Russell James’ PAYBACK is a British thriller about a man named Carter who has come home to find out who killed his brother. No, not that Carter. This Carter is Floyd Carter, and he’s returned home to attend the funeral of his brother, who was hit by a car.

But Floyd thinks is was no mere accident and wants some answers. But where to start, since he has been living in Germany for the past 10 years? Welcome to the seedy side of London, where people like the Krays are considered inspirations.

While Floyd makes contact with some old friends, he is asked to meet one of the local bosses who want to employ Floyd, and it seems his late brother was involved as a drug runner. And his surviving brother, who could be labeled as slow, is now under Floyd’s care.

As realization starts to mesh in Floyd’s head, he has to contend with another local tough by the name of Richardson, who wants money that is owed to him. But Floyd doesn’t want to pay and he makes that opinion known. You don’t screw with any of the Carter boys.

James is considered a master of British noir, and I could not agree more. This story takes its time to be told and you won’t be able to just fly through it. You’ll want to take your time with this uncompromising tale of the drug world and its gangsters. Police officers are nonexistent in most of the tale, since these are men who have their own code and work things out for themselves.

But as the story builds, James lets things fester for the reader. You want quick results, but you’re taken on a slow ride down some dark alleys that are best avoided in the real world. It seems James is getting a major reissue push – first with this Point Blank Press release and an upcoming book from Stark House Press. –Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.