres around Malachite (Mal) Jones and his best friend Jackie Singh Khattar. On the face of it, they appear to be two completely different sorts of people, but deep down they share a bond from childhood and a strong friendship. After serving time in the army, Jackie has demonstrated some tough love and tried to teach Mal to defend himself, usually involving a lot of bruises along the way, but he'll never let anyone hurt his friend. Mal is basically a con artist, posing as a psychic medium whilst cold reading his clients. Jackie poses as a legitimate businessman, fitting security systems he can later make good use of and renting out property whilst extorting protection money, even from Mal (although he does take care to make sure he has money for food first!). Mal grew up on the Blades Edge estate, one of the roughest council estates in the north of England, and has no desire to get involved with most of the people there again. Unfortunately his present client is the widow of Larry Stanbeck, son of the leader of the family that controls most of the crime there. Larry recently hit the big jackpot on the lottery, 8 million in fact, but refused to cash in his ticket. Then he suffered a highly suspicious accident on his motorbike and was killed. Janine wants Mal to ask Larry where the ticket is so she and her young son can leave the estate. However it soon transpires that Larry’s dad, Trolley Mick, aided by his Kray twin sons Kyle and Ronaldo, also wants it. And so does his right hand man, leader of the travellers Benny Callaghan. And then the Russians Frank and Harry pay Mal a visit and guess what? They want it too! Throw in DI Esther Smith and her sidekick DC Sarah Harrington, a pair of detectives keeping a close eye on everyone, and life has very quickly turned extremely complicated and dangerous for Mal. Even if he manages to locate the missing ticket, just who is he the most scared of? And what else will the pair discover as they dig deeper into the life of Larry?
I did guess what had happened to the missing ticket right at the start, and it was great to be proved right, but in no way did it spoil what proved to be an exciting and thoroughly enjoyable journey for Mal and Jackie! With a touch of black comedy in places, and jam-packed full of the very people you’d expect to find on the Blades Edge, this is the first very clever story in a great new series featuring an unusual and highly original pairing of very likeable characters. I loved Beryl too, a great character, full of cracking put downs and a woman of many talents. I am definitely looking forward to book 2! 5*

I liked Mal and Jackie, and I'm looking forward to more books about them. There was more humour in this novel than I was expecting. A brilliant read!

An enjoyable mystery that has great emotions and all the hallmarks of RJ's humour.

RJ Dark is the alter-ego of RJ Barker, who debuted with a stunningly phenomenal but criminally underrated fantasy trilogy, The Wounded Kingdom. I've also read the first book of his sophomore series, The Tide Child, and for the first time ever, absolutely loved a book that was predominantly about ships and seafaring. Safe to say, I've come to trust this Barker guy to write a good yarn anytime of the day.

So when I found out about his alter-ego writing modern crime mysteries set in his homeland, I naturally jumped at the chance of reading it. While fantasy has and will always be my favourite genre, I've been increasingly drawn to crime mysteries/thrillers of late. And I'm particularly to partial to those written by British authors (thanks to my late discovery of the wonderful Grand Dame of Mystery, Agatha Christie, and of course, Arthur Conan Doyle).

Anyway, back to RJ Dark and his debut mystery novel. A Numbers Game. The first thing that hit me as I read this book was that the humour was spot on and thoroughly RJ. I've followed the author on Twitter and also met him in person, and let me tell you that he is a gem. It was little surprise that I found the writing in this gritty modern British mystery setting to be vivid, engaging, funny and yet poignant at times. It was pretty much exactly what I would imagine RJ Barker will sound like writing non-fantasy fiction that pay homage to his roots.

I actually thought that the mystery wasn't as interesting as the interplay of the characters in the book. What made this book for me was the friendship between Mal and Jackie. While I liked Mal enough on his own with his self-deprecating, honest internal monologues, the scenes where Jackie was with him were the best parts of the story. The characterisation of Jackie was also more fascinating than Mal, and makes for a most unlikely pairing between the two of them. A trope which I've always loved, especially when combined with the rogue with a heart-of-gold.

