The Sween(e)y

The Sweeney was one of the most iconic TV series of the 1970s and of course quite a few tie-in novels were written, of which this was the first. It was written by the same bloke who wrote the original teleplay (Ian Kennedy Martin) and many episodes in the series too. Though the first thing to notice is that Sweeney is spelt "Sweeny" on the front cover and spine! Luckily, it is spelt correctly throughout the actual book...

In the story a US cop comes over to London to join an investigation... and my heart immediately sank. The British were obsessed with adding Americans to stories at the time but my fears were needless as the story works out very well and the characterisations arn't far off either - though Regan is truer to the earlier feel of the show with Jack as a loner who hated everyone (and being mostly mutual) and not how the show developed with Jack and George Carter forming one of the best double acts in TV history.

Oh Jack Regan, what a hero. The 70s idea of a hero too, nowadays TV detectives tend to be groomed and buff. Jack Regan was an Old Spice man fuelled by Scotch and the only "Jim" he knew was the bloke he gave a kicking to in the cells last week...