A powerfully written debut novel.

WALES ON SUNDAY

Feisty and real

MAIL ON SUNDAY

Convincing ... Newland shows every promise of being able to reflect Britain from a distinctive and unsentimental perspective

THE TIMES

An entertaining and pertinent read

PRIDE

An exciting, sustained and truthful novel, fine writing and firing dialogue. Courttia Newland knows his people very well

Diran Adebayo, author of SOME KIND OF BLACK

Newland has conjured up a world apart from the one which most Londoners know - a world in which differences are settled with bullets, where flick-knives flash and where people casually threaten "I'm gonna carve you up"

EVENING STANDARD

The rising star of Brit-lit and chronicler of inner city life ... Newland has acquired a buzz ... his novels cover a section of British society that was not only unrepresented but oddly invisible. The comparison with [Irvine] Welsh is apt for two reasons. First there is a clear parallel in creating new literary language and second, with luck, Newland will open up the world of fiction to a whole new audience

GUARDIAN

Britain's brightest black writer

EVENING STANDARD

If you thought novels about life on desolate council estates have had their day, you obviously haven't heard of Courttia Newland. One of the most in-demand young writers around, his colourful tales about the seedier side of urban Britain have earned him plaudits everywhere. So much so that he's already toured with the likes of Irvine Welsh

TOUCH

As a literary culture we are chronically short of this sort of fiction. Voices like Newland's provide a vital counterpoint to the likes of Bridget Jones

FINANCIAL TIMES