Easily in the top five books I have read this year!
Excellent murder mystery that takes place In Glasgow Scotland in 1932, historical fiction at it absolute best.
Outstanding complicated but easy to understand story.
Definitely check out this book! ( )

Harsh underbelly of 1930’s Glasgow!

Heart stopping historical criminal murder investigation set in Glasgow in early 1930’s going back to First World War in 1913.
Jimmy Dreghorn and Archie McDaid are part of a new Special Crime Squad, (under an English commander) put together to combat the various gangs and murders, graft and corruption that’s spreading throughout the city
Dreghorn, an ex boxer and army sergeant, has been asked to head a murder inquiry into the death of the Charles Geddes, son-in-law to the most powerful ship builder in Glasgow, Sir Iain Lockhart. Geddes is also brother-in-law to Rory Lockhart whom Dreghorn fought with, shoulder by shoulder in the trenches.
His investigation will take him from rival gangs, to Trinity Village, a home for pregnant girls, and back to the Lockhart family and to the daughter of the house, Isla, his first love.
His search circles, always circling around the links of the now and of the past.
Incredibly raw and sad as we witness lives suffered in poverty and squalor, and equally as damning, those who don’t.
An exposition of the various faces of humanity.
As Morrison explains in his notes, Dreghorn is a man of”contrasts and contradictions: passionate and romantic, yet cynical and pragmatic when need be; good-humored and possessed of a lust for life, yet brooding and taciturn when faced with injustice; tough, yet tender and caring; patriotic and politically aware, yet distrustful and disdainful of those who hold power; and always punching above his weight.”
A man made for this environment. A man who comes off as tough, and yet time and time again understands how innocence is lost and how people come to be as they are, except when there are no excuses.
I’m so looking forward to the next in the series!

A Random House-Ballantine ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change ( )

Scottish-noir, Glasgow, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, 1932, first-in-series, new-series, law-enforcement, procedural, gangs, suspense, thriller, crime-fiction, detective, unputdownable, violence, murder-investigation, due-diligence, domestic-violence, police-corruption, political-corruption, triggers*****

Detective Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his partner, Detective Sergeant Archie McDaid lead the murder investigation when the body of an influential man is found floating in the River Clyde. The investigation is the main story but, of necessity, tells of the state of the country and the world at that time. I geek history, but I also worked ER for a number of years and found parts of it too true not to be triggers. Good but brutal writing.
I requested and received an EARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam via NetGalley. ( )

Four and one-half stars

Review of Uncorrected eBook File

Detective Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn leads the murder investigation when the body of Sir Iain Lockhart’s son-in-law, Charles Geddes, is found floating in the River Clyde. With his partner, Detective Sergeant Archie McDaid, he seeks answers while dealing with the Glasgow gangs and the corruption that seems rife throughout the city.

Trying to keep his past with the Lockhart family from influencing his investigation, Dreghorn doggedly searches for answers as he tackles gangs, corruption, and religious bigotry.

Who is responsible for cutting Gedde’s throat and dumping his body into the Clyde? And why was the man murdered?

=========

This tale of 1930s Glasgow is filled with violence and danger. Corruption is rife within the police department; respect for the officers is nonexistent. The Depression hasn’t helped; gangs run rampant throughout the city. It is against this backdrop that readers meet Jimmy Dreghorn and Archie McDaid.

Anchored by a strong sense of place, the telling of this tale highlights the violence, the danger, the corruption that the detectives face. Backstories slowly reveal Dreghorn’s relationship with the Lockhart family: Sir Iain’s sponsorship and training of young Jimmy as a boxer, his relationship with Isla, his service during World War I.

Characters are nuanced and believable; the plot twisty and intriguing. It’s a dark, brutal, violent tale, certain to be disturbing for some readers. And yet the telling of this tale is riveting, keeping the reader glued to the page. The history is impeccable, the story both illuminating and tragic.

Readers who enjoy historical crime fiction will find much to ponder in this ominous tale.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#EdgeoftheGrave #NetGalley ( )

This review contains spoilers.

****

When I heard that Robbie Morrison, aka the comic-book author who I feel really GETS the Twelfth Doctor in comic form, had written a mystery novel set in Glasgow, I was sold immediately. Glasgow crime novels are like catnip to me, and it’s always good to support a liked author if they’re trying something new.

The atmosphere and setting are superb, very well done. Morrison has clearly done his research (Quintinshill railway disaster, anyone?) and used his own experiences of the city to good effect (his author’s note is interesting). The pairing of short thin Dreghorn and tall wide McDaid is a classic setup and they make a good team, with plenty of brains and brawn to solve the mystery.

There is a LOT going on in this book though, and disturbing stuff at that: death-related sexual fetishes, prostitution, corruption, pedophilia, AND incest. Most of these developments are piled on in the last third of the book, and it was just Too Much. Especially because I already felt the book was on the long side—it’s mildly embarrassing to me that I find 400+-page books long these days, but for a mystery novel, it feels excessive.

I’m not sure where this series is going to go next, given how much was thrown into this one, but I’d likely borrow any future books from the library (as I did with this one).

Where to go next: This book has an epigraph from The Papers of Tony Veitch, by William McIlvanney, so if you haven’t read the Laidlaw series, that would be a good next choice. I also recommend Craig Russell’s Lennox series, which is set about 20 years after Edge of the Grave. ( )