This will be a relatively short review as I really couldn't say much about the plot save for what was already mentioned in the synopsis. All in all, it was an entertaining read and I think that anyone who loves gritty British crime mysteries will love this book.

One of the best books I've read this summer - funny and yet gritty. Please may there by more from Mal and Jackie!

So, what have we here? A crime novel set on a sprawling, gritty estate in Yorkshire, with a psychic medium on the hunt for a lost lottery ticket worth quite a lot of money. And a series of other unsavoury characters who want the ticket for themselves, and are not afraid to let Malachite Jones know exactly how much they’re willing to hurt him if he doesn’t hand it over.

I read a lot of crime books. So do you, probably. But it’s refreshing to find one that manages to combine a lovely dark, twisty plot with a healthy dose of humour. I loved Mal and Jackie, the two leads with their long history and tenuous ‘friendship’.

"The week started unseasonably warm for spring, and with my best friend sitting on top of me, threatening violence. From there it only went downhill."

Malachite Jones – ‘psychic’ medium (ably, if reluctantly, assisted by his assistant Beryl, who knows everyone and everything going on on the Blades Edge estate). Jackie Singh Kattar, respected businessman (just don’t ask what business, or you’ll find out he’s made you his business), sharp dresser and with a nice little line in motors. Best friends. And boy, do you want Jackie on your side.

But it’s not just them – the supporting cast is also brilliant – Trolley Mick Stanbeck and his dim (but wanting to improve themselves) sons. The Russians. The dodgy coppers (one of whom Jackie assures Mal she fancies him)

It’s just a joy from the first page to the end. Do yourself a favour, grab a copy for your kindle (ebook only at the moment) and settle down with a brew. Malachite Jones and his best friend Jackie Singh Kattar are about to become your new favourite duo.

Highly recommended.

Crime stories need a great location for their mysteries to unfold; where character’s secrets can be hidden and found and where confrontations can erupt. This can for some stories a single location a train or often a single large building, but I think a successful series needs something bigger. A world of unusual places and most importantly the people who live in it gives you the potential for not just one story but a whole world to explore. Rebus without Edinburgh or Bosch without Los Angeles doesn’t really sound right. RJ Dark has constructed a very memorable world filled with and led by some of the most entertaining characters in a UK crime novel for some time in the excellent A Numbers Game.

Malachite Jones just wants a quiet life making a living by pretending to be a psychic; but his ability to cold read people and how to research their secrets (via his not very respectful assistant Beryl) means he has a reputation for being good at what he does. His best (potentially only) friend Jackie Singh Kattar a respected local businessman or someone the police would really like evidence on depending on whom you speak to has asked if Mal will speak to the newly widowed Janine Stanbeck. Her husband died in an accident but a winning lottery ticket for millions vanished with him. Janine wants it; her father-in-law who runs one of the notorious local crime gangs would like it and now some Russian businessmen with weapons too would like Mal to find it. Mal and Jackie find themselves not just with a mystery but in the middle of a potential gang war where death and destruction are imminent.

What jumps out in the debut to what I hope will be a long running series is the amazing way this story shifts gears pulling the reader along for a very entertaining ride. A story about a missing lottery ticket isn’t usually what we think about with a crime story, but Dark has made this the domino that is about to trigger a huge cascade in the local underworld and for reasons that initially perplex Mal we find assassins, local heavies and turf wars all erupt. To make this work though is how Dark constructs Blades Edge the estate that Mal and Jackie are from and where the Stanbecks have ruled for years. There is a temptation with the idea of saying ‘an estate’ for some readers to think immediately all grim; horrible and everyone in it is a Ken Loach drama character. What I loved about Numbers Game is Dark makes this a much more interesting and although stylised still a far more accurate portrayal of life in such places where you can find crime bosses; shrewd shopkeepers; extravagant pensioners and local hotheads all crossing each other’s paths. Every character we meet isn’t a stereotype even if they initially look like one – local heavies who are constantly looking to widen their vocabulary; crime bosses who like people to think they are uncultured and many more you’ll meet all make this a world so pulsating with its own history, secrets and tensions that you just want to know more.

