Both Sides on a TV near you
Both Sides of the Force is now, more or less, a BBC TV series. Perhaps an exageration, but Bent Copper: Crossing the Line is a 3-part series in part covering the corruption in the City of London Police, the main theme of Both Sides. The programme delves deeply into the historical aspect, something I did not mention. My book, however, covers the habits of the Queen Mother. Can’t get better than that. It’s covered in The Guardian
Via a review on Kindle: “He describes a number of incidents that I can verify as accurate. This is what the City was like in those days.”
Both Sides of the Force opens:
“I have never been very good at anything I have done. It is not that I have been bad or poor, just not very good. The only thing experience has taught me is that I seem reluctant to learn from it so I have accepted that I would never be very good at anything I did. That is why I joined the police.”
The author of both Forces books was honest, naïve, and, by his own admission, a little lazy. This gullible chap joined the City of London Police in the 70s, a time of endemic corruption and what was known as a ‘firm within a firm’. He was, in effect, an innocent amongst predators.
The first book, Both Side of the Force, takes our bemused author through his first 10 years in the City and then, in the sequel, through the Home Office, Kent and Sussex.
They provide hope for the honest and, more importantly, the merely adequate. Read the reviews and comments and then be amazed at the paltry prices being asked for these, merely adequate, books. Click on either book to be taken through to the Amazon Kindle page.
Both Sides of the Force
What can I say about my book that has not already been said by its readers, who gave it 4.0 stars on Kindle?
Informative, funny, tragic, and a revelation; and that’s not me saying it. What will concern you is that everything in the book is true.
A Tour of Forces
A Tour of Forces covers the working life, career is too strong a word, of ‘Harvey’, from promotion to retirement. There’s his time on secondment to a minor Home Office unit, working in Kent and then on to Sussex where his impact on the force was what you might have expected if you had read his (rather excellent and well reviewed) earlier book.
Despite being only recently published, it has 5 stars on Kindle, with a reviewer saying the author, that’s me, is a very good writer, and another saying that A Tour of Forces is as entertaining as Both Sides of the Force. Please let me know what you think of it.
Reviews:
Unsolicited reviews of Both Sides of the Force:
As well as being funny, well written and one of those “can’t put down” scripts it also serves to highlight to those in the know the problems the police face and the idiocies which exist in forces.
I bought this last night, very late and stuck it on my Galaxy Tab using the Kindle app. I am having trouble putting it down……
Great writing style Derek – hits the spot perfectly!
Excellent writing.
Nice one Derek!
good so far. Apart from having a shower I’ve done nothing but read it!
Love the stories surrounding the City. A really great read – I’ve been telling people about the Queen Mum Wink story. Just my sort of book. Cheers. Dan.
Bought it yesterday – very good!
A cracking read. . . . could only have been written by a proper cop,
Very good read, bit of an abrupt ending. Good anecdotes, and some food for thought. Quite shocked by how blatant some of it was.
Thoroughly good read and had me laughing in quite a few places
Bought it yesterday, finished it last night
It’s been a long time since anything I’ve read has had me actually, really laughing out loud, but Denzil and the pick of his litter did.
This was brilliant, just finished it. . . . it’s a great insight, that comes across as balanced despite being written by a copper.
Congrats mate well done.
Really enjoying this.
I loved the way in which you have written it, it flows very nicely and I found each chapter flying by.
Finished this recently and very enjoyable.
Click HERE for the source of these reviews, with lots more. If they don’t convince you, then look at the reviews on Amazon Kindle, click HERE.
I joined the City of London police at a time when there was a firm within a firm, a corrupt section, mainly CID, who were in league with the East End villains who pulled armed robberies, and murders. I had no idea things like this went on, and, like most CoL officers, I carried on being honest, ignoring the corrupt ones. Then I was threatened, by a bloke who was believed to have committed a murder. I left for a county force. See Both Sides of the Force. Click on here for more information.
Feel free to comment on the books or to start a general discussion. Like any author, I’d love to here your opinions.
Derek