The first time I met Harold Challenor, he frisked me for weapons – I was ten years old.

Bent is the explosive story of the rise and fall of SAS commando, and notorious Detective Sergeant, Harold 'Tanky’ Challenor.

During the Second World War, Challenor was parachuted behind enemy lines into Italy and France, performing remarkable feats of bravery.

In the grimy underbelly of 1960s Soho, he was a ferocious and controversial presence, mediating between factions of club owners and racketeers, and cultivating informers.

But just how far will he go to break the protection gang that has a grip on his manor?

It can be a fine line that divides hero and villain.

A virtuoso novel, Bent is socially conscious, thematically bold, and stylistically daring.