Our guide through this is Mal who is also our narrator. Mal is our reluctant detective; very good at understanding people’s reactions and as we find when he mentions some previous customers he doesn’t like to let go of a problem. Mal is an recovering addict to drugs, alcohol and convicted criminal. Despite this very quickly warm to him as someone who is good hearted; keen to do better in his life and dryly funny as he narrates life. Dark smartly moves from moments of friends bantering to subtle observations on life, grief and growing up in a dangerous area to fast flowing and tense action scenes. I so must praise the quality of the writing here because many lines are wonderfully crafted. Just when you think you have a handle on the story’s style you are wrong footed and finding new layers to the characters and the wider mystery that change your understanding of what has gone before. When everything is finally laid out you will applaud the quality of the plotting that everything makes sense.

If Mal is the story’s lead singer and provides the music we can’t leave out Jackie who whenever he appears is the epic guitar solo that bewitches the crowd. Jackie a witty bisexual Sikh with a love of fast cars, keen knowledge of the local underworld and how to handle himself in a fight is a brilliant counterpoint to Mal’s more lowkey and steady approach. You never quite know what Jackie will do as he appears but it’s always going to be entertaining. More worldly than Mal he helps explain the various relationships that the Edge operates on and when times are tough is right there at Mal’s side to protect him. How these two are friends (especially as at one point Jackie was a school bully to Mal) are only hinted at but what comes across is that this is true friendship – they trust each other and as find out how Jackie helped Mal recover from addictions. Here we find a pairing that isn’t brains and brawn but more brains and brawn plus Mal’s ability to make connections. This is less a faithful companion to a great detective but a paring of equals who need each other to solve the mystery and they’re the beating heart of the story. By the end we are cheering them on as they take on racist police officers and skilled Russian bodyguards in equal measure.

This is a series you will want to get into from the start. There is room for far more exploration of Mal, Jackie and Blade’s Edge that combined with the unpredictable nature of this tale makes me think many more delights are in store. Tonally this most reminded me of the early Rebus novels – gritty, action packed, funny and with a wonderful ear for dialogue and character who are only just discovering their world and their place in it– reading some of these lines is a pure joy. Highly recommended for thriller fans!

This is an explosive (sometimes literally) crime debut by RJ Dark – also known as RJ Barker, who I feel like I mention every other blog post because his books are incredible… anyway, where was I? Oh yes, A Numbers Game by RJ Dark is the first ‘Mal & Jackie’ novel, and I, for one, cannot wait for the next one. Going into it, I wasn’t quite sure how I’d find it, because when I read crime I tend to like it a bit cosier, and I was worried some of the references might go over my head. I needn’t have worried though. With the first page, I was sucked in.

Mal and Jackie feel as if they step right off the page and into your room, I felt as if I was watching them rather than reading about them. I usually take notes as I read books, especially when I know I’ll be reviewing them, but for A Numbers Game I just let the story carry me forward, fascinated by it all. As you might have read in the blurb, the premise of the story is that Larry Stanbeck, son of the biggest gangster on the estate, has died in a motorbike accident, and the lottery ticket he had won but not cashed in went missing. His wife wants to find it to get her and her son out of Blade’s Edge, and Larry’s father Mick wants the money for his operations. Add to that the Russian mafia and the police trying to frame someone for increasing violence, and poor Mal can’t go two steps outside his house without someone threatening him.

Mal – aka Malachite Jones (but please don’t call him that) – is a psychic medium who provides comfort to his clients by telling them what they need to hear about their deceased loved ones. He’s a really interesting character, with a solid quietness to him. He’s the point of view character, and I think he’s the perfect viewpoint into the world of Blade’s Edge, as he grew up there and is a product of it, but has distanced himself somewhat from it. Jackie is the loud to Mal’s quiet – boisterous, always wearing extremely colourful outfits, driving expensive cars. He’s an ex-army man with his fingers in many different pies, and he provides protection for Mal’s neighbourhood, for a fee. For all his violent impulses and strong will, Jackie is kind, and complex. I can’t wait to see their next adventure.

