- Author
- Malcolm Mackay
- ARRSE Rating
- 3 Mushroom Heads
The title of this book is as strange as the background story to the main tale. Set in a Scotland which has never been linked to England, which made a success of the Darien Project and founded an empire which has gone into decline. The town this is set in is Challaid in the north west of Scotland and which used to be the shipping and industrial centre of Scotland. The book says Challaid is set on Loch Eribol which places it just round the corner from Cape Wrath, however it is not hard to swap Challaid for Glasgow. Now, as I say, that is the background to the story but has very little to do with the actual events! I think it is just the author having a wee trip down fantasy lane.
The story itself is a fairly straight forward crime story. Private Investigators have to be licenced by the local police but the company our main character, Darian Ross, is not flavour of the month with the local plod so they work as Researchers, not PIs. A charismatic young woman comes to Ross as her partner has been stabbed and killed but the police are not too fussed as he was suspected as being part of the local crime scene as a money launderer.
Ross is warned off by the local police and the villain of the piece is the Internal Affairs Detective Inspector, DI Floran Corey, who has his fingers in many pies and feels that Ross is tramping on his area.
As Ross delves deeper into the crime world of Challaid life gets more and more dangerous for him. He no longer knows who to trust and who to believe, but he is certain about one thing – the police in his part of town are corrupt to the core.
If you can set aside the back plot of a Scotland that has never been politically attached to England, stop changing Challaid for Glasgow and just settle down to a good crime story then you will find this a good book. The actual storyline is strong with good characterisation and a plausible plot.
Not one of the better tartan-noir books around but probably a good book for your summer hols, lounging beside the pool or on the beach soaking up the rays.
3 out of 5 from me for this book.
Amazon product
The story itself is a fairly straight forward crime story. Private Investigators have to be licenced by the local police but the company our main character, Darian Ross, is not flavour of the month with the local plod so they work as Researchers, not PIs. A charismatic young woman comes to Ross as her partner has been stabbed and killed but the police are not too fussed as he was suspected as being part of the local crime scene as a money launderer.
Ross is warned off by the local police and the villain of the piece is the Internal Affairs Detective Inspector, DI Floran Corey, who has his fingers in many pies and feels that Ross is tramping on his area.
As Ross delves deeper into the crime world of Challaid life gets more and more dangerous for him. He no longer knows who to trust and who to believe, but he is certain about one thing – the police in his part of town are corrupt to the core.
If you can set aside the back plot of a Scotland that has never been politically attached to England, stop changing Challaid for Glasgow and just settle down to a good crime story then you will find this a good book. The actual storyline is strong with good characterisation and a plausible plot.
Not one of the better tartan-noir books around but probably a good book for your summer hols, lounging beside the pool or on the beach soaking up the rays.
3 out of 5 from me for this book.
Amazon product
