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The Dark Remains by William McIlvanney & Ian Rankin
The Dark Remains is undeniably authentic and a true testament to everything Glasgow was in the ’70s and ’80s. I haven’t had the pleasure of reading the Laidlaw series by the late and great William McIlvanney but I will be rectifying that as soon as possible. Gangland Glasgow and its brutal violence and its territorial wars, the tone was set and it was addictive as it was horrifying. Ian Rankin had massive shoes to fill but he laced them up, took pen to paper, and paid homage to Scotland’s father of Tartan Noir. The Dark Remains is just that, dark. It doesn’t pull any punches, it doesn’t pretty anything up,…
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Neon by G.S. Locke | Blog Tour
Anyone that has stuck around this blog for any length of time knows that I’m an avid reader of psychological thriller but when a serious crime element is thrown in for good measure, you know I’m anyone’s. It wasn’t necessarily the twist that I was waiting for that made Neon so good but the devilishly dark narrative that the plot took on from the very first page. Not only is the death of a spouse a traumatic event, but for it to have been a targeted attack by the man you are actively investigating is a blow professionally and personally. I greedily accepted the blog tour invitation for Neon like…
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Review: The Girls in the Lake (Beth Adams #2) by Helen Phifer
The water is beautiful. The water will also pull you under into its murky depths without a care or a thought about race, gender or social standing. If you don’t grant it the respect it so deserves it will unleash its power and it isn’t a battle you are going to win. The Girls in the Lake is a steady paced police procedural which picks up a few weeks after book 1. I felt that the first half of the novel was slower paced but it took off like a rocket in the second half. The story is centred around the main character, Dr Beth Adams, a forensic pathologist. She…
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A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone
The dark sense of Scottish humour has never been utilised to its full potential. Until now. A Dark Matter is a multi-layered double entendre that is pushing itself to the surface. It capitulates the dreich weather, the wounds that get hidden by alcohol but it’s all held up by the innate will of three immensely strong female characters. They are determined. They are strong and above all…no-one should try to fuck them over! Orenda Books is my go-to publisher for crime fiction and when you find an author that drips in his skill for getting the average scots character down, you know you’re onto a winner. We have a trio…
