Comrades Come Rally: As Britain decides on its future is someone killing to hide their past?

by Phil Brett

Pete Kalder battles his grief with only his cat and his collection of suits for consolation. His days are spent passively observing the turmoil which is engulfing Britain and deciding on which tie to wear. The UK is neither united or even a kingdom, and is at a crossroads, uncertain which direction to take. Classified as a failed state, with its economy broken and tanks on the streets, revolution is looming. But Kalder is merely a sharply-dressed outsider to events which will alter the course of history. This all changes when the leader of the revolutionary movement visits and asks him to investigate the mysterious death of a comrade. Reluctantly he agrees, and is drawn into a dangerous world of betrayal and murder. Quickly he will have to learn that Private Eye fantasies are not enough, if he is to find the killer, save the revolution and prevent himself becoming a corpse in a fine three-button Mohair suit. Comrades Come Rally is a thriller with humour and pace. Take the sharp hard-boiled detective novel and transport it to a possible near- future Britain, then add some fine tailoring, and you have CCR.

592 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2014

About the author

Phil Brett was born in a small commuter village in Hampshire, Britain, to parents hailing from Islington, north London. His early years were spent taking for granted his happy existence. Later, his teenage school life was spent adopting Punk angst and wishing his parents hadn’t moved.

He always wanted be a great writer but leaving school at sixteen, the closest he got to this was unpacking them in a book warehouse.

After taking evening classes, one wish came true - he moved to north London to study (in between socialising, exploring London and becoming a socialist). Through a variety of jobs, including one as a librarian (keeping close to those great writers) he ended up finding himself as a primary school teacher. Which, despite many politicians’ best efforts, he loved.

Now though, he has retired and can concentrate on his writing and his cat. And furthering world revolution.

So far, he has written three books in the Pete Kalder series 1. Comrades Come Rally, 2. Gone Undergound, 3. Their Blood-Soaked Liberty Based in an imagined post-revolution Britain, the 'hero' (?) - Pete Kalder - battles against murderous counter-revoluntionary agents, and some of his own personal issues.

He hopes you will enjoy yhem.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads, and I'm torn over how to rate it. I really liked the main character, and as much as I'm not a middle-aged British socialist widower, I still managed to identify with him.

But the ending felt like a cheat. It's a very large book, and slogging all the way through it I was hoping for a really spectacular ending. Maybe the author's trying to say something grand about socialism that I'm not getting, and maybe I'm wrong to tie the book into the events that have happened here in Canada this week, but the ending made me a bit sick.

It's given me lots of strong feelings though, and despite its size and relative slowness of pace, I wasn't bored.

Also, as much as many of the British-isms went over my head despite my relative familiarity with British literature, I do know that it's DOCTOR Who, not Dr Who...

Also also, I don't know what the cover's made of, but my cat keeps trying to eat it.

[Audrey Coxon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book - the story flowed; the characters were well developed and I think it would make a good tv series / film.

[Janet Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might not be the novel you're looking for. And that’s a very good thing.

Beyond the standard detective story, and even farther beyond today’s avalanche of political thrillers, Phil Brett’s Comrades Come Rally is a bracing, game-changing read. Brett has given us a truly 21st century everyman – gender neutral language be damned – in his quintessentially reluctant detective, Pete Kalder. Tested psychologically, physically, and politically, Kalder is found wanting far too often, but like the better angels of all our natures, he remains committed to a bigger vision, speaking truth (and a few white lies) perhaps too often for his own good to power as he finesses the border between true duty and the merely dutiful.

Tasked by the head of his party with conducting an informal inquiry into the suicide of a longtime political colleague, Kalder finds himself making surprising alliances and even more shocking enemies as he drives on – often by his trusty scooter and sheer cussed allegiance to truths far greater and more resonant than mere politics – as he uncovers a horrifically expanding circle of deceit and murder. Kalder quickly becomes immersed in a grim and murky landscape where the doctrinaire only goes so far, and where he must cast a cold eye on everything and everyone he thought he knew.

Cleverly set in a future near enough to be familiar but yet distant enough for tectonic social and cultural shifts to have taken hold, author Brett re-envisions crime fiction, using character and conversation – rather than bang-bang-shoot-‘em-up clichés -- to move his story onward.

Comrades Come Rally is by turns engrossing (Brett’s style pays winking homage to the genre with more than a few chapter-ending cliffhangers, worthy of Dan Brown), amusing (Kalder's dry-as-dust observations on life, as well as his own sartorial excesses, set a smart and pithy pace), and thought-provoking: No matter what your political stand, you’ll end up rethinking your understanding of the British political landscape.

All told, Comrades Come Rally is an impressive debut: Phil Brett is a fine and keenly observant writer who will turn your notions of detective/crime genres right around. This novel could be just the revolution you’re looking for. Highly and enthusiastically recommended.

[Marie Branthwaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

It really draws you into an alternative Britain. You get gripped by what is happening to both the characters and to the country. But it is not a dull read, as it has humour and I loved the main character (it's good to see that not everyone is perfect!). It is also a great who-dunnit. The clues are there as to who is the traitor but you don't find out till the final chapter.

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, probably would have made a lot more sense if I understood or cared about politics, hahaha whoops, but the murder plot line was interesting and keep me guessing till the very end :)

[Sally Kincaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book .

A gripping 'Who Done It'- I recommend it to anyone left of new labour, who likes a bit or lot of class struggle.

[Bob Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty and grown-up plot.