Praise for GBH
A Washington Post Notable Fiction Book of 2015
“GBH is a novel as direct as it is stunning . . . I reckon he knew a good deal of what he was writing about from very close—perhaps dangerously so. That leaps out of the work immediately.”
—Derek Raymond, from the Afterword
“A pulp-fiction triumph worthy of Jim Thompson or James Ellroy. I can’t remember the last time I turned pages so eagerly… his work cuts to the bone, both literally and metaphysically.”
—John Powers, NPR’s Fresh Air
“One of the most coldly brilliant crime novels you will ever read . . . a mesmerizing story of power, love, hubris and betrayal—but, above all, the portrait of what one might call a tragic villain . . . Complicated in plot, propulsive in its narrative pace, beautifully structured, it is a book you’ll want to read.”
—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
“GBH shows Lewis stayed true to his unnerving vision and voice to the end, even while pushing it into farther-out places. This hitherto-obscure book’s resurrection should further enhance the Lewis legend.”
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal
“Ted Lewis wrote brilliantly about ruthless men clinging to their humanity with mordant wit and misguided but powerful senses of honor. That these quintessentially British novels are finally available in the US is real cause for celebration.”
—Scott Phillips, New York Times bestselling author of The Ice Harvest
“Lewis is major.”
—Max Allan Collins, bestselling author of Road to Perdition
“Ted Lewis is one of the most influential crime novelists Britain has ever produced, and his shadow falls on all noir fiction, whether on page or screen.”
—Stuart Neville, author of The Ghosts of Belfast
“A must-read for all noir fans.”
—The Strand Magazine
“His final novel and masterpiece . . . You won’t find many nice guys upon these pages.”
—Dayton Daily-News
“Lewis remains a sharp social anatomist of the hopelessness and soul-sucking dinginess of his era. Starting with [Get Carter], Lewis sketched the horror of a Britain where home was the kitchen sink, the sodden bar towel, the decrepit industrial landscape.”
—Barnes & Noble Review
“Lewis gives new meaning to suspense with this masterly tale of a man’s downfall and the bloody trail he leaves behind.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Lewis is universally recognized as the author of the book on which the classic movie Get Carter was based, but he was more than a one-book author. Seize the opportunity to read this prime example of Brit Grit that present-day practitioners such as J.J. Connelly and Jake Arnott have imitated but never bettered.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
“That bleak tale [Get Carter] of revenge became an influential crime-fiction classic, and deservedly so—but for some fans, his swan song [GBH] was an even bigger literary achievement.”
—Booklist, Starred Review
“The dark storyline is punctuated by Lewis’s bleak narrative and crackling dialogue, the plot full of foreboding, the climax an orgy of violence. And when you finally put the book down, you’ll need a breather. They simply don’t get any better than that.”
—Jim Napier, Reviewing the Evidence
“While [Get Carter] will likely always be the most noted of Ted Lewis’s nine novels, GBH, the final book Lewis published, is his masterwork.”
—The Life Sentence
“It is like a sip of Absinthe on a three-day empty stomach, a book that will chill you and ricochet your thought process at least temporarily, if not permanently.”
—Bookreporter.com
“Lewis’ masterpiece.”
—BookPage
“An impeccable sociologist of the gutter.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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