IT'S A RACE FOR REVENGE...
Andy Catling’s 'Odds & Sods' bursts onto the literary track with the energy of a hot tip at the starting gate. A sharp and stylish first novel, the author uses his insider’s knowledge of horse racing and gambling to create a page-turner which oozes the grit of British crime fiction, the charm of a classic caper and the high-octane atmosphere of the racetrack.
Featuring a cast of wonderfully flawed and fiercely human characters, readers are immersed in an intoxicating blend of streetwise swagger, razor-edged wit, and an undercurrent of real emotional stakes. But this race-track tale is not just about pulsing suspense and the satisfaction of a well-laid con. It’s equally about the smoky allure of London’s illicit backrooms, the adrenaline of the gamble, and the uneasy truth that in both racing and life, the difference between triumph and disaster can be perilously thin.
A homage to Britain’s great caper tradition yet unmistakably original, Odds & Sods offers a fresh voice that’s whip-smart, cinematic, and unafraid to show the heart beating beneath the hustle. For readers who like their crime fiction fast, funny, and full of fight, this debut novel is well worth taking a punt on.
"In Odds & Sods, Andy Catling delivers a punchy debut steeped in the charged and illicit world of British horse racing. With hustlers, hidden agendas, and a score to settle, this is a pacy tale that brims with tension, dark humour, and the thrill of risk."
Andy was the subject of an interview by Racing Live about the novel Odds and Sods.
Click on the play button right to hear this lively 6 minute chat.
Set in smoky London Pubs, turf accountants and Newmarket racetrack 'ODDS & SODS' introduces McQueen, an engaging grifter, hell-bent on making a fortune by levelling up the score on bookies for the murder of his beloved grandfather.
Gabby, his con-artist partner, gets on board, along with French racehorse trainer, Francis Toussaint who has recently fled France after losing her stables and horses in an horrific arson attack by a a gang of villains. Hoping for vengeance she joins forces with McQueen and Gabby, securing a formidable racehorse for their scam and helps McQueen and his dream team of Cockney rebels and Northern souls prepare a 'race for revenge'.
But McQueen's meticulous planning doesn't factor in his old enemy, the sadistic underworld gang leader, Edinburgh's Lennox Docherty!
Was Team McQueen ready for Docherty?
And was Docherty ready for them?
Could anyone back down once they were off?
'Odds & Sods' is published by Troubadour Publishing Ltd. and is available from them in
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Author
Odds & Sods is Andy Catling’s first full-length fiction. His work is usually short stories, many of them imaginary meetings with celebrities, past and present, written with humour and comment on contemporary issues. In between shifts for the NHS as a former ward clerk, and his earlier work in the murky waters of estate agency, double glazing sales, and managing rock bands, he has always loved to write.
Born in 1957, Andy was involved in horse racing and gambling from the age of eighteen when he chalked up odds and results on a blackboard in his local North London bookmakers. Over the years he devised scores of madcap betting systems.
As a diehard Cockney, racehorse owner, form student, and weekend punter, Andy has yet to take much money from the bookmaker’s deep satchels.
Older and perhaps only a little wiser, he still has pipedreams about landing the jackpot. He lives with his wife in Bedfordshire and is conveniently located only a minute’s walk from a Paddy Power shop, but these days he usually spends his time at a desk, writing.
LESLEY NEARY
I loved this book. A real page turner, set in the world of horse racing and East End pubs. Mac and Gabby are engaging characters seeking revenge for Mac's grandfather. Francoise joins in the revenge game. Super ending.
GITTE MORTEN
Intricately plotted and exciting from the off, Odds & Sods is an old-fashioned page-turner with a cast of immensely likeable characters. Set in the world of small-time con artists who have one chance of pulling off the big job and get their revenge at the same time, expect smoky pubs, Cockney rhyming slang, a touch of continental sophistication and an almighty horse racing blag! I really enjoyed this and raced through it to find out if Mac and his merry band of ne’er do wells would get out of the final scrape to end all scrapes!
IAN SURRY
A fun romp through the murky world of horse race betting. Great characters and clever plotting keeps the action believable as they hurdle along to a hopeful huge windfall, whilst avoiding the dangerous, dark underworld. Loved it.
NETGALLEY REVIEW
Andy Catling’s Odds & Sods is a whip-smart, smoky-glassed caper that gallops through the underbelly of British horse racing with the swagger of a Guy Ritchie film and the heart of a Dickensian rogue tale. It’s a debut that doesn’t just flirt with genre tropes—it cons them, races past them, and leaves them in the dust.
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