Fourteen-year-old Ashleigh Jarvis is so scared and running so fast that she doesn't see the truck that knocks her down. Holly Blades is sixteen and a new type of policewoman - a T.P.O. or Trainee Police Officer - a new team of teenagers, recruited early and fast-tracked into the police force. After only two weeks on the job, Holly is first on the scene of the road traffic accident. But when her routine assignment of accompanying Ashleigh to hospital reveals a shocking secret about the young girl, Holly becomes convinced that there is more to the incident than she first thought. Unable to persuade her superiors that they should dig deeper however, Holly is forced to embark on a course of action which may reveal the truth, but which could also end her career in the police before it has really started...Gritty, gripping and completely compelling, "Street Duty" brings the very real world of the police force into the teen arena.
Street Duty, Case One: Knock Down: 1
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About the Author
Chris Ould is a BAFTA-winning screenwriter and has written for a number of television dramas including The Bill, Casualty, Solider Soldier and Hornblower. Chris has also written two adult novels, and Street Duty is his first book for young adults.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm honestly quite surprised by how much I liked this book! It was so much better than I thought it would be! The only thing that put me off was the cover, it just doesn't seem to fit too well for me, after reading the book I can see why it is, what it is but I think it could have been better. Anyway past that the synopsis is very intriguing and it interested me right away. After all how many young adult crime books are there with a female heroine? Not many. It was great to see a young female take her place in the mainly male world of police officers. Don't get me wrong I know there are plenty of women Police officers but It's interesting to see a male writer tackle a female police officer instead of a male one. Nevertheless Ould does a brilliant job writing this novel! Another thing that is really interesting is that he has written a few episodes of the bill amongst other TV programmes. He has gathered all of his experiences together to create this incredible fast paced novel about youth crime in the modern world.
Street Duty follows Holly Blades, a trainee police officer who is trying to figure out how the police force works. Straight away Holly is taken to the scene of Road Traffic collision where a young girl has been run over. The thing that Holly finds odd is that the girl is wearing no shoes. Why would she be wearing no shoes on a cold night? What was she running from that made her miss the sight of the truck that knocked her over? So many questions confront Holly as she realises that this wasn't just a typical accident it was actually so much more. Holly and her fellow police officers have to weave the way into the girls life and find out all about her, even if that means crossing into the estate, home of the Kaddy boys, a city gang. Read more ›
Street Duty follows Holly Blades, a trainee police officer who is trying to figure out how the police force works. Straight away Holly is taken to the scene of Road Traffic collision where a young girl has been run over. The thing that Holly finds odd is that the girl is wearing no shoes. Why would she be wearing no shoes on a cold night? What was she running from that made her miss the sight of the truck that knocked her over? So many questions confront Holly as she realises that this wasn't just a typical accident it was actually so much more. Holly and her fellow police officers have to weave the way into the girls life and find out all about her, even if that means crossing into the estate, home of the Kaddy boys, a city gang. Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fast-moving, dark and atmospheric, it gripped me from start to finish. I can highly recommend it to both young adults and adults alike - Chris Ould has hit on a theme that seems to be missing from the crime/thriller genre. His characters, their environment and the twisting and turning storyline are all entirely believable; it is one of those rare books that makes you desperate to know what happens on the next page.
I can't wait for the second book, and wish I could be a TPO - sounds like fun!
Buy it - you won't be disappointed.
I can't wait for the second book, and wish I could be a TPO - sounds like fun!
Buy it - you won't be disappointed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
4� Out of 5
"Ashleigh Jarvis was lying bleeding and unconscious in the gutter behind him.
"She was no longer hugging herself though, and perhaps that's why she looked as if she had finally fallen apart..."
The police service has just set up a pilot scheme called the Trainee Police Officer program. It lets exceptional young people join the force at the age of sixteen and fast track them those with the ability to be amazing officers through the ranks...
Holly Blades is one if those people. Her first serious case is that of Ashleigh Jarvis. The fourteen year old girl ran shoeless and terrified through the streets before running into the road and into the path of an oncoming lorry...
Holy knows she shouldn't allow herself to become emotionally involved in cases, but she can't help it. She is determined to solve the case for Ashleigh.
Even if she puts her future as a TPO in danger...
Oh, how I love crime fiction! There seriously isn't enough YA stuff around and Knock Down was such a gem! Gritty, addictive, thrilling and unique, it had me hooked from start to finish. I even missed my favourite shows to finish gobbling it up! Now that's a sign of a good, good, good book if ever there was one! Knock Down was amazing and Ould is definitely a YA author to look out for! I loved this book to pieces - all sixteen-year-old must read this!
The characters felt so real to me. Even if I didn't know much about them, they all really jumped off the page. None of them felt like they were stereotypes or just walking props. All of them had a personality, all of them had secrets and hidden agendas. I loved that. How they were all so complex. Read more ›
"Ashleigh Jarvis was lying bleeding and unconscious in the gutter behind him.
"She was no longer hugging herself though, and perhaps that's why she looked as if she had finally fallen apart..."
The police service has just set up a pilot scheme called the Trainee Police Officer program. It lets exceptional young people join the force at the age of sixteen and fast track them those with the ability to be amazing officers through the ranks...
