Acts & Monuments

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Pub Date 15 Jan 2019 | Archive Date 21 Feb 2019

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Description

Barry Todd is one of life’s good guys – everybody says so. He works hard for Monument Housing Association to provide the poor and vulnerable with a place to live – people like Iulia Nicolescu, a trafficked former sex worker who Barry helps keep safe in her new home even after her benefits are cut. But, overlooked for promotion and with mounting financial problems, Barry starts to wonder if goodness will ever bring its own reward. When the opportunity presents itself to steal fifty thousand pounds of Monument’s money without anyone being able to trace the theft back to him, Barry finds himself wondering – if nothing bad were to happen to anyone, would being good really matter anymore? 

As his plan unfolds, Barry finds his fate becoming ever more closely entwined with that of Iulia. Eventually he can no longer control the chain of events he has set in motion and he is forced into desperate measures to prevent his intricate web of deception from being revealed.

Barry Todd is one of life’s good guys – everybody says so. He works hard for Monument Housing Association to provide the poor and vulnerable with a place to live – people like Iulia Nicolescu, a...


A Note From the Publisher

Alan Kane Fraser was raised and still lives in Birmingham with his wife and family. He has worked for many years in the fields of social housing and homelessness, and knows the world that his debut novel inhabits intimately. He has previously written pieces for The Guardian, Inside Housing and The Local Government Chronicle, amongst others, and his stage play, Random Acts of Malice, won the inaugural Derek Lomas Award for Best New Play at the Wellington Literary Festival.

Alan Kane Fraser was raised and still lives in Birmingham with his wife and family. He has worked for many years in the fields of social housing and homelessness, and knows the world that his debut...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781789012910
PRICE US$5.99 (USD)
PAGES 200

Average rating from 4 members


Featured Reviews

I found this book intriguing, with deeper concepts about life (and death) than the first few pages would lead you to expect. Barry is a well rounded character whose actions are very believable when placed in the context of the plot. There are some beautiful passages that lift the reader out of the mundanity of his life. I found some of the financial fraud explanations overwritten a touch and could have been edited out, but that is the only criticism I have of the book. I look forward to reading more by this author.

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Barry Todd was a good man. Circumstances had led him astray from his image of himself, however. Barry had lost a job opportunity, his son had died, his wife was a harpy, his daughter self-important and his new boss, Langley, a total jerk. Barry managed to use the company he worked for, Monument, to embezzle money to "right" these wrongs. Unfortunately, Barry was still miserable. He became paranoid. Everything good that happened to him was a fraud - he knew it.

One day, Barry found himself in a double blackmail that he was now forced into.

What became of Barry, then?


An excellent story of intrigue and deception - and, of course, suspense!
Many Thanks to Troubadour Publishing and NetGalley for a superb read!

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Acts and Monuments is a thought provoking novel. The question of why a good hard working person never gets what they deserve like more money and respect. And, the worst people have everything! This story makes me angry because it's a prime example of what is wrong in the world. I firmly believe that no good deed goes unpunished and nice guys always finish last. It's absolutely true. The story is good because it makes you really think about some things. I recommend this one. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

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