Some lies we live. Some truths we allow to die.
London, 2008. An old man, Michael, sees out his final days sustained by Guinness and talk of the old country. But some memories won’t go quietly to the grave. Some mistakes are not erased by time. And no matter how hard he tries to forget, there’s always someone trying to dig up the skeletons of the past.


Belfast, 1988. The height of the Troubles. Michael is a bagman, a messenger, a go-between, called on to perform one last little job for the IRA. After that, perhaps he can start to patch his life back together. After that, perhaps he can build a future for himself and his family.


Just one last job...


Down Among the Dead is a story of trouble and the Troubles, and a violent collision of past and present in the life of one man.


"An examination of regret and self-destruction. Down Among the Dead is a murky read with flashes of hard-hitting clarity. This is no Micksploitation shoot-em-up. It aims for better and hits its mark. Touché, Mr Finbow."


"Steve Finbow has done a brilliant job with this story. This is sharp and bold writing that is populated punchy dialogue and crisply drawn characters. It’s a wonderful voice that is at once sympathetic and pathetic and it’s one that’s very easy to spend time with.Very highly recommended." -Nigel Bird (Smoke, Southsiders)


"The brilliantly breathless, brutal and lyrical story of a retired IRA gunman facing up to his past." -Paul D Brazill (Guns of Brixton, A Case of Noir)


Number Thirteen Press is publishing 13 quality crime novellas and short novels, consecutively on the 13th of each month, from November 2014 to November 2015.