It is a complete coincidence that the last book I read focused on a condemned high rise tower in Glasgow, and this debut is another extraordinary portrayal of a community through particular individuals, where the Teeside Burn council estate is to be demolished as part of a regeneration project, clearing out the working class locals. Ironopolis is a reference to Middlesbrough's past as the UK's centre for iron and steel, all long gone, with its inevitable repercussions of poverty and high unemployment, the unavoidable reality of few prospects and little in the way of a future. There is history, family, heartbreak, brutality, violence, fear and a humanity in this unflinchingly authentic, rich and detailed depiction of people, interwoven short stories that intersect and interconnect through time and this place. The storytelling includes the use of a range of formats, such as letters and interviews.

The estate is riddled with problems associated with the lack of jobs, the addictions, drink, drugs, gambling and, of course, crime. The derelict waterworks are a danger for local children, with the folklore and urban legends of Peg Powler, a water sprite associated with the River Tees and Peg Powler is being used to try and keep the kids away. There are the victims of the waterworks, the friendship between Jean and Una, the climate of fear and terror generated by hard man, Vincent Barr, his son, Alan's investigation into Douglas Ward and his links to his father, and acid house raves. The structure of using short stories works incredibly well, providing a much needed social and political commentary, illustrating how history repeats itself again and again, showing the nature of memories and emergence of truth, and where there are unexpected twists and turns in the narrative.

This is an outstanding and ambitious novel, compulsive and captivating, a gritty social realism read, thought provoking, and moving, that will be hard to forget once you have finished. The larger than life characterisations are stellar, honing in as they do on the complications and ambiguities to be found in real people. A superb novel that paints a hard hitting and compassionate picture of the North East that I recommend highly. Many thanks to the publisher.