This is (I think) the fourth book in a series. I'll say that this time, it would have helped to read the previous books to figure out PI Charlie Cameron's history with his two friends and with the big bad guy, Sean Rafferty. That said, it can (and does, mostly) stand on its own, with enough fill-ins to not make it terribly confusing.

Charlie is approached by two women, separately, to help them with an issue. One is Kim Rafferty, the bombshell trophy wife of psychopathic gang leader Sean Rafferty who wants to leave him, and the other has a surprising connection to a man just released from prison, convicted of killing that same woman's husband.

Thus we begin two separate story arcs: Rafferty's is told from multiple viewpoints: Sean, Kim, a gangster from Portugal, the woman who runs Sean's brothels - but not Charlie's, as he declines. The other is told primarily from Charlie's and Dennis Boyd's. Charlie agrees to take the second, but very early on, he decides that maybe Boyd is guilty - one of the witnesses, for instance, who Boyd swore was lying on the stand, is found dead the night after Boyd is released. The optics of that, as far as Charlie is concerned, are terrible.

After meeting with Boyd, though, he agrees to help. Having the second witness of three turn of dead, too, is problematic,but Charlie realizes he was wrong: it does appear that Boyd, who had been sleeping with the man's wife, and was the most likely killer, may be innocent after all.

Charlie's no slouch, either. He doesn't spend his day behind a computer, tapping away. He's on the streets, chasing down clues, finding people, and sometimes pissing off his pal who is with the police. When he says he's taking a case and will work it, that's exactly what he does.

Not a lot of plot details in this review, as the entire thing would need to be spoilered.

The writing is quite good, and while sometimes Charlie can be a bit of a smartass, can't we all? Dialogue has no issues - no one is working overtime to be cutesy or coy, or occasionally witty. It flows nicely, and even a few rapidfire sections are not difficult to follow.

The dual stories are both interesting in their own right, although the Rafferty storyline was wrapped up in just a handful of pages, including a somewhat not easy to believe escape at the end, which was a bit out of sorts for the book until that point. There's a kind of, maybe cliffhanger on that one, but I can't say why, lest I spoil it. The Boyd story - well, you'll just have to read it, and I recommend you do if police/PI mysteries are your thing.

A solid four out of five stars.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.

Favorite Quotes:

Secrets. Everybody had them. The only people who didn’t were six feet under.

He’d helped me more often than I could remember; he had a good heart. But if you wanted to find it, you had to be prepared to dig.

She stepped back to look at him. ‘How do you manage to stay in such good shape?’ ‘Clean living. Avoid it at all costs.’

She rummaged in her bag again with the enthusiasm of a panhandler, except the silver and gold she was after were dried leaves and paper. Diane inhaled hard enough to suck the oxygen from the room; when she spoke, there was smoke in her voice.

When it suited him, Andrew was a paid-up member of the Awkward Squad.


My Review:

Owen Mullen is a master storyteller but he must have a dark and dastardly soul as his well-crafted storylines were dripping with gripping intrigue while raw, gritty, and cringe-worthy with violence and twisted cruelty. I found I was flinching and needed to take it in stages and periodically put my kindle down and walk away. Finishing took me quite a bit longer than expected yet I couldn’t leave it alone. I was hooked, ensnared, and addled by my unrelenting curiosity as the clever wordsmith wasn’t giving anything away. I had to know the who, why, and how as his well-honed mystery seemed unsolvable. The little pea in my brain was working overtime and although my meager gray matter failed to crack it, the beleaguered yet persistent bloodhound Charlie Cameron came through. I was so proud of him I now feel compelled to read all the previous books in this series.

In addition to a new addiction for crime thrillers, I came away from this book with a new entry for my Brit Words and Phrases List with wide boy – which is British informal for a man earning a lot of money in a nefarious or illegal manner. Not at all the image I had pictured ;)

‘The Accused’ is the fourth book in the series featuring Private Investigator Charlie Cameron. I have read and loved each of the previous books in the series. I do have to say that although it is part of a series, ‘The Accused’ reads perfectly well as a standalone. I couldn’t wait to start reading ‘The Accused’ and so without further ado, I grabbed my Kinde, grabbed a cup of tea and settled down for an interesting afternoon of reading. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Accused’ but more about that in a bit.
It took me no time at all to get into ‘The Accused’. In fact by the time I got to the end of the first page, I knew that I was going to be in for a treat and that I wouldn’t be doing much else other than reading for the rest of the day, because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to put this book to one side for any length of time. To say that reading ‘The Accused’ became addictive is a bit of an understatement. I would pick my Kindle up only intending to read a couple of chapters but I would become so wrapped up in the story that I would still be sat there many chapters and a couple of hours later. I was intrigued by the plot and by the characters and I had to keep reading to see how the story panned out. All too quickly I reached the end of the story and I had to say goodbye to Charlie Cameron. I found ‘The Accused’ to be a gripping read, which kept me on my toes and ono the edge of my seat throughout.
‘The Accused’ is superbly written but then that’s also true of all of the books in the series. Owen has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. He has the knack of grabbing the reader’s attention and drawing the reader into the story from the very start. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Reading ‘The Accused’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. Just when you thought that you could take minute to catch your breath and gather your thoughts then off the action would go again. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Owen’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Accused’ and I would recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Owen’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Separated into 3 parts The Accused is a detailed fast paced story that is addictive and well thought out...
I like how Mullen has included 2 dramatic and tense cases for the reader to follow that set your teeth on edge as you follow the action...
The character development of The Accused is good. The characters are realistic and interesting. The reader follows Charlie as he relentlessly follows his instincts to find the answers to his latest case...
I would recommend reading The Accused to lovers of Thrillers and Crime Fiction, as it is a gripping story where the past meets the present as the reader is swept into betrayal and murder...
Not for sensitive reader's as there is violence, drug use and adults themes...

