“Dhand’s Streets of Darkness are in Bradford and they sure are dark . . . The blood count is high but the novel deserves attention for its sheer inventiveness and unbridled energy.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
In Streets of Darkness, AA Dhand has imbued his novel with depth, darkness, violence, racial tension and inner rage. By adding layer upon layer to his tale about the darker side of modern day Bradford, Dhand introduces to the nuances of cross-cultural factions and alliances intertwined with unrelenting bigotry within the Asian community of the depressed mill town.
It’s a fabulous debut novel, the characters are detailed and flawed, providing ample scope for the issues that protagonist Harry Virdee must face in order to claw back his career as Detective in Bradford’s police force.
There are no stereotypes here – every sentence provides a window into a world that few outsiders know or comprehend. The reader is introduced to the workings of a complex inner city culture that even its inhabitants don’t fully understand. It is multidimensional – racial tension, corruption, interfaith marriage, sectarian dogma and family loyalties, all held together by one simple fact – Harry Virdee loves his wife Saima to the exclusion of everything else. Yet his city is about to go up in flames and Harry can resurrect his failing career by preventing it.
It is a fantastic read, tightly written with tension throughout. I couldn’t wait to turn the page to find out what was going to happen next. I wasn’t disappointed.
Reviewed by:
Linda Wright
Added 3rd August 2016
