Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 Summary

Deadfolk, by Charlie Williams, is the story of a young thug named Royston Blake who works as a doorman at a bar in a small English town. The novel, a vivid and often uncomfortable portrait of small-town ignorance and violence in the style of hardboiled crime fiction, revolves around events pertaining to the death of Blake's wife, Beth, in an after-hours fire at the bar. Chapter 1 begins with a newspaper report of her death at age 25 in the club, called Hoppers. The article says the joint owner, Lee Munton, and Blake, age 28, were questioned. The story then switches to a first-person account by Blake, who is standing outside town on East Bloater Road when he sees a van known as the Meat Wagon going past. The Meat Wagon's presence worries him, and he gets into his own Ford Capri...