Bloody January

When an 18-year-old boy shoots a young woman dead in the middle of a busy Glasgow street and then commits suicide, McCoy knows it can’t be a random act of violence. With a newbie partner in tow, McCoy uses his underworld network to build a picture of a secret society run by Glasgow’s wealthiest family, the Dunlops. Drugs, sex, incest; every nefarious predilection is catered to, at the expense of the lower echelon of society, an underclass that includes McCoy’s best friend from reformatory school – drug-Tsar Stevie Cooper – and his on-off girlfriend, a prostitute, Janey. But with McCoy’s boss calling off the hounds, and his boss’ boss unleashing their own, the Dunlops are apparently untouchable. McCoy has other ideas.

Bloody January (World Noir)

By Alan Parks

Europa Editions

ISBN #978-1609454487

Price $17.00 (paperback)

Price $8.69 (Kindle)

331 Pages

Rating 3-Stars

I was given a copy of the book from the publisher for an honest review. Detective Harry McCoy doesn’t always play by the rules, but he’s a tough cop, and won’t stop his investigation once on the scent. Receiving a tip about an upcoming murder, he dives in only to be met with obstacles from the rich and influential, as well as his own superiors in the “shop”.

This is Glasgow in 1973, and the author paints a picture of its citizens and seedy byways in a panorama of visual scenes and characters in the turmoil of drugs, sex, incest, and murder, where it’s difficult to distinguish the upper class from the sewer rats.

This was a good mystery, with good characters, but I can’t help thinking it could have been handled with more finesse. We have bright, intelligent, educated characters that have trouble speaking words longer than four letters, and the profanity was above board in my opinion.  The story could have used a little less profanity, and a bit more intelligent thought, perhaps.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

Strange Loyalties

This third book in the series begins with Jack Laidlaw’s despair and anger at his brother’s death in a banal road accident. His questions as to the dynamics of his bother’s death lead to larger questions about the nature of pain and injustice about meaning of his own life. Laidlaw is determined to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Scott Laidlaw’s death. His investigations will lead to a confrontation with his own past and a harrowing journey into the dark Glasgow underworld.

Strange Loyalties (Murder Mystery/Scottish Noir)

By William McIlvanney

Europa Editions www.europaeditions.com

ISBN #978-1609452537

Price $13.35 (paperback)

256 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

Jack Laidlaw is trying to come to terms with his brother’s death. Apparently, while drunk; Scott Laidlaw walked in front of a car, some saying suicide, others that it was just an accident, but Jack wants to find out what led up to that night, and his brother’s rendezvous with sudden death

His investigation starts uncovering problems in Scott’s life, including a failed marriage, and a mysterious night in college when Scott’s life seemed to change to a darkness that Jack never suspected. While he’s on a personal search, his police team is searching for a killer that may connect in some way back to Scott.

This was another interesting look into the Glasgow underworld where drugs and murder are the normal way of life, and where Jack seems to be pulled deeper into it’s bottomless pit of darkness and inhuman savagery, while his own family drifts apart. Although most of the story surrounds Jack’s family and friends, the book kept my interest, and is another deep look into the dark underworld of Glasgow. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

The Papers of Tony Veitch

The Papers of Tony Veitch (Noir Mystery)

By William McIlvanney

Europa Editions www.europaeditions.com

ISBN #978-1609452247

Price $16.00

274 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“The Formula Is Tough, And So Is Jack Laidlaw.”

Glasgow Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw is called to the deathbed of Eck Adamson, a old wino he had once befriended. In the hospital he learns that the old man was poisoned, and Eck mumbles something about it being in his wine. Who would kill an old bum that had never harmed anyone? A piece of paper contains a poetic message in an educated writing, while Eck wrote names on the same paper. These names lead Laidlaw and his partner, Detective Constable Brian Harkness into the underworld and to people living in mansions. Is the murder of a gangster and a missing university student tied into the same mystery?

Jack Laidlaw is a maverick within the Glasgow police department, following his own instincts instead of police procedural. Where the police know the names of city streets, Laidlaw knows the city. It is part of him, and he of it. He’s not afraid to venture into the badlands if it will bring him information to a murderer, and he knows the underworld as well as himself.

The author doesn’t just write mysteries, his stories penetrate the lives of the people involved.  Jack Laidlaw is human, he feels the loss of life, the waste of humanity in the dark side streets where men kill, and others struggle to survive.  He’s not perfect, as he is estranged from his own family, and struggles with his own failings. But like a bloodhound, he keeps to the trail until the case is solved, and a killer is brought to justice. Mystery fans will love the Jack Laidlaw noir series.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

Laidlaw

Laidlaw (Crime)

By William McIlvanney

ISBN #978-1609452018

Europa Edition www.europaeditions.com

250 Pages

Price $12.00

Rating 5-Stars

“Laidlaw Takes The Reader Through The Dark Streets of Glasgow In This Character Study Of An Unorthodox Detective.”

In an abandoned building within a run-down section of Glasgow, a young homosexual boy kills a girl in a fit of rage, as they are involved in a sex act. Calling his male lover, he asks for help, and this brings about several forces that will eventually come together. Part of the police investigative team is Laidlaw, a detective who moves in odd directions to solve a case, while the other team uses strict police procedural. The father of the girl wants to kill the boy with his own hands, while the boy’s lover works to keep him alive and get him out of town. But the man he calls wants the boy dead also, and hires his own killer. Can Laidlaw and his partner reach the boy before he is killed? It’s a rush for one side to bring a killer to trial, while the other side wants to kill a monster.

There is never a mystery to the crime, as the reader knows from the start who killed the girl and why. The main story surrounds Laidlaw, and his, perhaps, strange ways. I think his wife explains him a little for us. With love long since gone from their marriage, when he walks into her room, she says to herself, “Introducing in the red corner.” Laidlaw had been an amateur boxer, and in a way he was still fighting the world. It was definitely an interesting story, and kept me turning the pages. For readers who find local dialect charming in a book, I admit its use here made the dialogue hard to follow for me. Highly recommended for mystery readers who enjoy characters working outside the norm to solve a murder case.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories