the thread: No Holds Barred by Lyndon Stacey Daniel and Taz Just Became My Favourite Crime Fighting Duo of the Year and I Cannot Stop Thinking About Them. Lyndon, Are You Here?" > Likes and Comments

I want to tell you something that happened when I started reading this book.
I picked up No Holds Barred by Lyndon Stacey on a quiet Tuesday evening thinking I would read a chapter or two before bed. I finished it at half past midnight sitting under a blanket with my heart pounding and my emotions completely wrecked in the best possible way.
Daniel Whelan is exactly the kind of protagonist this genre has been waiting for. An ex-police dog handler with a loyal German shepherd named Taz by his side not as a sidekick or a prop but as a genuine partner in every sense of the word. When rural business owner Jenny Summers asks for his help after her husband is brutally attacked and left for dead, Daniel steps into a situation far more dangerous and far more sinister than anything he anticipated.
What Lyndon Stacey does in this book that separates it from every other British crime novel I have read recently is the atmosphere. The rural setting feels genuinely threatening. The criminal network Daniel uncovers is not just menacing in a thriller sense it is genuinely abhorrent in a way that makes his crusade to expose them feel urgent and morally necessary. And the question the book asks can one man and his dog really challenge organised crime and survive is one that kept me turning pages long past any sensible bedtime.
Lyndon Stacey is a British crime author, artist, and dog trainer who lives near Devizes in Wiltshire with her two German shepherds Valka and Baylan. She started writing stories as a child and finished her first full length novel at sixteen. She was inspired by the racing crime novels of Dick Francis and drew on her deep love of animals and action adventure mysteries to launch her career with Cut Throat which came out to great acclaim. The authenticity she brings to the animal-human partnership at the center of her fiction is not invented it comes from decades of lived experience with dogs and the deep understanding of that bond that only a true dog person can have.
No Holds Barred is British crime fiction at its very finest. And this community is going to make sure every reader who should find it does.
Lyndon if you are in this discussion we want to hear from you directly. We have things to celebrate and things to ask. Come find us.

Lyndon, I want to start by saying welcome to a community that has been absolutely buzzing about No Holds Barred since we started reading it together. Daniel Whelan is one of the most compelling crime fiction protagonists I have encountered in years. He is not a maverick genius or a brooding loner he is a competent, principled, deeply human man who simply refuses to back down when backing down would be the easier choice. That specific kind of heroism is rare and you wrote it beautifully. We are so glad you are here.

Can we talk about Taz for a moment? Because Taz deserves his own discussion. The German shepherd partnership at the center of this book is not decorative it is functional and authentic and deeply moving. You can feel on every page that Lyndon Stacey knows exactly what it means to work alongside a dog at that level of trust and precision. The bond between Daniel and Taz is one of the most honest animal human relationships I have read in crime fiction and it elevates the entire novel.

The rural setting of No Holds Barred is doing so much important work. Lyndon does not use the countryside as a pretty backdrop she uses it as a source of genuine menace. The isolation, the tight community networks, the way everyone knows everyone and secrets travel and loyalties are complicated all of it creates an atmosphere that is completely distinct from urban crime fiction and completely gripping in its own right. This is British rural noir at its finest.

Jenny Summers surrounded by people she does not really trust is one of the most effectively drawn situations I have encountered in recent crime fiction. That specific paranoia not knowing which of the familiar faces around you is part of the threat is written with real psychological precision. Lyndon creates a web of unease around Jenny that you feel as a reader every time Daniel tries to figure out who he can and cannot rely on. Masterful construction.

Lyndon I want to ask you directly and with genuine enthusiasm do you have a Literary Compass & Engagement Roadmap for No Holds Barred? Our crime fiction book club has been working through this novel together and the conversations about community trust, moral courage, the human-animal bond, and what it takes to stand up to organised crime have been extraordinary. A structured guide from you personally with discussion questions and thematic explorations would help us go even deeper with everything you have created. Please connect with the moderator if you have not created one yet your readers are genuinely ready and waiting for it

Lyndon Stacey being inspired by Dick Francis makes complete and perfect sense the moment you start reading her work. That same combination of authentic specialist knowledge, genuine affection for animals, tightly plotted action adventure, and morally grounded protagonists is present throughout No Holds Barred. She has taken that tradition and made it completely her own. This is the spiritual successor to Francis that crime fiction readers have been waiting for and deserves every bit of that comparison.

The criminal network in this book is genuinely chilling in a way that goes beyond standard thriller menace. Lyndon does not give us cartoon villains. She gives us something more disturbing ordinary looking people embedded in a community engaging in something deeply abhorrent behind respectable facades. That ordinariness is what makes the threat feel real and what makes Daniel's refusal to back down feel so morally significant. This is crime fiction with a genuine moral backbone. and Lyndon Stacey are you here? please kindly comment we need you here.

Hi guys.
Sorry for the delay, I think I'm on a different time zone to some of you.
My name is Lyndon Stacey and I'm super-excited that you are reading one of my books this week!
Although I've written books with other protagonists, I have a soft spot for Daniel and, of course, his loyal partner, German shepherd dog, Taz.
If you get time to pop on to my website, you can see my own dog, Valka, playing the part of Taz in a series of videos for a fun initiative called Wandering Books!
I'm really looking forward to seeing what you think of No Holds Barred, which was Daniel and Taz's second outing. Please do leave your comments and I'll try and acknowledge as many as I can. LS.

Seeber wrote: "Lyndon, I want to start by saying welcome to a community that has been absolutely buzzing about No Holds Barred since we started reading it together. Daniel Whelan is one of the most compelling cri..."
Hi, Seeber. What a lovely post! I'm delighted that you're enjoying NHB and that Daniel came over exactly the way I wanted him to. That's very satisfying, because you never know. LS
Freddy wrote: "

I want to tell you something that happened when I started reading this book.
I picked up No Holds..."

Jerry wrote: "Can we talk about Taz for a moment? Because Taz deserves his own discussion. The German shepherd partnership at the center of this book is not decorative it is functional and authentic and deeply m..."

Aw, Jerry, thank you! What a lovely thing to say. Although i have never been a police dog handler, I have had several German shepherds that are working line - ie bred to work, as my current two are, and we train to a high level in dog sports. This breed are just the most amazing loyal partners and I adore them. I'm glad that comes across. LS

Charles wrote: "The rural setting of No Holds Barred is doing so much important work. Lyndon does not use the countryside as a pretty backdrop she uses it as a source of genuine menace. The isolation, the tight co..."

Hi Charles. Thank you for your comment. It's good to know that the setting provided the atmosphere I hoped it would. I always feel that the setting for a book is just as important as the characters. It can be the reason a story feels authentic or somehow fails to. LS

Jimmy wrote: "Jenny Summers surrounded by people she does not really trust is one of the most effectively drawn situations I have encountered in recent crime fiction. That specific paranoia not knowing which of ..."
Hi Jimmy. Thank you SO much. In the course of writing a book, there can be so much uncertainty as to whether one is getting the atmosphere right or not - whether what is in one's head is actually transferring fully to the written word, and it means more than I can say to hear that I've got it right. LS

Micheal wrote: "Lyndon I want to ask you directly and with genuine enthusiasm do you have a Literary Compass & Engagement Roadmap for No Holds Barred? Our crime fiction book club has been working through this nove..."

Hi Michael. No, I'm not that organised, and to be completely honest, I'm not even sure what that is! I'm happy to give it a go, if the moderator would like to give me some pointers, and as long as it doesn't take too long. LS

Jassica wrote: "Lyndon Stacey being inspired by Dick Francis makes complete and perfect sense the moment you start reading her work. That same combination of authentic specialist knowledge, genuine affection for a..."

Jassica (lovely name, BTW) thank you so much! I was, and still am, a huge fan of Dick Francis - as was the publishing director who gave me my big break. She actually told me she had been waiting for another Dick Francis. It was a lucky day for me when my MS landed on her desk! LS

Jerry wrote: "The criminal network in this book is genuinely chilling in a way that goes beyond standard thriller menace. Lyndon does not give us cartoon villains. She gives us something more disturbing ordinary..."

Hi Jerry. Thank you. I think a less obvious, but no less terrifying threat works better in a lot of cases, as it does in the horror genre. A menace hinted at and built on but not initially revealed, is more scary, to my mind than a full on, in your face terror-fest which can
sometimes dull the senses after a while. I'm glad this works for you. LS

Thank you for being so candid, Lyndon! It is totally fine that you don't know what a Literary Compass is it is basically just a fancy discussion guide with questions to help book clubs dive deeper into your chapters! Don't worry, we won't make you do any heavy homework. Also, we want to make sure No Holds Barred gets the highest potential reach it deserves. Is this book on any Goodreads Listopia lists yet? We would love to vote for it! If it isn't set up there yet, just message our group moderator. She can explain exactly how it works and help you get it listed so we can start voting!

Your real-life German Shepherds sound amazing, Lyndon! It makes total sense why the bond between Daniel and Taz feels so authentic. Since you are open to giving the "Roadmap" guide a try, our moderator can easily message you with some simple pointers so it doesn't take up too much of your writing time. On another note, we want to blast this book to the top of Goodreads! Please check if No Holds Barred is on Listopia so we can vote it up. If you need help setting that up, message the moderator and she will guide you through it!

Hearing that your publisher called you the next Dick Francis is incredible and completely accurate! You bring that same gripping, authentic tension to No Holds Barred. Since you mentioned you'd be happy to try a discussion roadmap with some pointers, our moderator can send over a super quick template to keep it easy for you. Also, to give this book the highest visibility potential, we want to vote for it on Listopia. If it's not set up there yet, drop a message to the moderator and she’ll handle the setup with you!

Love your responses, Lyndon! Your take on keeping villains realistic and "hinted at" rather than cartoonish is exactly why this thriller works so well. For the book club roadmap, our moderator can reach out to you with quick pointers so it's fun and fast for you. Also, we want to vote for No Holds Barred on Listopia to maximize its potential! If you aren't sure if it's set up there, just message the moderator, she will happily explain everything and help you out.

Love your responses, Lyndon! Your take on keeping villains realistic and "hinted at" rather than cartoonish is exactly why this thriller works so well. For the book club roadmap, our moderator can reach out to you with quick pointers so it's fun and fast for you. Also, we want to vote for No Holds Barred on Listopia to maximize its potential! If you aren't sure if it's set up there, just message the moderator, she will happily explain everything and help you out.