Holly Blades is one if those people. Her first serious case is that of Ashleigh Jarvis. The fourteen year old girl ran shoeless and terrified through the streets before running into the road and into the path of an oncoming lorry...
Holy knows she shouldn't allow herself to become emotionally involved in cases, but she can't help it. She is determined to solve the case for Ashleigh.
Even if she puts her future as a TPO in danger...
Oh, how I love crime fiction! There seriously isn't enough YA stuff around and Knock Down was such a gem! Gritty, addictive, thrilling and unique, it had me hooked from start to finish. I even missed my favourite shows to finish gobbling it up! Now that's a sign of a good, good, good book if ever there was one! Knock Down was amazing and Ould is definitely a YA author to look out for! I loved this book to pieces - all sixteen-year-old must read this!
The characters felt so real to me. Even if I didn't know much about them, they all really jumped off the page. None of them felt like they were stereotypes or just walking props. All of them had a personality, all of them had secrets and hidden agendas. I loved that. How they were all so complex. Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Callycoll
Format:Kindle Edition
I have never read a book by Chris Ould before but will definitely read another. I was gripped from the start and felt like I knew the characters in the story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a lover of crime fiction, and an enthusiastic YA reader, I was really pleased to hear about this exciting new series. Reading it made me even happier, as it was everything I would have wished for in such a combination.
Chris Ould has written for The Bill amongst other things, and the knowledge he gained from this - of how the police operate and of what makes a successful crime narrative - is put to great use in this brilliant read. For this YA series, he has invented the rank of Trainee Police Officer (TPO) to allow the creation of 16 to 18 year old characters who can investigate crime. Although they are trainees and therefore often supervised, Holly Blades in this novel shows enough promise that the training officers allow her some slack and she is able to take something of a leading role, particularly in the crimes which focus on teens. I know that some reviewers are commenting on the realism of this, but I fail to see how it's any less realistic than the classic 'child sleuth' trope or the 'meddling little old lady who solves crimes on a regular basis' for that matter!
Holly Blades and Sam Marsden are the TPOs, although Holly has more of the lead in this instalment. Both show potential as police officers, and both are 'up against it' to some extent as the public and other officers don't always take them seriously. This is a classic trope in crime fiction (often it's the woman detective struggling to be accepted, or the older detective whose methods are viewed as outdated), allowing the characters to show their human sides and making it easier to sympathise with them. It certainly works in Street Duty as we easily root for Holly and Sam and admire their resourcefulness. Read more ›
Chris Ould has written for The Bill amongst other things, and the knowledge he gained from this - of how the police operate and of what makes a successful crime narrative - is put to great use in this brilliant read. For this YA series, he has invented the rank of Trainee Police Officer (TPO) to allow the creation of 16 to 18 year old characters who can investigate crime. Although they are trainees and therefore often supervised, Holly Blades in this novel shows enough promise that the training officers allow her some slack and she is able to take something of a leading role, particularly in the crimes which focus on teens. I know that some reviewers are commenting on the realism of this, but I fail to see how it's any less realistic than the classic 'child sleuth' trope or the 'meddling little old lady who solves crimes on a regular basis' for that matter!
Holly Blades and Sam Marsden are the TPOs, although Holly has more of the lead in this instalment. Both show potential as police officers, and both are 'up against it' to some extent as the public and other officers don't always take them seriously. This is a classic trope in crime fiction (often it's the woman detective struggling to be accepted, or the older detective whose methods are viewed as outdated), allowing the characters to show their human sides and making it easier to sympathise with them. It certainly works in Street Duty as we easily root for Holly and Sam and admire their resourcefulness. Read more ›
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3.5 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ok read
Thought it was going to be more gritty than it was.
Not too much of a story easy to guess the outcome.
A book one can pick up and put down. Read more
Not too much of a story easy to guess the outcome.
A book one can pick up and put down. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshingly original yet comfortingly familiar
This is a really unusual novel as it takes a known and well-explored genre (that of the cop thriller) and turns it on its head by making a 16-year-old rookie the main protagonist. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Malfi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent characters, exciting and fast paced.
We read this book for our 'book club' as we thought it would be interesting to discuss a book aimed at a younger market. Despite the average age in the book club being 30/40ish ! Read more
Published 9 months ago by Elizabeth
5.0 out of 5 stars
Super novel
A good read a novel idea would make a wonderful tv series. can't wait for the next case. the new police Commissioners might be interested in the apprentice idea!
Published 12 months ago by Brenda Whitmore
5.0 out of 5 stars
great
good story but I'm not prepared to keep typing enough words to satisfy you blah blah blah blah etc etd
Published 15 months ago by MRS R F BARNES
2.0 out of 5 stars
Book
Not too impressed with this one of several and will not bother to read the rest of the series now
Published 16 months ago by Marcus R Pearce
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
This was a good fast paced read. I am hoping that in future books the characters will be developed a but more.
Published 17 months ago by Miss C A Rowlands
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best YA book I have read in years
I am not normally a fan I crime books but this was so interesting I could not put it down. Gritty, fast paced it certainly does not talk down to YA like so many books do. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars
urgent
Sharp, fast, tough, cool, deep enough ......by page twenty I needed to know the end. This is a first rate top notch fast moving riveting story. Read more
Published 17 months ago by clint
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