The Accused is the fourth instalment in the PI Charlie Cameron series. I seem to have missed the third in the series, however it didn’t make too much of a difference so I feel it can easily be read as a stand-alone!

This is a Crime Thriller with aspects of Police Procedural set in Scotland, it has a lot of action, twists and turns. What I liked especially was the two stories running side by side.

I really like Charlie, this character and book series would make a great Netflix series.

Charlie Cameron is an intelligent private investigator working in urban crime. He has a strong belief in justice and a soft spot for the vulnerable. The author creates a disturbing noir-crime ethos where betrayal is rife and human life has little value. Cleverly plotted with false leads and unexpected twists, there is an addictive mix of action and investigation.

I received a copy of this book from Boldwood Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

When Kim Rafferty, the wife of the infamous Sean Rafferty, approaches Glasgow PI Charlie Cameron to help her leave her husband, even Charlie can’t deny having a few concerns about accepting her case. While Sean Rafferty pretends to be the face of respectability, everyone knows he is not a man to be crossed. If Charlie agrees to help Kim, he’ll be risking more than his livelihood if things go wrong. As much as he wants to help, the consequences are too high, and regrettably he has to turn her down. Will it be a decision he comes to regret or has he had a lucky escape?

Charlie turns his attention to another new case: a woman has sought him out to help a man newly released from prison. She’s certain that he was innocent of the crime that put him away for fifteen years, and she’s worried he’ll go after those who framed him … or worse, they’ll set him up a second time. Trouble is Dennis Boyd is in hiding after a rogue message led him to a car park and a dead body. It looks like Dennis is responsible, and even Charlie believes the only option Dennis has is to turn himself in. Until a second murder occurs – and this time Dennis could not have been responsible – now Charlie knows someone is setting Dennis up again, but proving it is another matter, and that’s assuming he can find Dennis in time and earn his trust.

Charlie’s been around the block awhile, and has made connections with the local police force, even if some relationships are strained, their is a mutual respect there (albeit subtly disguised at times). As Charlie gets closer to helping Dennis, he has to trust in those relationships … maybe a little too much.

There is betrayal around every corner as this fast-paced crime thriller gains momentum. As clever and utterly compelling as Boyd’s case is, Kim Rafferty’s situation intrudes into the story with a punch to the gut and runs alongside Boyd’s story. Sean Rafferty is a formidable enemy, and Charlie was wise to give the case a wide berth, but that doesn’t mean “out of sight, out of mind” when Charlie wonders if Kim managed to get away … her silence is deafening!

The Accused is gritty and addictive, hard-hitting and reflective. Hope and betrayal battle in equal measures for an outcome that is challenging and tense. Charlie is the kind of PI you can’t help but root for, but he does seem to walk a tightrope of danger to achieve the result he believes in. I’ll be reading more of Charlie’s exploits for sure.

Glasgow’s East End is full of hard men. One of those is Sean Rafferty, son of a notorious gangster. He is now masked by a cloak of respectability using his proxies to carry out his nefarious crimes, one of those being Vicky Farrell who is running his girls for him. Everything is going well except for one thing – his wife Kim has now become a thorn in his side. She has served her purpose, giving him a daughter, but now she has to go. Terrified, she begs PI Charlie Cameron to help her. He normally finds people for a living. Can he do the opposite and make her disappear? For a brief and very stupid moment, he considers this, then common sense and the memory of past run ins with Rafferty make this a very big no. Desperate, Kim turns to an alternate and very dangerous helper. Meanwhile Charlie is approached by another attractive and glamorous woman – Diane Kennedy, the widow of jeweller Joe Franks who was supposed to have been murdered by his bodyguard Dennis Boyd. Except that even after serving 15 years in Barlinnie for the crime, both Diane and Boyd protest his innocence, claiming he was set up. She demands help from Charlie in finding the truth. While considering it, one of the witnesses in the murder trial is killed just after Boyd is released from jail. Charlie decides he can help investigate the fifteen year old case, after all, no one else is interested in it now, but must keep his distance from his good friend DS Andrew Geddes and the new murder at all costs, especially when the body count starts to rise.
This was my first encounter with the PI. In the tradition of all good gumshoes, Charlie narrates quite a lot of the story himself and proves to be a very likeable individual. He is also an excellent detective and with the help of good people, Patrick Logue and Andrew Geddes, makes short work of this gritty and clever mystery to reveal the shocking truth about both the past and the present. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, with its gripping and tense storyline and extremely satisfying ending. 5*

I sit here, a little disappointed, I’m not gonna lie… disappointed because I was going about my daily reading habits and was totally unaware that Charlie Cameron (and Owen Mullen, for that matter) even existed!!! Where have I been?!

