‘The Killing Connection’ by T F Muir

Published by Constable,
1^st March 2018.
ISBN: 978-1-47212-091-5 (PB)

Striking and magnificent the eastern Scotland landscape may be, but it can also be treacherous and menacing, especially when the weather does its worst. It certainly doesn't do DCI Andy Gilchrist any favours as he tries to track down an elusive serial killer in the latest of T F Muir's gripping tartan noir series set in and around St Andrews.

A woman's body washed up by the sea is only the beginning. Soon Andy and his fiercely loyal team find they are in pursuit of a ruthless murderer whose crimes go back decades and span continents. It doesn't take them long to learn why the killer has gone undetected for so long; despite their best efforts, he seems to have a knack for staying one step ahead no matter what they do.

They're not helped by the kind of winter storms that make most of us, Andy included, long for some sunshine – though in Scotland, apparently, they count as no more than a bit of a blow. Another hazard which keeps tripping them up is the new boss, Chief Superintendent Diane Smiley, ironically dubbed Smiler, of course. She seems intent on ensuring that Andy Gilchrist's tendency to bend rules and go off piste railroad him into early retirement, even though his tactics have made him the most successful detective in the force in terms of putting villains away.

But Andy thrives on the challenge of living on the edge, and as usual follows his instincts rather than the rules. He even makes slightly dodgy use of police resources to look into a couple of issues closer to home and unconnected with the case. His artist son is involved with a gallery owner who makes him feel uncomfortable; and his mouthy Glaswegian sergeant, Jessie Janes, is potentially head deep in trouble when her dysfunctional family life threatens to spin out of control.

Jessie has other problems, and is growing as a character in each book. So too is Jackie, the ace researcher with cerebral palsy, and Mhairi, the young DC determined to make her mark. The Killing Connection shows that T F Muir is every bit as adept at creating characters with depth as he is at weaving a complex plot and painting a scenic backdrop – and it's characters that see to it that a series has legs.

On this showing, the exploits of DCI Gilchrist and his team is set to run and run. And with that glorious Scottish landscape as a bonus, we must surely be looking at a TV series before too long.

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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick

T F Muir Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Frank was plagued from a young age with the urge to see more of the world than the rain sodden slopes of the Campsie Fells.  By the time he graduated from University with a degree he hated, he’d already had more jobs than the River Clyde has bends.  Short stints as a lumberjack in the Scottish Highlands and a moulder’s labourer in the local foundry convinced Frank that his degree was not such a bad idea after all.  Thirty-plus years of living and working overseas helped him appreciate the raw beauty of his home country.  Now a dual US/UK citizen, Frank makes his home in the outskirts of Glasgow, from where he visits St Andrews regularly to carry out some serious research in the old grey town’s many pubs and restaurants.  Frank is working hard on his next novel, another crime story suffused with dark alleyways and cobbled streets and some things gruesome.

http://www.frankmuir.co.uk

  

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years, and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives on the edge of rural Derbyshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.

‘Too Close to Breathe’ by Olivia Kiernan

Published by Riverrun Books. 

5 April 2018.

ISBN: 978-1-78648-986-9(HB).
ISBN: 978-1-78648-987-6(PB).

A distinguished microbiologist and part-time lecturer is found hanged at her home, and all the evidence points to her having killed herself. Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan, just returned to work after nearly dying from a knife attack that left her mentally and physically scarred, is assigned to the case. She quickly comes to the conclusion that scientist Eleanor Costello was murdered.

And so, Frankie and her team begin an investigation that takes them to the dark and seedy heart of Dublin, and more than one dead body will be left in the murderer’s shadow.

I thought Too Close To Breathe, the debut novel from Olivia Kiernan, was simply fabulous. Reminiscent of one of my favourite authors, Tana French, it had whip-smart dialogue, intricate plotting, on the money characterisation and beautiful writing – not a wasted word. I loved that Frankie Sheehan was a strong, more than capable protagonist with the requisite flaws who did not need a romance to define her.