What I really enjoyed about the story, apart from the vivid characters and gritty humour, was the puzzle. Seems a bit obvious, for a crime book, but some mysteries are more satisfying to unravel than others, and I have to say this one was a treat. As the reader, I felt very much like Mal for most of the book, as he scrabbles to make sense of all the disparate threads he’s uncovered, trying to see a bigger picture, and towards the end there was one twist I definitely didn’t see coming, and one that I had anticipated, and both were very satisfying to read.

I can’t recommend A Numbers Game enough, it’s a fun ride, and a quick read (unless, like me, you’re reading it during a house-move). Dark’s style of writing is simple, yet full of little bursts of sentences that gave me pause; this, combined with the excellent character work, compelling mystery, and fast-paced feel made me sprint through it, picking it up whenever I had a spare moment to see what would happen. Truly excellent!

Look, it’s not really a secret that I developed a literary crush for RJ Barker‘s writing with The Tide Child series, so when I learned he was publishing a Mystery/Thriller series under the pen name RJ Dark, I knew I had to get my hands on that too. I’m on a bit of a Fantasy break at the moment and I always loved Mysteries. Plus, I know we happen to have one favorite author in common: C.J. Sansom, who writes historical fiction/murder mysteries. So, this was totally the right book at the right time situation and it did manage to get me out of my reading slump a bit.

A Numbers Game tells the story of an investigation after a lost lottery ticket that sets fire to the city as two warring gangs try to get their hands on it. Mal, a con man, and alleged psychic medium finds himself right in the middle of the events as everyone expects him to find the ticket. Luckily for him, he has an old friend, Jackie on his side, otherwise, this investigation wouldn’t have been too long-lived. Amid the chaos, Mal and Jackie do their best to unknot the threads that lead to backstabbing, treachery, and pissed-off psychopathic gang leaders. Welcome to Yorkshire, please mind your fingers as they might get lost.


The Good

Setting & worldbuilding: I’m totally partial to books set in the UK (and London), and Yorkshire as a background for Mal and Jackie’s investigation worked perfectly. Maaaybe I would have liked a bit more sense about the city itself, but I loved the details about the Blades Edge, where the bigger part of the novel is set. The rundown estate, the forest surrounding the place, the inner city locations, it all perfectly gave back this creepy, ominous feeling you have while reading/watching thrillers or real crim docu shows. Paired with RJ Dark‘s writing and skillful characterization, I felt right there as I was reading.

Writing and pacing: A Numbers Game is a relatively short book with less than 300 pages and events are happening within a week, so it’s fair to say that it’s pretty fast-paced. There is plenty of action, the characters are constantly moving – or at least seems like it – but it doesn’t feel too much. You don’t feel rushed or that things are happening too fast. It’s perfectly balanced with dialogues and quiet moments where we can get to know the characters better.

Characters: Talking of. I loved Mal and Jackie’s pair. Their friendship which I suspect has way more depth than it was shown within these pages. Honestly, I wanted more. I liked Mal from the first moment but it took me a while to get around to Jackie. And I’m still not quite sure I pinned down his personality. Where RJ Dark‘s writing really shines is in the side characters. In the first 20% or so all these people keep coming and normally it would be a bit hard to keep track, but they are all so indistinctive that it’s absolutely not an issue. Be it Trolley Mick, Russian Frank, Beryl (oh, Beryl, she is definitely something!), or Janine just to name a few. Most of the characters aren’t nice people and it’s still a joy to follow them on the paper – or screen.

‘I am going to break every one of your fucking fingers, lad,’ Billy said.
I had no reason to doubt him, and the thought of it made me feel like throwing up. Maybe if I vomited on him, it would scare him away. I’d heard that worked for seagulls.

Plot: Well, obviously, I’m not going to talk about this too much, but A Numbers Game has a nice few twists that’ll keep you guessing until the end. The base conflict is pretty simple – dead man, lost lottery ticket, everyone wants it for their own reasons. I had my suspicions along the way, but I was pleased that it managed to surprise me, and really, what else can you ask for when it comes to a mystery?


