AUTHORS John Plimmer and Bob Long are unlikely literary bedfellows.

The pair grew up together. They were members of street gangs during the late Fifties and Sixties, had similar backgrounds and lived in neighbouring districts. But when they left school, they went their separate ways.

Plimmer joined the police force, while Long turned to crime. Plimmer spent his life with the police, retiring as detective superintendent with West Midlands Police in 1997 after 31 years' service. Long became a professional armed robber and served two lengthy terms in jail as a Category A prisoner.

In a strange twist of fate, Plimmer once arrested Long at the scene of a robbery.

A few years ago the pair teamed up as writers to draw from their experiences.

Their first collaboration, Inside Track, was a success, and their second, Running With The Devil, a tough, gritty crime thriller, should win them a few more friends.

It's a semi-auto biographical novel about a cop, Detective chief Inspector Jack Priestley, and his best friend, reformed criminal Steve Blade.

Blade is jailed for drug smuggling, but it's all a facade. He is working for British Secret Service, on a mission to track down an illegal arms dealer who has links with a Government minister.

Priestley becomes involved and the pair are soon up to their necks in murder, blackmail and espionage. It's a mission which pushes friendship to the limits.