The Royston Vendetta

By: Riley, W. J.

Royston Hamilton is not in charge.
That's the problem.

When a small criminal operation realigns after the boss's incarceration, Royston Hamilton finds himself promoted sideways rather than upwards. He isn't feared. He isn't respected. He's simply the one who answers the phone, writes everything down, and keeps the system from collapsing.

What follows isn't a rise to power, more a narrowing of options.

Across betting shops, salons, pubs, a charity shop, kitchens and prison visiting rooms, Royston becomes indispensable without ever becoming dominant. Authority is exercised quietly, through administration, correction, timing and containment, all under the watchful eye of overbearing legal counsel, Annabelle. Threats are implied rather than spoken, Ebay purchases are disciplined and livestock is used sparingly for only the most irritating of debtors. Violence is delegated rather than performed whilst Frank Codd disapproves from his cell at HMP Wakefield.

Retired teachers dispense practical criminal advice with the same politeness they once used in classrooms, lawyers reduce chaos to paperwork, ferrets send messages, blimps are kidnapped, rumours harden into fact simply by being repeated and every interaction is observed, logged, and re-used later.

The Royston Vendetta is a restrained crime novel about how power actually works when nobody is in charge enough to own it. There are no heroes, no redemption arcs and no grand action set pieces - only systems, habits, and people who mistake usefulness for control.

The book builds deliberately, ending not with spectacle... but with a closed chippy door in Featherstone.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G7CV8652
• ISBN13: 9798278858751
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"