As a teenager, Alan Johnson (b. 1950) wanted to become a writer, but he ended up as a member of the British parliament.

He finally took up writing after he retired from politics, publishing his first memoir to critical acclaim in 2014. In this he talks about being raised by his single mum, and after she dies when he is 13, by his older sister.

Alan Johnson's first work of fiction, is a thriller The Late Train to Gipsy Hill, published in 2021.

Appropriately, the hero is a young man raised by a single mother.

There is, too, a character who was raised in care - in Russia.

Unfortunately, (because its a stereotype) Miranchuk is a thug, a clever man who loves violence and who has recently made a commitment to join the 3rd of the 3 key Russian organisations, the Krovnyye Bratya or an organised crime group (the other options are the military and the secret service) which, writes, Johnson, all interconnected anyway.

The Late Train to Gipsy Hill is a timely - because of the invasion of Ukraine - thriller, fast paced and well written.