‘Out of Darkness by Alex Gray

Published by Sphere,
21 March 2024.
SBN 978-1-4087-2929-8 (HB)

It is freezing cold in Glasgow so to celebrate Detective Superintendent William Lorimer’s fiftieth birthday; his wife Maggie suggests they take an extended holiday somewhere warm. They settle on Zimbabwe, the birthplace of their refugee friend and former Zimbabwean police inspector Daniel Kohi. Daniel was forced to flee his country after his undercover investigations into police corruption were exposed and his home burnt whilst it contained his wife and son.

Daniel is now well established in Scotland: he is a constable with Police Scotland, has a relationship with DS Molly Newton and shares a flat with his wonderfully endearing, elderly friend, Netta Gordon. Netta’s coded correspondence with Daniel’s mother, Janelle, is the only contact Daniel has with his homeland as he, too, was believed to have been killed in the fire that obliterated his family.  Unfortunately, corrupt police and politicians in Zimbabwe get wind of Daniel’s presence in Glasgow and once again he becomes a target for their revenge.

On their dream holiday in Zimbabwe, Lorimer and Maggie run into serious danger after they try, unsuccessfully, to visit Daniel’s mother. Already fearful for the safety of Janelle, when attempts are made to kill them between their trips to see the animals and birds roaming wild in isolated parts of the country, the Lorimers soon realise that they have also become targets.

Back in Glasgow the picture is further complicated when former criminal associates of Netta’s ne'er-do-well husband attempt to break into the Daniel and Netta’s flat and then start killing each other. DI Diana Miller and DS Newton try to untangle events as they seek to determine the connections between Daniel’s current enemies and Netta’s husband’s murky past.

Although this story leaves you in no doubt about the serious problems of police brutality and corruption in Zimbabwe, some of the locations are so lovingly described that, if it wasn’t for all the nefarious happenings, you could easily imagine that you were simply reading the journal of an enthusiastic traveller. Out of Darkness, is a well plotted, easy to read, entertaining and engrossing book that, like its predecessors in the Lorimer series, carries you seamlessly along with its characters from start to finish.
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Reviewer Angela Crowther

Alex Gray was born 27 May 1950, Glasgow.  She was brought up in the Craigbank area of Glasgow and attended Hutchesons' Grammar School. She studied English and Philosophy at Strathclyde University and worked for a period in the Department of Health & Social Security before training as an English teacher.  In 1976 she lived in Rhodesia for three months, during which time she got married, and she and her husband returned to Scotland. She continued teaching until the 1990s, when she gave the profession up and began to write full-time. Her novels are all set around Glasgow and featuring the character of Detective Chief Inspector Lorimer and his psychological profiler Solomon Brightman.

Angela Crowther is a retired scientist.  She has published many scientific papers but, as yet, no crime fiction.  In her spare time Angela belongs to a Handbell Ringing group, goes country dancing and enjoys listening to music, particularly the operas of Verdi and Wagner.