A Numbers Game
By R J Dark
- A Numbers Game
-
Author: R J Dark
-
Publisher: Datura Books
- ISBN: 9781917415323
- Published: August 2026
- Pages: 400
- Format reviewed: Paperback
- Review date: 04/09/2026
- Language: English
I loved growing up in the North, but whilst we often considered people as characters, outsiders may have seen them as scary. To us they were pretty harmless if you acted the right way around them, but walking on eggshells all your life can be exhausting. A Numbers Game by R J Dark takes place in a fictional northern town, in and around a council estate that has its own rules of law. Into this powder keg drops the small matter of a missing lottery ticket worth £8 million.
Malachite “Mal” Jones is not a stranger to the grey areas of life, as a former drug addict he stole from many people on the estate and even as his new job is not legitimate. As the local psychic he has no connection to the dead but sells that he does. When the widow of a local gang member turns up at the door, he does not know what she wants, but that does not stop the local gang members wanting to talk to Mal. He is going to take some beatings from various gangs unless he finds a lottery ticket he has no way of finding.
Numbers is not just a Mal novel, but a Mal and Jackie novel. What does this entail? It means that Mal is not the only character we have an interest in, but who is Jackie. He is Mal’s friend since childhood, but also ex-special forces, and current gangster and extortioner of local businesses, including Mal’s. This is a friendship that should not work, but in many ways is perfect. Intensely loyal but also messed up.
With Jackie being in part to blame for Mal’s lottery ticket to pain, he takes it upon himself to protect Mal in the only way he knows how; intimidation and breaking heads. The book focuses on Mal, but Jackie is a large part of the story, drifting in and out when needed. Mal may take a few beatings, but Jackie will always be back later to return the favour. Dark mentions it in their acknowledgements, the feel of an Elvis and Cole dynamic is present, but even more dysfunctional.
This novel is dark but has also has a streak of macabre humour through it. It reminded me of the excellent Sean Duffy novels by Adrian Mckinty, and that is no bad thing. Dark has created a heightened version of a fictional northern existence, but there is a raw realness to it all. That sense of weight and tension of day-to-day life of being on a certain type of estate. The places to visit, the others to avoid. Mal must navigate these dangers whilst also dealing with the local gangsters and the Russians.
Numbers is the best crime novel I have read recently, it has a kitchen sink reality to it, but also the thrills and mischief you need in a novel that is not meant to be taken too seriously. There is also a genuine crime story at the centre, with a mystery, twists and a whodunnit that is not the easiest to predict. The central pairing of Mal and Jackie is outstanding, a really messed up relationship of two best friends who are good and bad for one another. I look forward to more tales set in this world with this oddly violent couple.
Written on 4th September 2026 by Sam Tyler .
Topics and themes
Tone & Pace
Themes
Setting
Content/Warnings
General
You may also like
-
![The Hotel AvocadoBob Mortimer]()
General FictionSimilar:Welcome to the Hotel Avocado , such a lovely book; is something The Eagles might have said, had they known Bob Mortimer was writing again. When I reviewed The Satsuma Complex I came to it braced for disappointment and left it grinning like an idiot, having been thoroughly disarmed by a debut that ha...
-
![The Sign of NineG. S. Denning]()
FantasySimilar:Warlock Holmes is back. No, not Sherlock, Warlock. If you think about it, what makes more sense; a man who can somehow divine everything from a few clues, or a Warlock who just uses magic to do the same? The Sign of Nine continues the premise that Sir Conan Doyle’s original stories were actually edi...
-
![King’s JusticeMaurice Broaddus]()
FantasySimilar:King’s Justice is the second novel in the Knights of Breton Court series and the sequel to the phenomenal novel King maker by Maurice Broaddus. From the drug gangs of downtown Indianapolis, the one true king will arise. Spurred on with ever more urgent visions by his mystic advisor Merle, King attem...
-
![Small Town HorrorRonald Malfi]()
HorrorSimilar:The horror genre has taught me how to deal with events that happened in my childhood. If you and a bunch of friends accidently run over a homeless person or set fire to a witch, the best thing is just to admit it without delay and take your lumps. You see, no matter how many years pass, they always...
-
![Police at the Station and They Don't Look FriendlyAdrian McKinty]()
General FictionSimilar:There are times in history that don’t seem very funny and if you lived through them you would find it hard to laugh. The 1970/80s in Northern Ireland may just be one such era as sectarian violence means that you are always wary of your surroundings. This is exemplified for Detective Inspector Sean D...
-
![House of Open WoundsAdrian Tchaikovsky]()
FantasySimilar:There are authors that you love because you can pick up one of their books and know what you are going to get, like putting on your favourite pair of comfortable slippers again. There is also that rarer breed of author that you love, maybe even a little bit more. Those authors that will not be pigeo...
-
![Serial Killers IncorporatedAndy Remic]()
FantasySimilar:Serial Killers Incorporated is a dark urban fantasy novel by Andy Remic and published by Anarchy Books. Callaghan is a drug and drink fuelled, womanising, amoral, hardcore photographer for the tabloid rag Black & White. He's a guy with very few redeeming features (if any) and his journey on the road...
-
![Lies SleepingBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasySimilar:Lies Sleeping is the seventh book (eighth if you count The Furthest Station) in the impressive River of London urban fantasy series, following Peter Grant - detective constable for the metropolitan police and apprentice wizard. It looks like time may finally be up for the Faceless Man (Martin Chorle...
-
![The Satsuma ComplexBob Mortimer]()
General FictionSimilar:There is a nervousness that descends when a beloved celebrity, especially a comedian, announces they have written a book. We have all been burned before and will probably continue to be (I still haven't been able to finish reading The Book of Elsewhere ). The celebrity novel is a well-established ge...
-
![StringersChris Panatier]()
Science FictionSimilar:Comedy combined with Science Fiction is rare because it is so hard to do. When it clicks though it is worthwhile as you get some absolute classics such as Red Dwarf or Hitchhiker's . Those are mighty large shoes to try and fill, but Chris Panatier is giving it a go in Stringers , a book that feels l...
