Navigating the 29 locks of the Union Canal system, Donny’s mission to the city is so he can reunite with his mother who is due to be released from prison, while Zoe’s mission is to meet with a modelling agency and pose for strip photos.

The story that unfolds brings in elements of our society that are hard to imagine for most people but the reality is they cut across, through and under our lives. A story that is narrated in first person, which I prefer as you get to know the character and Donny is a lad that I warmed to immediately on his and Zoe's journey of the 29 locks.Donny as a character feels startlingly real: naive at times but still someone who has seen far too much too soon. Locks is dark, the world within the book is gritty and one that opens the reader's eyes to the reality of the world some have no choice of being a part of but there is also hope. Donny's fate as I say, seems sealed and he's to be either an addict or responsible for others no matter what he does.

But things go wrong around him and he's taken back into the system due to events that are out of his control.When Donny’s bored, rich, white girlfriend Zoe is offered a dubious modelling audition, the couple ‘borrow’ a barge and navigate the 29 locks on the canal system from Hertfordshire down into Kings Cross. We lived right by it in Ware, and I just loved the idea of walking down the towpath and seeing Donny, Zoe and Ziggy the dog cruise by on Zuma Jay! However, I liked Donny and rooted for him, and would've liked to have seen more depth to his character development.

Set between the violent estates of inner-city London and the rural home counties, 29 Locks tells the story of 15-year-old Donny, an ex-gang member from Hackney who is fostered outside of London after the disappearance of his beloved mother. I studied English Literature at university and have taught in secondary schools for 23 years, including 15 years at an inner-city London comprehensive. The novel offers a disturbing insight into the plight of unaccompanied child refugees in the camps around Calais. I’m really looking forward to bringing 29 Locks to readers, and to publishing many more stories from Nicola.All except Zoe, the spoilt but emotionally denied girl in school who becomes not only his best friend but the beginning of the new Donny. Now 15 years old, he and Zoe, his posh girlfriend and aspiring model, make the journey back to London to reunite with Donny’s mother.

Nicola Garrad has painted a harsh and vivid picture that is an immersive, entertaining and educating (for some anyway) read. I am a child of a underprivileged family and could empathise with Donny on some levels and Nicola Garrard has excellently portrayed this in 29 Locks. I missed him when I finished reading 29 Locks, and I think that’s the best compliment I can pay a character! The main character starts his journey in London and is involved in a gang so you really get to care about him and what he's going through in his life. Life in the rural Home Counties is a bit like landing on another planet but doing work experience on the Hertford Union Canal, Donny feels like he's finally found his purpose.

No, what 29 Locks has is the ability to knock the reader down and make them sorely wish you could help Donny escape what seems to be an inevitable conclusion - another teenage addict, a runner for some arrogant faceless monster who loves money and cares little about consequences, a name on a faded memorial. Yet there are moments of humour too, as Donny and his new friends navigate countless dangers in an attempt to build a brighter future.