1 September, 2020 - The McIlvanney Prize shortlist is announced Today Bloody Scotland unveils the shortlisted authors in contention for the 2020 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, sponsored by the Glencairn Glass. The shortlist for the 2020 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year:Andrew James Greig, Whirligig (Fledgling)Doug Johnstone, … Continue reading Featurette: McIlvanney shortlist
Category: McIlvanney Prize
Feature: Bloody Scotland programme
Bloody Scotland crime fiction festival swaps Stirling for cyberspace in 2020 The Golden Lion, 2019 Torchlight procession, 2019 The Curly Coo Bar, 2019 As was announced a few months ago, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Bloody Scotland will not be going ahead as normal in Stirling in September. However, the organisers have created a … Continue reading Feature: Bloody Scotland programme
Review: Bury Them Deep
James Oswald - Bury Them Deep James Oswald on his book tour in February Published by Wildfire Books hardback £16.99. Paperback (due out 3 September) £7.99. I was loaned a proof copy by a friend. James Oswald celebrated the launch of this tenth Tony McLean novel with a mini tour of Scotland in February when … Continue reading Review: Bury Them Deep
Review: Bad Memory
Lisa Gray - Bad Memory Thomas & Mercer paperback, £8.99. I bought this new. The path from journalist to novelist is a well-worn one, and for good reason - the love of and a confidence in the use of words, the discipline of writing to a deadline and the familiarity of being edited are staples … Continue reading Review: Bad Memory
Feature PS: Bloody Scotland 2019
The 2019 McIlvanney Prize longlist was one of the strongest I've seen in all the years I've been following it, and I say that having read the majority of it before the list was published, and the rest (bar the two debuts, marked *) since. I mean, just feast your eyes on all that crime … Continue reading Feature PS: Bloody Scotland 2019
Review: Conviction
Denise Mina - Conviction Published by Vintage, paperback £8.99. My review is of the hardback edition (Harvill Secker, £14.99) purchased new. The prologue - which speaks of telling the truth and reveals the fact our main character, Anna, is actually called Sophie - immediately puts your senses on high alert. Anna is married to Hamish, … Continue reading Review: Conviction
Review: The Way Of All Flesh
Ambrose Parry - The Way Of All Flesh Published by Canongate Books, paperback £8.99. I received a free proof copy (of the hardback edition) from the publisher for review purposes. The Way Of All Flesh begins, as so many hackneyed crime novels have done before, with a man standing over the dead body of a … Continue reading Review: The Way Of All Flesh
Review: Breakers
Doug Johnstone - Breakers Published by Orenda, paperback £8.99. I received a free proof copy from the publisher for review purposes. Much of Doug Johnstone’s work falls into two camps: action-packed (Smokeheads, Crash Land) or psychologically powerful (Gone Again, The Jump). Last year’s Fault Lines saw him weld these strands together and in Breakers he … Continue reading Review: Breakers
Review: A Treachery Of Spies
Manda Scott - A Treachery Of Spies Edition read: Corgi paperback, £8.99 I bought this new in paperback. We open with violence in Paris in 1942, and a voice: “You may die here in darkness if you so desire, but I have come to offer you a proposition.” Then we move swiftly south to Orléans … Continue reading Review: A Treachery Of Spies
Review: How The Dead Speak
Val McDermid - How The Dead Speak Published by Sphere, paperback £8.99. My review is of the Little Brown hardback edition (£18.99), which I bought new. I’ve been a big fan of Val McDermid’s books for many years, and Tony Hill and Carol Jordan are two of my favourite characters in crime fiction. I’ve reread … Continue reading Review: How The Dead Speak
The Girl With All The Crime Books 