The Bad

Dialogue: So, this is a minor thing, but I have this pet peeve of mine… It drives me crazy when characters name each other constantly in dialogue. I seem to have this issue mostly with British authors though, or so I noticed. It’s not such a bad thing per se, but it always takes me off the flow after a while.

Length: It was just way too damn short.


And The (Ugly) Truth

A Numbers Game came to me in a time when I literally craved to read a Mystery/Thriller novel, and it definitely filled up that hole. It reminded me why I fell in love with the genre in the first place. And it left me craving more. A Numbers Game has everything you can ask for: great characters just short of walking off the pages, twists, treachery, a murder mystery, fast cars, and a good dose of blood and pain just to make it interesting. A book that gives just as much joy to the reader as it gave to its author, because it’s pretty obvious from the first page, that RJ Dark had one hell of a time writing A Numbers Game and that comes through loud and clear. Impossible not to be swept away by Mal and the whole atmosphere.

A Numbers Game is a must read for every Mystery/Thriller fan. It should be illegal for someone to be so damned talented as RJ Barker/Dark is.

RJ Dark's first crime novel is a real rollercoaster ride.

What's it about?
"A Numbers Game" introduces us to Malachite Jones—he prefers to be called Mal, but who wouldn't with a name like that? Mal is the only physic medium in the roughest council estate in Yorkshire, England. Mal's best friend, Jackie, is a very dangerous man who somehow manages to stay one step ahead of the cops and his competition in the mob.

The story starts when a grieving widow hires Mal to find a winning lottery ticket worth ₤8 million that belonged to her dead husband, Larry. Finding a lost lottery ticket shouldn't be too hard for a guy who can speak to the dead, right? So, what's the problem?

The problem is that Mal is neither a physic nor a medium. Which is unfortunate for him because he could *really* use some psychic powers when it turns out that Larry's father is the local mob boss who wants Mal to give *him* that ticket. Failure to find the ticket is not an option.
So, it's a race to find the ticket before the cops, or the mob, catch up to Mal and Jackie.

What I liked about it?
I read somewhere that the most popular books are ones that have characters that we like and care about. Those are the books we stay up reading until the wee hours of the morning to find out what happens next. Mal is one of those characters for me. I liked Mal. A LOT.

I had a hard time putting this book down even to take care of essentials like eating and sleeping. I look forward to reading the next novel in the "Mal and Jackie" series.

And, more than anything else, it was fun!

What I didn't like about it?
A bit of a warning for readers from the US: the British slang & terminology was a bit heavy. I had to search the internet several times to look up terms so I could understand what they were talking about. But that was a minor annoyance for me and one that won't impact readers from the UK.

The first half of the book was a bit slow, it was a bit like a British police procedural show. The action really picked up in the second half, though, and it really kept me on the edge of my seat towards the end!

Overall Impression/Recommendation:
I really liked Mal & Jackie and I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop for them in the next book (I hope there is one!). It's a quirky & funny mystery novel. I usually read fantasy (mostly urban fantasy) so this book was a great change of pace for me. Even though it's not my usual genre, I still give this book a solid 4.5 stars out of 5 (rounding up to 5) for having a great mystery and such great characters.

If you like quirky, off the wall mysteries with a diverse cast of characters, there's a ton to like in this book. I recommend it.

This is easily one of the most entertaining and absorbing stories I've read in a long time.

I read this in a day because I couldn't bear to put it down and I want more Mal and Jackie!

I immediately felt like I knew the characters and the setting was painfully familiar. I think anyone with even a passing acquaintance of large council estates will feel this immediate affinity.

The plot rips along nicely, veering close to the edge of ridiculous but never falling in. It's complex and twisty, some stuff I worked out but most of the resolution I did not see coming.

The characters and their interactions are so brilliantly written, I loved them all (even the ones I was supposed to dislike...)

The debut crime thriller from RJ Dark introduces Mal and Jackie, a mismatched pair to say the least. Mal, is a practising medium - problem is he can’t talk to the dead because he’s a fake, and there is Jackie, an Asia. Gentleman..

