Grit, Spit & Brilliantine : DDC Morgan

Available in Hardback, Paperback & eBook editions, 682pp 

For the first time ever, all 3 books in DDC Morgan’s stunning Reg Calloway trilogy in one stunning volume. 

Includes

• Blood & Cinders
• Pills & Soap
• Rope & Canvas

Weighing in at a mighty 682 pages and with a new introduction by the author, this beautiful volume is definitely one to treasure. 

Blood & Cinders

London 1949. Speedway fever runs high.

Its stars are the working class heroes of a Blitz-torn city emerging from the ravages of war. With cash in their wallets and hoards of adoring fans, these dirt-track chancers enjoy a life of speed, celebrity and sex.

But as Bermondsey Bullets defend their league title, they are rocked by the death of star rider Des Fenton in a mid-race smash.

It's the start of a new and dangerous chapter for stadium security boss Reg Calloway, as he's dragged into the dark side of life at the track, with echoes of his own troubled wartime past.

Pills & Soap

Six months after his adventure in Blood & Cinders, Reg Calloway finds himself working as head of security for a London film studio turning out low-budget Brit flicks.

When the studio boss's car is blown up, Special Branch suspects Irish terrorists are responsible but Calloway doesn't buy it. He saw a woman fleeing the scene. Finding the woman and uncovering her connection to the case becomes his obsession.

Calloway's under pressure from all sides - Special Branch and his studio bosses are convinced that the IRA are behind the bomb but when the terrorists give Calloway an ultimatum to find the real bomber or else, he knows for sure that the mysterious woman who fled the scene is the real key to everything.

His investigation takes him into the dark side of the London film business - its exploitation of starlets, its underworld connections and its Faustian star makers who trade young souls for broken dreams.

As Calloway delves into some of the seediest recesses of 1950s London he risks everything in an attempt to find the truth and see that justice, in some form, is served.

Rope & Canvas

When speedway superstar Bert Webber asks his old friend Reg Calloway for help Reg is reluctant to get involved.

Webber’s brother-in-law is dead, seemingly the victim of a simple road traffic accident, but if the dead man was in a crash just north of London why was there a flyer for a clip-joint in Berlin and a ticket for the city’s U-Bahn tucked in his pocket? 

Ten years in the military police and six in the Intelligence Corps have taught Calloway that things are not always as they seem, and with Webber happy to pay him a pretty penny to investigate further, Reg puts aside his initial misgivings and determines to find the truth, wherever it lies.

So begins a high-speed, high-octane thriller which propels Calloway through a post-war world of female wrestlers, wall-of-death riders, Berlin gangsters and the shadowy spy-masters he thought he’d escaped forever.

“Up there with the very best examples of British Post-War noir – a towering achievement…”

“With each new book, the Calloway Series is developing into a tour de force of British noir – a must-read…”

“A terrific addition to the English Mean Streets school…”

“A gem of a find and highly recommended.”

“As I read, I had that feeling that I haven't had since I read Chandler for the first time.”

“A fantastic read, stylishly written.” 

“Exciting, gripping and enjoyable - what more could you want!”