Desmond Barry Bücher

Good Friday, 1977, Merthyr Tydfil. At twenty to midnight a dozen different forces converge - Macky, just out of jail; the gippos and their knives; the Shop Boys, fifty or sixty skinheads in fanatical pursuit of recreational violence; P. C. Phillips, the young copper with something to prove; Mohan Singh, proud owner of the Taj Mahal curry house. The result- mayhem. 'Race Riot Erupts in Valleys Town. Scores Injured.' And witness to it all, Davey Daunt, a spazzy with a leg brace, the only one who knows what really happened. Desmond Barry's highly acclaimed first novel The Chivalry of Crime was a brilliant evocation of the world of the ultimate outlaw, Jesse James. The outlaws in A Bloody Good Friday are closer to home but no less vividly brought to life.

Set against the backdrop of America's Wild West, the narrative intertwines the lives of Jesse James, the infamous outlaw, and Robert Ford, his eventual killer. It introduces Joshua, a young boy who idolizes Ford and yearns for his own gun, highlighting the stark realities behind the legends of shootists. This tale blends historical and fictional elements, exploring themes of heroism, betrayal, and the disillusionment that accompanies the pursuit of a violent legacy. The story captures the complexities of fame and the cost of ambition in a mythologized era.

A novel of the outlaw Jesse James weaves actual characters and events into a fictional narrative centered on one of America's most enduring myths.