Description
Book SynopsisThe independent kingdom of Scotland flourished until the beginning of the last century. Its great trading port of Challaid, in the north west of the country, sent ships around the world and its merchants and bankers grew rich on their empire in Central America. But Scotland is not what it was, and the docks of Challaid are almost silent. The huge infrastructure projects collapsed, like the dangerous railway tunnels under the city. And above ground the networks of power and corruption are all that survive of Challaid's glorious past. Darian Ross is a young private investigator whose father, an ex cop, is in prison for murder. He takes on a case brought to him by a charismatic woman, Maeve Campbell. Her partner has been stabbed; the police are not very curious about the death of a man who laundered money for the city's criminals. Ross is drawn by his innate sense of justice and his fascination with Campbell into a world in which no-one can be trusted.
Trade ReviewFascinating speculative fiction * The Bookseller *
A sprightly gumshoe caper * The Sunday Times Crime Club *
Challaid is a brilliant projection. We would happily go there again * West Highland Free Press *
Richly imagined... A private-eye novel with echoes of Raymond Chandler and plenty of the freshness of voice that makes Malcolm Mackay unmissable' * Sunday Express *
This alternative world becomes the setting for a typically hardboiled MacKay narrative * West Highland Free Press *
