An outstanding debut thriller for an exceptional new talent.
James Carroll only meant to do one deal to get to film school. But it went wrong. Now he owes 30,000 to drug-dealer Roger Oates.
Just a year of quiet business away from retiring with his beloved family to his dream home in Honolulu, Roger knows this is no time to let anyone get away with anything.
So if James can't pay, his parents must.
But Francis Carroll has put everything he has into a project that will finally bring him the success he craves. He simply cannot afford to bail out his son.
And his ambitious wife Rachel wants a baby - while his dangerously alluring first wife wants him back. It's no good asking them.
Everyone wants to keep a grip: on their money and their jobs. On their dreams.
But something's got to give.
Written with terrific verve and a sharp eye for the details of human behaviour, GRIP is a roller-coaster ride of suspense and surprises.
Michael Wills, MP, who writes under the name David McKeowen, has written two thrillers. His first, GRIP, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for best debut crime novel. His most recent, TRAPPED, was published in hardback in February 2007 and is due out in paperback in November. A former diplomat, TV producer and director, Michael Wills has been MP for Swindon North since 1997 and was appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Justice in June 2007.
'There are many money/law/drug-linked thrillers but this page-turner has the added ingredient of a family drama, making it appealing to both genders. It's an interesting debut, much enjoyed by my reader.'