Jake and the Invasion of England

He's an idealistic North London copper who has his eye on a career in the CID. In no time he's staking out a large Arab-owned suburban property where drugs, mayhem and gun-running are the order of the day. Jake Parker also has his eye on the girls - Janice, Molly and Alice, to name a few. In or out of uniform, they seem to bring out the best in him. But Jake is wounded during an armed arrest in Trinidad, and one of his relationships goes sour. Then South Force, the special police unit he's been drafted into to combat immigrant crime, fails to anticipate the London tube bombings of 2005. As the dust settles, Jake's commander - and many others - look to Parliament for draconian measures to curb immigration and halt 'the invasion of England', as they see it. Where will Jake Parker stand in all this? Terry McIntyre's provocative novel picks the flesh off the bones of liberalism and the human rights business, and at times it's uncomfortable, acerbic reading. His hero, Jake, is a normal, sexually active young Englishman, who puts his job before his own concerns, and his feelings for his country above all other considerations. Let's hope there are more like him out there.