Real Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded up

The Publisher Says: A gripping historical noir set during the amphetamine-fuelled craze for velodrome racing which took London by storm in the late 1920s.

Into this world stumbles Paul, a bewildered Scottish farmboy running away from home. Powerfully built with a fierce passion for cycling, he is taken under the wing of Silas, a local loan shark, and from there enters a world he is ill-equipped to survive.

As the races get harder, the bets get larger, and the terrifying Mr Morton starts to take an interest in Paul's career. For fans of Peaky Blinders and Brighton Rock, Devil Take the Hindmost is a thrilling ride through a historical London that is rarely visited.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: So, you've read the synopsis. You've seen the way the parade's headed. And, you clever thing, you've seen my rating. Why isn't it up to a four?

Because it was a very good story that didn't need to make Silas, the intermediary between the owner and the athlete, have a queer passion for the athlete to make its point.

It's not it never happens. There's an entire subsection of M/M romances based around this plot. But those are *reciprocated* queer feelings. These, with the best will in the world, are not. I hasten to say this isn't ever promised to us. It's never even said out loud in the story's description. It's still there, though, one gets the little tickle behind the eyeballs that means either excess pollen or gay subtext is in the blurb's air.

Then we get to the story itself. To the author's credit there isn't a lot of dishonesty in the presentation of the gay subtext. It's there, it's known...just nothing comes of it. So, though I found this oft-told tale well done, and the author's gift for dialogue pretty darn decent, this story suffers from the same thing that My Policeman suffered from: Yes, in the 2010s; not so much in the 2020s.

What led to a whole star-and-a-half going back onto the rating is the way the athlete, a raw innocent from the nowhere that was Scotland in the 1920s, simply doesn't care about the man who's in love with him being a man. I mean, it's not for him, but it's also not a problem because they're really good friends and that's what he values the most. The ending, which did not surprise me one bit, did satisfy me. I was completely comfortable with the way Author Froden sent these characters off into the world to meet their destinies. Why? Because, in every case, there was a powerful sense of each one grabbing the power to *create* that ending. Win, lose, or draw, each character earned their destiny.

Nothing whatever wrong with a revenge story, in my book at least.challenge downloads egalley ...more24 s Fran689 811

Innocent, penniless Scottish farm boy Paul MacAllister has left home. An offer of a free meal and place to sleep sounds too good to be true. Paul is now under the thumb of Silas Halkias-money lender, game fixer and debt collector. Paul becomes trapped in the underworld created by boss Mr. Morton.

Silas must make Paul profitable. Mr. Morton's demands and oversight continue increasing .Silas taps into Paul's love of cycling. Paul delivers envelopes to various drop points for Mr. Morton taking shortcuts to avoid police scrutiny. He rapidly pedals his bike thus helping him train for velodrome cycling races. He must keep earning money to pay rent, food and pay off his bike while making money for Mr. Morton. Paul is exposed to the world of drugs and powders used to enhance performance. He becomes a well oiled expendable work machine, much a horse or a train.

I am so pleased that Martin Cathcart Froden's book Devil Take the Hindmost will be published by Freight Books in July 2016. This Dundee International Book Prize winner has crafted an excellent book about velodrome cycling in 1920's London. Kudos to Mr. Froden.

Thank you Freight Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.2 s Jeroen170 1 follower

Dit boek kwam vrij toevallig op mijn Kindle terecht omdat ik eigenlijk dacht een boek binnen te halen rond de beurs en speculatie met exact dezelfde titel. Maar ik ben zeer blij dat ik niet zo oplettend was die dag, want dit was echt een zeer fijne verrassing.

De habitat van de hoofdkarakters is een "Peaky Blinders"-stijl grimmig Londen eind jaren '20 (XXe eeuw) waar een van huis weggelopen Schotse kerel recht in de handen van een rottig mannetje loopt. Een huisjesmelker die een handje heeft in alle zaakjes die het daglicht schuwen maar wel goed opbrengen. En zo wordt ook de jonge Paul McAllister meteen te gelde gemaakt. Vrij snel wordt hij wielrenner in de bezeten koersen die in die periode een enorme populariteit kenden. Hij rijdt zich de longen uit het lijf en splinters in de benen, maar raakt nooit snel genoeg weg uit het zuigende moeras van de gangsterbazen die steeds meer geld willen.

Een mooi verhaal dat ook erg sterk geschreven is. Messcherpe metaforen die de sfeer van de donkere stad doen opborrelen, introspecties van de protagonist (niet de lieve boereknecht/coureur uit Schotland, maar wel de dandy uitperser uit Griekenland, afgewisseld met een derde persoonverteller - een leuke benadering van dit verhaal!) en een beeldrijke trip naar de handel en wandel van de roaring twenties en hun duistere kantjes. Weej5

Got this by accident (there is a book on financial scams with the same title) and really enjoyed it.

The older son is a bicycle racer and this plays nicely into that genre with an interesting look at bicycle racing (albeit fictitious) in the last century.

interesting thesis, decent characters and a wonderful villein. Nicola506 4

An enjoyable distraction, but not a keeper. Katie Veitch3 1 follower

Beautifully written book, with an absolutely brilliantly crafted ending. I loved this read so much! John Houston53

As an avid cyclist and road racer for many years this book intrigued me and it did not disappoint. The plot worked well, mixing a 1920's gangland London and the murky world of track cycling- which was huge in it's heyday - into a nicely worked story. Interestingly the story is not told by the primary character in the book- our young and naive Scottish runaway cyclist from Lennoxtown (coincidentally where I myself was born!) - but by one of the "baddies"! The writing didn't try to convey any Scottish accent which I'm assuming was a deliberate choice by the author, something I thought could have improved the realism and added more color overall. Occasionally it felt a little contrived and personally I thought the ending could have been stronger and more convincing. Overall though this was engaging throughout, a compelling story and a very rewarding read. own-it Gordon Mcghie602 93

Cycling in the 1920’s was an unexpected backdrop to Martin Cathcart Froden’s Devil Take The Hindmost but this is an engaging and extremely entertaining story.

Devil Take The Hindmost follows the story of Paul MacAllister. Farmer’s son, cyclist and newly arrived in London having left the Scottish farm to come to the big city. He falls in with Silas Halkias, a Greek “businessman” who can see potential in Paul’s cycling to earn some money in the city velodromes.

Silas gives Paul a room, finds him a job and kits him out with a top of the range bike. There are conditions to be met as Silas is not doing this out of the goodness of his heart but Paul is a well meaning and trusting chap so he goes along with all the tasks he is presented.

I am reluctant to share too much of the detail of this book as I found the joy was in not knowing what was coming. The author has captured the feeling of 20’s London wonderfully well. The cycling element is detailed (not excessively) but I got a real feel Paul’s enthusiasm for racing and it was fun to see innovative ideas from 100 years ago being explained and explored.

Beautifully written and with excellent characters this was an absolute gem to read. Elizabeth Madden42 5

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