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Underdogs
- Author
- Louise Powell
- Narrator
- Lawrence Neale
- Publisher
- John Murray Press
- Publish Date
- 2 July 2026
- Run Time
- 7 hours 1 minute
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
'A spirited and heartwarming portrait of a fast-dying community, and the dogs are wonderful' FT
'These hands,' he said, and spread the paira them out wide so we could see the callouses and the little lines of coal dust underneath his skin; 'these hands were made to pick out summat precious from somewhere that doesn't wanna give it up.'
County Durham, 1998. The pits have closed and jobs are hard to come by, but charismatic ex-miner Bertie has a plan. He runs an underground gambling ring at the local dog track which offers down-on-their-luck blokes a way to turn their life around.
Reg's ten-year-old son George knows his dad hasn't been the same since Mam died, and the letters with scary red type that keep coming through the door can't be good news. So when Bertie offers Reg and George the chance to race Goldie, a beautiful fawn greyhound, they jump at the opportunity.
To succeed they'll need to learn how to navigate the larger-than-life world of the flapping track, all while dark secrets from Bertie's past threaten to unravel the operation. Do Reg and George have what it takes to pull off the gamble of a lifetime?
'A love letter to a disappearing community' Service95
'Beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, funny . . . At times my own heart was racing as if with the dogs . . . a story of love, of loss, of hope; of life and how to live it even when the chips are down' JENNY KNIGHT, author of Wild Moon Rising
'Told with a full-blooded voice that is as quick and alive as the hounds that fill its pages, Underdogs captures a forgotten way of life in a forgotten part of England with rare honesty and wit ' SCOTT PRESTON, author of The Borrowed Hills
Critics Review
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Beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, funny . . . At times my own heart was racing as if with the dogs . . . a story of love, of loss, of hope; of life and how to live it even when the chips are down
Jenny Knight
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Told with a full-blooded voice that is as quick and alive as the hounds that fill its pages, Underdogs captures a forgotten way of life in a forgotten part of England with rare honesty and wit
Scott Preston
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A fast‑paced, fun and tender story of family, connection and community - all carried by a brilliantly distinctive voice
Han Smith
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An original, authentic and distinctly northern tale delivered with a strong sense of compassion for its characters and their community. Powell works consistently within the lingual constraints of her chosen voice and its dialect, the repetitions and rhythms, pushing at its limits to produce a kind of poetry unique to itself
Shaun Wilson
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Louise Powell may not be the first writer to poke a stick into the smouldering remains of the Durham coalfield, but she leads us into a world as vivid and authentic as any dreamed up by her hero, Sid Chaplin
Michael Chaplin
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The love, loss, and craic of the flapping track brings Underdogs to life, delicately balancing larger-than-life characters with the struggles they endure . . . a masterful piece of storytelling
Ben Halls
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Representation of regional voices in novels is always a winner for me . . . a memorable book full of grit and heart. Odds on other readers will love it as much as I did
Emma Purshouse
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A touching tale of familial bonds and ruptures in a tough world, Underdogs is raw and rich in humanity
Buzz
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Captures life on the fringes . . . Written in local vernacular, Underdogs rings true from first page to last
The Crack
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More than just a tale about greyhounds . . . Family and community are central to this story, with the humour and compassion of a wonderful cast of characters radiating off the pages
Irish Examiner
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An unemployed widower, down to his last idea to keep a roof over his small son's head, inserts himself into a scheme to put one over on the bookies with a greyhound racing coup. A winning blend of pathos and hilarity ensues, as the project stubbornly refuses to go to plan.
Strong Words
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Louise Powell
- Narrator
- Lawrence Neale
- Duration
- 7 hours 1 minute
- Release Date
- 2 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781399836258
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- John Murray Press
- Genre
- Fiction: literary and general non-genre, Family life fiction / Stories about family
Synopsis
'A powerful debut with plenty of northern soul . . . it's these untold stories that need to be on the page - now more than ever' BENJAMIN MYERS, Guardian 'A spirited and heartwarming portrait of a fast-dying community, and the dogs are wonderful' FT'These hands,' he said, and spread the paira them out wide so we could see the callouses and the little lines of coal dust underneath his skin; 'these hands were made to pick out summat precious from somewhere that doesn't wanna give it up.' County Durham, 1998. The pits have closed and jobs are hard to come by, but charismatic ex-miner Bertie has a plan. He runs an underground gambling ring at the local dog track which offers down-on-their-luck blokes a way to turn their life around. Reg's ten-year-old son George knows his dad hasn't been the same since Mam died, and the letters with scary red type that keep coming through the door can't be good news. So when Bertie offers Reg and George the chance to race Goldie, a beautiful fawn greyhound, they jump at the opportunity. To succeed they'll need to learn how to navigate the larger-than-life world of the flapping track, all while dark secrets from Bertie's past threaten to unravel the operation. Do Reg and George have what it takes to pull off the gamble of a lifetime?'A love letter to a disappearing community' Service95'Beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, funny . . . At times my own heart was racing as if with the dogs . . . a story of love, of loss, of hope; of life and how to live it even when the chips are down' JENNY KNIGHT, author of Wild Moon Rising'Told with a full-blooded voice that is as quick and alive as the hounds that fill its pages, Underdogs captures a forgotten way of life in a forgotten part of England with rare honesty and wit ' SCOTT PRESTON, author of The Borrowed Hills
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