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Burntbridge Boys
by
It's 1979 and Sammy Rafferty is on the run. From the past. From the police. And, perhaps more importantly, from some rather unfriendly criminal types. He thinks his football dreams are over, but that might not be the case. He's run to Burntbridge Lye. A place where dreams don't always die.
Sammy “The Butcher” Rafferty has long since kissed his playing days goodbye. Never ki ...more
Sammy “The Butcher” Rafferty has long since kissed his playing days goodbye. Never ki ...more
Paperback, 112 pages
Published
April 2nd 2020
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A decaying football stadium, a man whose days playing football are at an end, and a haunted (?) watch. Combine all these, shake it up and you have BurntBridge Boys.
I can't say too much without spoilers as this is a novella, but it turns out that the world of professional football, (or to us Americans, soccer), is a nasty one. Players and people in the know have been known to pay off other players or officials to get games to go a certain way. Sam "the butcher" Rafferty is one of those people in ...more
I can't say too much without spoilers as this is a novella, but it turns out that the world of professional football, (or to us Americans, soccer), is a nasty one. Players and people in the know have been known to pay off other players or officials to get games to go a certain way. Sam "the butcher" Rafferty is one of those people in ...more

If you’ve followed my reviews, you’ll have seen that I’ve raved about all of the books I’ve read from Leonard. These have all been within his Scaeth Mythos and for the most part have been filled with grime and gore, hurt and sorrow.
‘Burntbridge Boys’ is a completely different lad.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it falls into Leonard’s normal world and we even get the town of Bledbrooke popping up, but if you are going into this looking for gore – like within Night Service, don’t expect it.
What I liked: ...more
‘Burntbridge Boys’ is a completely different lad.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it falls into Leonard’s normal world and we even get the town of Bledbrooke popping up, but if you are going into this looking for gore – like within Night Service, don’t expect it.
What I liked: ...more

I chose to read this book as a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team and received a copy from the author. This does not alter my review in any way.
Sammy Rafferty is past his prime. Having gained notoriety for violence within football where his fearsome reputation came in handy as a player, and an afterlife in management slick with slippery schemes, he now found himself at a ground he’d never heard of. The home of Burntbridge Palmers.
The stadium is decaying, not unlike Bill Stroat, groundsman, ...more
Sammy Rafferty is past his prime. Having gained notoriety for violence within football where his fearsome reputation came in handy as a player, and an afterlife in management slick with slippery schemes, he now found himself at a ground he’d never heard of. The home of Burntbridge Palmers.
The stadium is decaying, not unlike Bill Stroat, groundsman, ...more

I enjoy the way John Leonard writes. He uses short, sharp sentence that perfectly suit the length of his novella's and their dark and terse story lines. The introductory paragraphs into this author's books have a way of immediately pulling the reader into the story and setting the scene very efficiently.
The opening lines to Burntbridge boys are as follows:
"He stamped at the brake and missed.
Swore vehemently. Cursed to himself and the world in general. At times, both seemed to conspire against hi ...more
The opening lines to Burntbridge boys are as follows:
"He stamped at the brake and missed.
Swore vehemently. Cursed to himself and the world in general. At times, both seemed to conspire against hi ...more

I've read quite a few of John F Leonard's shorter length horror tales, and always enjoy both his original story ideas and characterisation. Burntbridge boys is set in 1979 and is about Sammy 'the butcher' Rafferty, a former footballer, football club manager and general bad boy, whose glory days are over; he is currently on the run from the police and from unfriendly criminal types. When Sammy finds himself in the decaying stadium of a defunct club, it seems that his dreams might not be over afte
...more

The Burntbridge Boys
By John F. Leonard
Review by Lesley Ann Campbell
What can I say… I know no football references whatsoever, but the author, John F. Leonard knocked this one out of the park (I do know baseball references).
Another trip to the eerie town of Bledbrooke, to the football stadium and a ‘manager’ who was given a very special watch.
Sammy Raferty is on the run from everyone. What he doesn’t realise is that he has already been caught. He made a deal with the devil the second he put the ...more
By John F. Leonard
Review by Lesley Ann Campbell
What can I say… I know no football references whatsoever, but the author, John F. Leonard knocked this one out of the park (I do know baseball references).
Another trip to the eerie town of Bledbrooke, to the football stadium and a ‘manager’ who was given a very special watch.
Sammy Raferty is on the run from everyone. What he doesn’t realise is that he has already been caught. He made a deal with the devil the second he put the ...more

Being a fan of football, horror fiction, and the work of John F Leonard, when he released this book I was on it like a dogged and snappy midfield ‘snotter’.
Football isn’t for everyone, and the good news for those that don’t feel the footie love is this book is something that’s not just for fans of the beautiful game.
The story follows Sammy Rafferty, an ex player who was known for his brutish ways on the pitch. Following the end of his career he began a life of coaching, management, and dodgy dea ...more
Football isn’t for everyone, and the good news for those that don’t feel the footie love is this book is something that’s not just for fans of the beautiful game.
The story follows Sammy Rafferty, an ex player who was known for his brutish ways on the pitch. Following the end of his career he began a life of coaching, management, and dodgy dea ...more

I would give this a 3.5.
My first read from John F Leonard and it was very enjoyable. The writing was good but there was a lot of sentences structured in a way that it took me out of the story.
What i liked though was the football details and the alternate timeline that details Sammy's downfall. That was done really well, with tales of greed and brutality.
The spooky stadium was an interesting take and judging by other books im guessing will be part of a bigger world.
Wasnt as scary as i'd have like ...more
My first read from John F Leonard and it was very enjoyable. The writing was good but there was a lot of sentences structured in a way that it took me out of the story.
What i liked though was the football details and the alternate timeline that details Sammy's downfall. That was done really well, with tales of greed and brutality.
The spooky stadium was an interesting take and judging by other books im guessing will be part of a bigger world.
Wasnt as scary as i'd have like ...more
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John was born in England and grew up in the midlands where he learned to love the sound of scrapyard dogs and the rattle and clank of passing trains. He studied English, Art and History and has, at different times, been a sculptor, odd-job man and office worker. He enjoys horror and comedy (not necessarily together). Married with two astonishing children, he now lives a few miles from the old Vict
...more
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