The duo find themselves caught up in a deviously plotted story that brings them upon a search for a missing lottery ticket, murder, local gangsters and snappy police.

The book is riddled with smirk inducing humour throughout, as well as a little bit of brutal violence but nothing gratuitous.

A crime thriller with serious undertones, it’s actually very funny, and completely enjoyable.

The suggestion is there is more to come from this affable yet completely opposite duo. And I hope there is and it’s really very brilliant.

An excellent story about a friendship between two very different characters in the North of England. There is a lot of humour in this story, in some scenes the humour working on more than one level, but without distracting from the excellent plot. A great cast of supporting characters add a lot to the story. Highly recommended.
I'm hoping that a print edition will be available for me to sell in my shop.

Shameless meets gritty gangland noir in RJ Dark's story of the criminal underbelly in the Wilds of a Yorkshire council estate.

'A Numbers Game' is the first book in a new Northern Noir series written by RJ Dark, the once underground musician and club promoter, who now spends his life tottering around his ancient mansion.

If you have seen interviews with RJ Dark, you will be familiar with the fact that most his personal reading revolved around crime novels that he got from local second hand shops and that this is the type of fiction that he gravitates towards, and I have to say that I enjoyed his inaugural foray into a fictional Yorkshire gangland immensely. It seems that whatever RJ Dark writes, he spins pure gold.

Now, let's get to 'A Numbers Game'. The story is based around our two main characters, Malachite Jones, or Mal as he prefers to be called, and Jackie Singh Khattar. A borderline sociopath, with a rigid ethical code and a heart of gold at his core.

On top of that, there is a whole host of characters that provide a depth to the story.There's 'Trolley' Mick Stanbeck. The main gangster of the piece, who whilst being an absolute brutal shit of a man who rules the Blades Edge with an iron rod of fear, he also has a penchance to look after his family.

Alongside Trolley Mick,.there's 'Russian' Frank. The other antagonist of the story who Mal and Jackie come into contact with when they are tasked to find a missing lottery ticket that is worth 8 million pounds and everyone thinks they have a stake in.

As I said earlier, the story revolves around Mal and Jackie. Mal is a medium/conman who communes with the dead. Well, not really, as most of his work is pretty much a community service that he does for various people around the infamous Blades Edge Estate, a council estate in an unnamed town in Yorkshire. Whilst Jackie is a 'legitimate businessman' who works a small time protection racket in the local area.

After the death of Lawrence 'Larry' Stanbeck, Mal is visited by his widow (a job set up by Jackie) to find a missing lottery ticket that could, if you will pardon the pun, be her ticket off the Blades Edge Estate. As the search for the missing lottery ticket ensues, the danger to Mal and Jackie increases as the stakes become higher and higher.

I absolutely adored the mismatched pairing of Mal and Jackie. Mal has a past, and one that he struggles with everyday, whilst for some reason, the local school bully, now medium sized hardman, Jackie looks after him like a mother hen. Always magically turning up whenever he is in trouble.

One of RJ Dark's skills (amongst many) is that he writes utterly compelling characters that you cannot help falling in love with. And 'A Numbers Game' is packed full of them.

As well as the main ones that I talked about earlier there is a plethora of supporting characters that are both comedic and relatable. For instance, there's Mal's assistant, Beryl, who is an overbearing she bitch with mysterious talents, who yet again, looks out for Mal and has his best interests at heart, even though he drinks coffee. And then there's Mick Stanbeck's twins (named 'The Kray Twins, but don't call them that to their face) who only have one brain cell between the both of them and carry a dictionary in their back pocket so that they can 'better' themselves. Like their dad told them they should!

For me, one of the standout aspects of this book is that it is filled with utter warmth towards the characters and to the world that Mal & Jackie live in. Whilst, Dark pokes fun at the council estate mentality and it's inhabitants, there is never any spite towards them. Yes, at times he can make some cutting observations about life on a council estate, yet you always get the impression that he is willing to forgive the characters their faults.

As well as this, the book is full of RJ Dark's unnerring silliness, which at times sails very close to being pythonesque parody, and had me laughing out loud on a number of occasions, but he pulls it back enough to maintain the reality of the situation, and the jeopardy of lead characters situation.

