I like Johnny Shaw’s stuff, I thought Big Maria was a great read, if you haven’t read it you should give it a try.
Floodgate is completely different to Shaw’s previous novels, it’s set in the fictional city of Auction City which is held together by an uneasy coalition of crime syndicates, an outrageously corrupt police force and the church. The story switches between two time periods 1929 when there was a catastrophic street battle between the police, organised crime gangs and the underclass of the city and 1986 when after over 50 years of peace the tense relationships are on the verge of fracturing.
Floodgate is pacy and witty, albeit a little predictable. 3.5/5