Viva la Madness

'Terrific.' The Sunday TimesSmooth-talking drug dealer X has a plan to quietly bankroll enough cash to retire before his thirtieth birthday. Operating under the polished veneer of a legitimate businessman, his mantra is to keep a low profile and run a tight operation until it's time to get out.When kingpin Jimmy Price asks him to find the wayward daughter of a wealthy socialite who's been running around with a cokehead, he accepts the job with the promise that after this he can leave the criminal world behind with Jimmy's blessing. Oh, and he needs to find a buyer for two million ecstasy pills acquired by a crew of lowly, loud-mouth gangsters, the Yahoos. Simple enough, until an assassin named Klaus arrives to scratch him off his list, revealing this job is much more than it seems at first.From the glitz of the London club scene to the underbelly of its criminal world, Layer Cake is the best in British crime fiction.***PRAISE FOR VIVA LA MADNESS ***'Masterful plotting - double-crosses abound - a cracking pace and some truly excellent set pieces including a chase through the London underground all lead up to a wham-bam ending. Fast, furious, funny and highly recommended for fans of Layer Cake and new readers alike.'Guardian'Connolly's style is fast and funny and just frightening enough to make you sit up all night.'Independent on Sunday