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
Category: McIlvanney Prize
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
Feature: Bloody Scotland 2018
Torchlight procession Liam McIlvanney Fun Lovin' Crime Writers Crime writers ready to march on Stirling - Bloody Scotland 2018 preview Though a small nation, Scotland has a giant-sized love of books and storytelling. It's also apparently a bloodthirsty country, as a large number of its many book festivals are dedicated to crime fiction, with new … Continue reading Feature: Bloody Scotland 2018
The Girl With All The Crime Books 