Saira Viola

Fast-paced satirical crime thriller.

Straight from the land of tea and crumpets and with crunchy, punchy—point, counterpoint stylized English prose Author Saira Viola takes you on a deliciously seedy journey into the world of London’s underbelly.

From its outrageously profane opening this story grabs you by the neck and it doesn’t let go. Peppered with pop-culture references and a gallery of characters you will not soon forget (hey Mimi—call me darling) the story moves along to the beat of a too-cool-for-school soundtrack hence the tittle of the book, and I do concur with the jab at Simon Cowell; that punter destroyed the musical landscape with his shameless promotion of banal pop, and also kudos for the uppercut at certain celebs who became ‘stars’ just by doing a triple xxx feature. There’s also a stab at the Rolling Stones for stealing the blues and making a living at it for almost a century.

This is cool and dangerous Britannia, buddy, strap-on for a hell of a ride as this book has all the hallmarks of a great read: Grit, wit and style to burn.
So, what you waiting for lad? Grab a cuppa and go read Jukebox.
… (meer)

Impressive. The chracters and storyline are terrifyingly real. In particular Nick the main protagonist is immensely likeable and we begin to view life from his perspective . Saddled with the responsibility of looking after a terminally ill father and dreaming of a future in music away from the cynicism of the law we follow him as he starts his journey as a trainee lawyer and then qualifies as a fully fledged solicitor .The story line shifts seamlessly from scene to scene and we meet Mel the antagonist a spiritual shaman, a pre op club diva and a snoopy news hound .At its heart Jukebox is a crime story with dark elements and a heavy dose of social satire. London is fertile ground for Viola's fertile imagination where life is punctured by racism, class polarity, gender isolation and the glorification of crime .Viola exposes the bleak underbelly of humanity and a society so consumed with fame headline and tabloid values that much of humanity seems morally bankrupt .Do we laugh or cry ? Ultimately Viola let's the reader decide.… (meer)