SOLD

A turbo-charged noir thriller (Game Changer Book 1)

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Pub Date 4 May 2020 | Archive Date 10 Jun 2020

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Description

Pay up or die!

Used-car salesman Gary Braswell owes thousands to a violent loan shark. Desperate to save his skin, he joins forces with a ruthless Russian crime syndicate that doesn't take too kindly to being double-crossed. As his life spirals further out of control, Gary’s inflated ego can only land him in more trouble.

A whirlpool of murder, sex, drugs and real estate, SOLD is hilarious and dark 

Dodgy real estate agents, nouveau riche Russian émigrés, corrupt federal cops and femme fatales, SOLD’s characters jump off the page.

The Gold Coast swelters in record temperatures, and car salesman Gary Braswell's hot under the collar. With sales at rock-bottom, he's up to his neck in debt to loan shark Jocko Mackenzie. If the loan's not repaid, there's more than Gary's kneecaps at stake - his long-suffering wife is also in peril.

Gary turns his skills to real estate and is soon embroiled in the murky world of money laundering. With the federal police sniffing around and Jocko on his tail, Gary concocts an audacious scam. 

Success means money - lots of it. Failure means death. Can hard-drinking, cocaine-snorting Gary pull it off? 

Perfect for fans of gritty, fast-paced noir thrillers and vigilante justice novels 

If you enjoy noir novels by Irvine Welsh and James Ellroy, the absurd humor of Tom Sharpe and Joseph Heller, and the story-telling of Elmore Leonard and Janet Evanovich, you’re going to get a huge kick out of SOLD

Pay up or die!

Used-car salesman Gary Braswell owes thousands to a violent loan shark. Desperate to save his skin, he joins forces with a ruthless Russian crime syndicate that doesn't take too...


Advance Praise

A neatly executed work of comic grunge

Action packed and fast paced.

Numerous storylines converge in a brilliantly constructed ending and I dearly wish a sequel is on the cards.

A neatly executed work of comic grunge

Action packed and fast paced.

Numerous storylines converge in a brilliantly constructed ending and I dearly wish a sequel is on the cards.


Available Editions

ISBN 9780648198505
PRICE US$0.99 (USD)

Average rating from 10 members


Featured Reviews

A disaster waiting to happen, perfectly describes Gary Braswells life. He seems to travel through life without a care in the world, but his addiction to gambling and alcohol appears to bring him down. He wanders through one catastrophe or another. But unbelievably ends on a winning streak. A great story, cannot wait to catch up with Gary Braswell again.

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Wow, what a great book. It’s always exciting to find a new Author that can grab your attention, with a thoroughly well written and entertaining story, and Blair Denholm has done a fabulous job. I quite enjoyed that the book is unpredictable, and it has some outstanding characters. You can’t help but like the main character Garry Braswell. His life is a bit of a mess, but this is what makes the story such a great book to read.
Garry Braswell certainly lived life to it’s fullest. He no doubt enjoyed alcohol a little bit too much, and there probably wasn’t an hour that went by in the day when he didn’t have some in his system. Alcohol certainly wasn’t Garry’s only vice, as he quite enjoyed cigarettes, gambling and drugs. He should have worked out years ago that he wasn’t very good at this gambling caper, as he rarely found himself in the winner’s circle. Hence, this is how he found himself in trouble, when he didn’t have the funds to pay back his bookie. Which is never a good thing for someone’s ongoing health. Especially since this bookie wasn’t the forgiving type, and he employed an ex-con as his enforcer, who seemed to enjoy inflicting pain and misery. Just when Garry thinks he’s getting his head above water, they start to target his wife Maddie. Even though he tries to get the federal police involved, he’s going to need to be careful not to end up in jail himself, or something far worse happening to Maddie. This is without a doubt a great story, and it’s definitely well worth a read.

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A new author to me who proved his talent.A most gripping tail well worth reading looking forward to the next in the series.Would recommend it to anyone who likes crime thrillers.

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This story is fast-paced and starts off that way from the beginning. Used car salesman Gary Braswell owes a loan shark. He is able to hold him off for just a few days and then gets some money from his boss as an advance. You think well he will pay the loan shark, no. he goes and tries to make everything better or worse however you want to look at it. Along the way, after each time he comes out ahead some way or another. Against the Russian Mob, drug dealers, a scam with real a state and money laundering, even the feds are after him. I kept thinking he will finally get it but turn the page and he is still going. This was a good book and something of a surprise for me as I just happened to get this book on a whim. It turned out to be a good fast-paced story and worth the read at least for me.

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Gary Braswell is a car salesman with no moral compass, going through a dry spell. He owes money to a loan shark, Jocko MacKenzie, who threatens to harm his wife if the money isn’t repaid.

Thanks to his natural charm and skills, he tries his luck in real estate when he suddenly receives an offer from a mysterious Russian couple that could mean he is about to bite more than he can chew.

What a way to start your literary career! Sold is fast-paced, gritty, and absolutely addictive.

Blair Denholm manages to create a character who you know you shouldn’t feel sympathy for, yet somehow find yourself rooting for as you turn page after page.

The story line is so much fun -yes, I said fun! The humorous tone in which the story is told and the description of the Australian Gold Coast will easily transport you to a world you probably didn’t know even existed.

Sublimely written, well-paced, and a true page-turner, Sold is Blair Denholm’s debut crime novel and I can’t wait to read more from him. Here’s hoping someone will buy the film rights to Sold! And you heard it first: the sequel to Sold is coming soon!

Disclosure: I would like to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial Group for a free copy of Sold by Blair Denholm. This is my honest review.

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Australian gold coast Noir. Gary Braswell is the typical gambling loser, deep in debt, in trouble with this wife, and trying to sell some homes to a Russian couple. This leads him further into the world of money laundering, Australian Federal Police and other. It’s funny, scary, and clever noir in the Gold Coast world. Can the scam he concocts work well enough to get him out of all his troubles? Worth reading to find out.

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