Pocket notebook - Mike Thomas

Meet Jacob Smith, your good-old British policeman. But Jacob's no ordinary beat bobby. He's a tactical firearms officer; a handsome, popular, financially secure specialist. He's a connoisseur of fine cinema, who also enjoys his expansive collection of do-it-yourself 'art' DVD's (the latest of which was 'borrowed' during a drugs warrant). And he likes to keep himself in shape, hence the large steroid habit - and the even larger amount of money he owes his dealer. And did we mention he's partial to women'sfeet? The girlfriend who's desperately trying to shrug him off? Or what about his parents' dark past?

And now his family and friends are starting to worry... and his police superiors are increasingly taking notice of the way he conducts himself. Jake's a very busy boy. And life is about to get even more complicated...

Pocket Notebook is the brilliant debut novel from serving police officer Mike Thomas. An angry black comedy, it follows Jacob's very public fall from grace, all of which he meticulously records in his police notebook.

Mike Thomas is a 42-year-old writer from Wales. He draws inspiration for his novels from his two decades as a serving police officer. His debut, Pocket Notebook, was published in 2010. Married with two children, he lives in Portugal.

Stuns like a truncheon, grips like a pair of handcuffs, crackles with charge like a taser. Reading Pocket Notebook is like being caught up in a riot: exhilarating, terrifying - it has an unstoppable momentum.
Niall Griffiths

[This] arresting tale doesn't miss a beat...Jacob Smith has got a bad marriage, a penchant for steroids, a violent temper and a foot fetish. None of this would be particularly unusual if he was a villain - but, in Mike Thomas's debut novel, he's one of the policemen. And he's got a gun...While Pocket Notebook might become cult reading in police circles, it certainly isn't about to become a recruit training manual. This is an enjoyable black comedy that builds to an exciting climax.
Independent

Pocket Notebook is most certainly not run of the mill... Mike Thomas can write very well indeed...he's come up with a cracker of a read...Needless to say, Smith is heading for an especially bloody end. It's who he'll take down with him that provides the suspense, and the horror.
Mirror - Henry Sutton

Enough black laughs to keep you turning the pages.
Financial Times - Adrian Turpin

A fantastic debut from real-life PC Mike Thomas...Written with blistering brio and fantastic energy, this shows much promise.
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