Synopsis/blurb….
A gritty crime
thriller. Glasgow man Bill Ingram waits in the city's Central Station to meet
his daughter, returning home from London for Christmas. When the last train
pulls in, and she doesn't get off it, he makes a desperate overnight dash to
find out why. His search for her takes over his life, costing him his job and,
as he withdraws from home, family and friends, he finds himself alone,
despairing of ever seeing her again.
Some long overdue thoughts on this one seeing as I read it
back in April!
My third outing with Scottish author Alan Jones and a much
darker journey this time.
Bill Ingram, a widower has to give up his life in Glasgow to
investigate the disappearance of his only daughter Carol, after getting the bum’s
rush from the police.
An interesting book, seeing Bill try and unpick the threads
of the previous six months of his daughter’s life in an effort to find hint as
to what may have happened to her. Catching up with some old work colleagues,
gives Bill the first indications that his daughter’s life went alarmingly off
the rails quickly.
The bright lights in the form of charismatic Albanian gangster
and nightclub owner Aleksander Gjebrea have seduced Carol. Sex, drugs, drink and
a party lifestyle until Aleksander tires of her. The charming façade hiding his
vicious nature.
Bill with some unlikely assistance from inside Alek’s club,
tries to bring the Albanian’s operation down and exact some retribution for
Carol and any other victim’s Gjebrea has used up and discarded along the way.
Bloody, violent, graphic, brutal – not too many light moments
during this journey, though to be fair our author tries to bring a bit of joy
back into Bill’s life in the form of Anna – the inside op in Alek’s nightclub. Anna
herself having ample reasons for seeing our Albanian brought to heel.
I'm a fan of darker books so all the above are compliments!
I'm a fan of darker books so all the above are compliments!
Overall verdict - enjoyable for the most part – with a couple of quibbles. I
couldn’t quite buy the romantic element of the tale given the disparity in ages
between our two avengers – though without such an event the book would have
been extremely bleak.
 |
| Alan Jones is a pen name. He wishes to retain anonymity for now. |
A second minor criticism is the author’s tendency to perhaps
over-explain every little detail. We are privy to Bill’s reasoning for every
action to the nth degree which irritated after a while. A bit more trust in
allowing the reader to join the dots up would have made for a more satisfying read
in my opinion.
4 from 5
Alan was kind enough to ping me a copy of this for review.
Read April, 2016
Fascinating book by the sounds of it. Thanks for the synopsis and your thoughts. Not heard of this writer but if I come across his books I may well be tempted. Thanks Col.
ReplyDeleteJane, I'd be curious to see what you think of it of you ever cross paths. The set-up and premise was good, I just felt he could have trusted the readers a bit more. It has mostly positive reviews on Amazon, but I've not read them to see if I'm a lone voice. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteHmmm...sounds like a really interesting premise, Col. I must say it sounds darker than I usually enjoy. But the setting and context are interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt probably is Margot, though I wouldn't want to put anyone off reading it.
DeleteSounds good. Glasgow . . . hm. Always a sucker for books set in Scotland, me -- though I assume most of it's in London?
ReplyDeleteYeah... I could have been clearer in my post - not too much occurs in Glasgow...sorry!
DeleteCol, this sounds a bit like the film "Taken" though probably more disturbing to read as a gritty crime novel than watch on the screen.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't really made a connection or comparison to anything else, though you're right. At the risk of spoilering - no happily ever after here.
DeleteProbably too gritty for me, but glad you enjoyed it with only a few reservations...
ReplyDeleteMaybe a bit too tough for you. His work seems to be getting darker with each book...
DeleteI remember that the 2nd one seemed too much for me and this one is even darker? I am sure he is a good author.... just too much for me.
ReplyDeleteHe does seems to be heading down ever-darker roads, Tracy - so maybe one for you to pass on.
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