It has to be said that the novel may not be for the faint-hearted, dealing as it does with suicide, abuse, BDSM and the Dark Web, But I feel Olivia Kiernan handles all the themes deftly and with sensitivity.

This cleverly plotted police procedural with its well-drawn together threads is the start of a new series and one of the best I have read in a long time. A gripping and accomplished first novel – I recommend it highly!

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Reviewer: Mary-Jane Riley

Olivia Kiernan is an Irish writer living in the UK and author of crime thriller, TOO CLOSE TO BREATHE. She was born and raised in County Meath, near the famed heritage town of Kells and holds an MA in Creative Writing awarded by the University of Sussex.

Mary-Jane Riley wrote her first story on her newly acquired blue Petite typewriter, when she was eight. When she grew up she had to earn a living and became a BBC radio talk show presenter and journalist. She has covered many life-affirming stories, but also some of the darkest events of the past two decades. Then, in true journalistic style, she decided not to let the facts get in the way of a good story and got creative. She wrote for women's magazines and small presses. She formed WriteOutLoud with two writer friends to help charities get their message across using their life stories. Now she is writing crime thrillers drawing on her experiences in journalism. Her third book, set in East Anglia and featuring investigative journalist Alex.  Dark Waters, was published by Harper Collins/Killer Reads in March 2018.

‘Odd Child Out’ by Gilly Macmillan

Published by Sphere,
5 April 2018.
ISBN: 978-0-349-41292-4(PB)

Gilly Macmillan returns after Burnt Paper Sky (also known as What She Knew) and The Perfect Child with a fabulous multi-layered thriller, Odd Child Out. We meet Inspector Jim Clemo again (he was in Gilly Macmillan’s first book but not her second), having undergone counselling, but is now back on duty and assigned to a low-priority case.

It involves two 15-year-old boys who are both friends and outcasts: Noah, white and privileged and struggling with cancer, and Abdi, a Somali refugee in Britain after his family spent many years in a refugee camp. The boys are involved in an accident at a canal that leaves Noah in a coma and Abdi too traumatised to talk.

Set against a Bristol backdrop and in the wake of an anti-immigration march, Gilly Macmillan handles themes of family relationships, friendship, love, loss and secrets with sensitivity and compassion. There are also topical themes of refugees, how life in developing countries is portrayed by the media, and terminal illness in children that all add layers to the story.

There is a mix of first-person and third-person narrative from the points of view of Noah and his family, Abdi and his family and Jim Clemo which I found engaging and effective. Gilly Macmillan never relies on stereotypes, her characters are always flawed and multi-faceted, and with her beautiful prose she slowly unravels the story.

The novel has a really interesting structure and a timely, believable plot that twists and turns at great rate.

Odd Child Out is an interesting and wonderful read and something different to many of the police procedurals on the market at the moment. I heartily recommend it.

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Reviewer: Mary-Jane Riley     

Gilly Macmillan grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire and lived in Northern California in her late teens. She studied art history and worked at The Burlington Magazine and the Hayward Gallery in London before starting a family. Since then, she's worked as a photography teacher but now, very happily, writes full time. She lives in Bristol.         

Mary-Jane Riley wrote her first story on her newly acquired blue Petite typewriter, when she was eight. When she grew up she had to earn a living and became a BBC radio talk show presenter and journalist. She has covered many life-affirming stories, but also some of the darkest events of the past two decades. Then, in true journalistic style, she decided not to let the facts get in the way of a good story and got creative. She wrote for women's magazines and small presses. She formed WriteOutLoud with two writer friends to help charities get their message across using their life stories. Now she is writing crime thrillers drawing on her experiences in journalism. Her third book, set in East Anglia and featuring investigative journalist Alex.  Dark Waters, was published by Harper Collins/Killer Reads in March 2018.