However, don't think that the book is all comedy and innocent tomfoolery, because it's not. It goes to some pretty dark places at times and there is plenty of violence in there. And, the inclusion of this violence serves to increase the sense of danger that face our heroes and gives a palpable feeling of menace to the various gangsters that are present in this book.

As this is a crime thriller, we have to mention the plot. Yep it's twisty and turny and keeps you guessing right to the very end. That's what you expect right! You don't want a plot that goes from A to B in a straight line. You expect that it will take a detour to b,c & d and back again, and in this Dark does not disappoint, but the main point is that the end is believable.and that it ends in a way that does not bring in inexplicable plot revelations.

If you haven't got it yet, I enjoyed this Northern Noir crime caper with its inimatbale sense of fun and warmth, I think it is up there as my favourite RJ Dark (but don't tell that Barker bloke) novel and I cannot wait to see what Mal & Jackie get embroiled in next?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to review 'A Number's Game'. The enjoyment was all my own! Welcome to the Dark side!

A Numbers Game introduces (and promises more of?) Malachite ('Mal') Jones and Jackie Singh Khattar. Mal is a bereavement counsellor/ con artist/ cold reader, basically a well-intentioned fraud who comforts those who've lost someone. Jackie is a 'legitimate businessman' who takes protection money and installs security for all the local businesses - all the easier to gain entry afterwards, perhaps. But he seems to have a heart of gold: as well as beating Mal up when they were kids, he systematically taught him self defence, and before taking money he checks that Mal can afford to eat.

The action takes place in and around the Blades Edge estate in Yorkshire, a place on the edge in many ways: scheduled for redevelopment till the money ran out, hosting problem families and grim sink districts as well as some prettier areas whose residents are desperately trying to keep from drowning. There are also crime lords and a school which has managed to claw its way up the rankings. I enjoyed how Dark shows this area in all its contradictions, revealing a fascinating array of opinionated and distinct characters.

At heart though this is a crime story. The hinge of the plot, which we are told early on, is a lost lottery ticket connected with a death, and you'd think that where there's a death, there's a mystery. However the actual nature of the crime, indeed the whole point of the mystery, is hidden for some while.

What kicks things off is Jackie wanting to help a recently bereaved widow whose husband died holding that ticket. If Mal can find it - whether he has to fake psychic contact with dead Larry or not - then it might help Janine and her son escape the Edge. You'd think that, and £8 million prize money, would be sufficient motivation for any amount of chicanery but actually, no. There is really a lot more happening here. To begin with, Larry's dad was 'Trolley' Mick Stanbeck, the gangster who runs the Edge, and his other two psycho sons, nicknamed the Kray Twins, soon take an interest in Mal, as do a pair of Russian ganstaers. None of them have his long term wellbeing at heart, and nor do DI Harrington and DC Smith. (There's a pattern here - if Mal hears a knock on his door and sees he has two visitors, he'd better watch out).

As things escalate, becoming more and more complicated both in terms of what's actually happened and of the depths of the fix Mal is in, Dark heightens the tension by showing where Mal's come from and what Jackie really means to him. The friendship between the two is genuine and it's clear that Mal owes him a lot. What's less clear is exactly how involved Jackie is with the mess they're now in, and whether his protection will be enough to see off the numerous threats, leaving he and Mal both alive and free.

Combining an ingenious plot with engaging and down to earth characters, A Numbers Game resists pigeonholing: at times I might be tempted to call it cosy crime, despite the starkly depicted violence, at others it seems too play by noir rules, and the fiendishly complex situation that develops even has echoes of PG Wodehouse though with bullets.

I would recommend, and I'll be interested too see what Dark does next. (I notice he's already lifted the antler motif from fellow writer and lord of literary misrule RJ Barker, so really anything is possible now).

I loved the book and I laughed quite a lot. It's fun and it's sad in parts and sometimes it's quite violent. I liked Mal and Jackie, and I'm looking forward to more books about them. Bonus point for getting antlers into it!