Harry McCoy is a cop who's treading a very thin line between his work in the "polis" and as a friend to gangland boss-in-waiting Cooper.
He's a policeman with a dark childhood - a mother who had a breakdown and a succession of children's homes - who got fostered by Murray (his now boss).
It's that past that very much forms the present day story. Cooper is the kid who went through the system with him and a friendship of sorts remains, despite the fact that they are now on opposing paths.
The story revolves around a set of murders but isn't a whodunnit kind of tale. We find out very quickly who's responsible for the deaths - however the murderer is the ex-henchman of Scobie, the most powerful gangster in Glasgow, a guy who knows how to look after himself.
The death scenes are very graphic and besides the murders there are also parallel storylines relating to mental health and historic child abuse. Therefore it's not one for the faint hearted but if gritty crime is your kind of genre you will love this. I raced through it and look forward to reading more in this series.
He's a policeman with a dark childhood - a mother who had a breakdown and a succession of children's homes - who got fostered by Murray (his now boss).
It's that past that very much forms the present day story. Cooper is the kid who went through the system with him and a friendship of sorts remains, despite the fact that they are now on opposing paths.
The story revolves around a set of murders but isn't a whodunnit kind of tale. We find out very quickly who's responsible for the deaths - however the murderer is the ex-henchman of Scobie, the most powerful gangster in Glasgow, a guy who knows how to look after himself.
The death scenes are very graphic and besides the murders there are also parallel storylines relating to mental health and historic child abuse. Therefore it's not one for the faint hearted but if gritty crime is your kind of genre you will love this. I raced through it and look forward to reading more in this series.