A tense Glasow gangland thriller laced with family saga elements with pace and strong characterisation to boot, McLean's latest novel raises him a fair few rungs up the crowded McMafia steps. Ray Scobie, a killer who can't experience pain, lies in hospital under an assumed name while police and cohorts believe he is dead. He plots his revenge against the crime family he holds responsible. John, an undercover cop, however, stands in his way, complicated by the fact that he has initiated a relationship with Kat, a Scobie relative. Conflict, blood on the floor and heightened emotions all conjugate well to deliver a high octane read with ounces of 'noir' to spare. Of course, Glasgow as always makes a perfect setting for a dark take of violence and woe. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
Families Can Be Murder His family believes he's dead. The police believe he's dead. But Ray Scobie, a killer who can't feel pain, doesn't die so easily. Betrayed by his own father, near-fatally wounded and lying in hospital as 'John Doe', Ray wants payback against his family - who just happen to run one of Glasgow's most brutal crime syndicates. Family secrets and old grudges collide with the dark motives of an undercover cop who's strayed beyond his brief to the point of no return. And the cop's still in thrall to Ray's favourite cousin, with whom he's had an illicit relationship, endangering them both.
'An uncompromising work of Glasgow noir, brutal and driven ... at its heart is a woman torn between loyalty to her criminal family and a desire for a better life. Complicated and conflicted but achingly real, you'll be rooting for her all the way.' - Eva Dolan
'Chillingly plausible... a wonderfully dark and disturbing tale of misplaced loyalty and betrayal; a beautifully paced, action-packed thriller of a book.' - James Oswald
Author
About Russel D. McLean
Born in Fife, Russel D. McLean studied Philosophy at the University of Dundee before falling into bad company and entering the booktrade. He has been a reviewer, a freelance reader, a bookseller and an ezine editor. He now lives in Glasgow.
