The Ripper file

GRAHAM GREENE'S Pinkie is the template for a whole host of mean, brooding, angry young men that litter the gangster genre. Published in 1938, Brighton Rock still has the air of menace which many modern day gang-related books lack. Pinkie is, quite simply, terrifying. He has no moral compass. And, like in all good books of this nature, his character is in sharp contrast with Rose, the waitress who can only see the good in people and believes that Pinkie is a lost soul in need

*Click on Book Cover to go to Amazon Sales page IF you like your gangsters of the rough and ready 'oop north' variety, it seems Mandasue Heller is the go-to author that fits the bill. Having spent 10 years living on Manchester's notorious Hulme Crescents estates she uses this background for many of her novels. And Mandasue likes to keep herself busy, singing in cabaret and rock groups, 70s cover bands and blues jam bands. As part of that scene, I'm sure she has built up a wea