There's a lot of good stuff coming out of Scotland these days. We were treated to the second McNee novel by Russel McLean just some time ago and this news Gus Dury novel can be compared to that one. That is, both novels give us the ultimate hardboiled detective novel while situating it in Scotland and giving it a new edge.
I loved the first two Gus Dury novels that often reminded me of Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor series. That's not very strange because Tony Black is a fan of Mr. Bruen's work. I sometimes regretted it a bit that the life of Gus was so important and interesting that it sometimes felt like the hardboiled detective stuf came second to the more literate aspects. This third outing for ex-journalist Gus Dury however delivers on both the literate as well as the mystery parts. When his brother is killed Gus starts an unrelenting search for his killer, aided by his tough buddies.
The timing of this isn't very lucky however, since he'd just sworn off booze and violence to his ex-wife Debs, who he's living with again. We follow Gus in his path into darkness again as his life falls apart around him and takes on a tough gangster boss and his goons.
I felt Gus' pain, was disgusted and thrilled at the same time by the violent encounters and very surprised by the ending. So, yeah, this one delivered everything I need in my hardboiled diet. The best in this excellent series so far.
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