The Boy With The Thorn In His Side Series

'I don't have my headphones on yet, but the music is always there. I have a constant walking soundtrack to my life, you see. There is a song for everything.' In the decade of Grunge and Britpop, 13-year-old music fan Danny is on a mission to deter unsuitable men from his beautiful single mother. With best friend Michael on board and first love on the horizon, things are looking good. But the good times are shattered when powerful nightclub owner Lee Howard sweeps Danny's mother off her feet. Howard is a dangerous man who has twisted plans for Danny…Told from both Danny and Howard's points of view, who is Howard and what does he ultimately want? As Danny seeks escape through music, he finds a loyal ally in troublemaker Michael, but are they making an enemy of a man who will be a thorn in their sides for years to come? A dark and powerful drama about friendship, music and the choice between escaping or fighting back. The dramatic story continues in The Boy With The Thorn In His Side Part 2

"Nevermind is playing on my Walkman, in my ears, in my head. I am lost inside the music of yesterday. I have placed the knives around my clothes just like I did before. I have drunk some wine and listened to some music. I am ready." Howard has pushed Danny to the brink, and now he has only murder on his mind. Anthony, however, disrupts his plans and offers an alternative. If Danny accepts Howard's job offer, he can work undercover and finally get Howard convicted and out of their lives. Desperate to please Anthony, Danny agrees to become what Howard wants. His employee, his son and his protégé. But his new life as a drug dealer is fraught with danger and the temptation of narcotics is too hard to resist. To play his part, Danny must distance himself from his friends, and as his drug use escalates, his grip on reality begins to slip.  When a devastating truth is revealed, both Howard and Danny hurtle towards a final brutal climax, where revelations, betrayals and the thin line between love and hate will determine who survives. The dramatic story continues in The Boy With The Thorn In His Side Part Four…

'I'd hear a song, and it would cause this utterly jolting and physical reaction inside of me. It would take me over, and it would take me somewhere else.' Now that his mother has married psychotic nightclub owner Lee Howard, Danny is seeking escape in all the wrong places. Befriended by Howard's creepy sidekick Jack Freeman, he keeps his friends at bay for their own safety, and spends his days in a drug-induced haze, relying only on music to keep him going. When Anthony is released from prison, he vows to help Danny escape, and with help from drug dealer Jaime, he soon discovers the vile truth about both men. But will Anthony and Michael be able to help Danny, without putting their own lives at risk? Told from Howard's point of view as well as Danny's; what is it Howard really wants and will Danny ever be able to give it to him? A brutal and violent climax is on the cards when Danny and his friends make a bid for a new life...Howard is not about to let them go that easily... A gritty and uncompromising drama with a life-affirming soundtrack...The story continues in The Boy With The Thorn In His Side Part 3

Aged 17, Danny was sent to prison for committing a brutal and violent crime. Seven years later he is released, determined to put his disturbing past behind him.  He wants to lead a normal, decent life with the friends who stuck by him and his teenage sweetheart Lucy.  Danny knew life would be complicated on the outside, and he soon realises the past has not finished with him. His loved ones have all been damaged in different ways by his crime, a nosy reporter is desperate to hear the whole sordid story, and someone else does not think he has been punished enough. As a sinister hate campaign starts to target him and his loved ones, Danny is forced to face the reality of the choice he made seven years ago. When he finally discovers who is out to get him, he must decide how to make amends and whether to give them what they want, risking everything he holds dear in the process.  The dramatic story continues in The Boy With The Thorn In His Side Part Five… 

'Music had been my saviour back then…Something that gave me perpetual hope in a very dark and scary world. I always had music. He could never take that away from me. And in the end…he'd given it to me. He'd given me this place.' Danny finally has the life he always wanted: Lucy, his new baby daughter, and ownership of Chaos – the nightclub he adores. His friends and family believe he has put his violent past behind him - but are they right? To secure Chaos, his future and his life, Danny was forced to sign a deal with Jerry Howard, the father of the man he murdered. At first, Danny assumes it's revenge Jerry is after, but it soon becomes clear that Jerry has a far darker plan for him. He intends to finish what his son started by moulding Danny into a fitting protégé and heir to his criminal underworld. Whilst seeking help for his deteriorating mental health, Danny struggles to keep his darkest secrets from his loved ones and tries to appease Jerry. But at what cost? And is killing again the only way out?