The fourth book in a series but easily stand alone, this was brilliantly gritty!! Charlie Cameron, a PI in Glasgow, is approached by two very difficult potential cases - Dennis Boyd, recently released after 15 years for a murder he is adamant he didn’t commit, and now apparently being set up for the murder of one of the key witnesses, and Kim Rafferty, the scared wife of the dangerous and somewhat vile gangster Sean.

An extremely gritty and action packed ride (and brutal at times) Mullen writes characters incredibly skilfully. After a few pages I already felt I had known Charlie and Patrick (I love this guy and his quotes) for quite some time. Mullen’s writing style is razor-sharp and has the west coast humour down to a tee. There were plenty of twists and the story was somewhat left open for a further instalment.

I will most definitely be delving into the backlog of Charlie Cameron’s series and if you haven’t read these yet, I strongly urge you to!

A convicted felon gets out of jail and then witnesses who testified against time are found murdered. Did he do it? A woman is so afraid of her powerful husband she wants to disappear.

These are some of the main storylines in this ever changing book. There are so many twists you are kept guessing until the very end. The book is told from multiple POV which I love. It would have been great to include the persons name as the chapter header as it took me a page to figure out who I was reading.

Yet another great read from the excellent Owen Mullen. Charlie Cameron is a Scottish PI and the novels in this series are the epitome of page-turners. The action is fast and furious, the characters are very well portrayed and the sense of place is very strong. Superb!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Charlie gets a visit from a local woman who wants to dissappear with her daughter because her husband is hurting her. He is asked to help a man who is charged with murder. It will take everything Charlie has to handle both investigations. I liked this book.

Glasgow Underworld….
The fourth in the PI Charlie Cameron series finds our protagonist being drawn back into the Glasgow underworld with the investigation of a cold case. A fast page turning, action packed thriller with a wholly credible cast of characters and a compelling narrative. Both gritty and believable. Whilst a series, this could be read as a standalone although reading from the first provides much character background and appreciation of development. A worthy addition.

PI Charlie Cameron #4

When Private Investigator Charlie Cameron agrees to take on a cold case, he is drawn back to Glasgow's dark underworld. Charlie knew Kim Rafferty was bad news the moment they met. Desperate people always spelled trouble in his experience, and Mrs Rafferty was as desperate as they come. What she was asking for was insane. If he agreed to help the wife of the notorious East-End gangster, the consequences for them both could be fatal.

Even though this is the fourth book in this series, this is the second book in the series that I've read. I do think it can be read as a standalone. Set in Glasgow: Charlie is obsessive in any job he takes on and he's the best person anyone could ask to find a missing person. There's two cases Charlie is trying to solve: Sean Rafferty's wife wants to escape the life she leads with her husband and Dennis Boyd has just got out of jail and instantly finds himself at the scene of another crime .There's violence and some sexual content in this gripping read. All the loose ends are tied up and it's full of twists and turns.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #OwenMullen for my ARC of #TheAccused in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent read featuring PI Charlie Cameron, set in Glasgow. I love the developing characterisation in the series and the two parallel cases in this one make it a gripping read from start to finish. Although it's book 4 in the series, it could be read as a standalone, although I would recommend starting with book 1 for some background information. There is some adult content and violence, not for sensitive readers. Another 5* read from Owen Mullen which I thoroughly enjoyed.

This series is full of colourful characters, clever cases and Scottish humour, all in all a great combination. My only negative is the inclusion of the Rafferty subplot but maybe all will be revealed in the next instalment?

(5*s if you like hard hitting, realistic gangster thrillers)

Gritty, fast moving gangster thriller

Dennis Boyd has just got out of prison and finds himself in trouble almost immediately. Sean Rafferty’s wife needs to escape the fear that goes with living with her husband. Can Private Investigator Charlie Cameron help these two scared people?
Dennis Boyd is desperate for help. He has just got out of jail for a murder he says he didn’t commit, and immediately finds himself at the scene of a new crime, and being hunted by the police. Can Charlie find out what happened 15 years ago, and what is going on now.
Kim Rafferty needs to get herself and her daughter away from her gangster husband, but everybody knows it is madness to go against Sean Rafferty.
Two dangerous assignment offers for Charlie Cameron - will he learn to say “no” and just get on with the everyday humdrum cases of a Private Investigator, or will he be drawn in and provide us readers with excitement, twists and turns?
There is no doubt this thriller feels true to life and gets the reader fully involved due to the strong and convincing characters. Sean Rafferty, his gangster dealings and his’s wife’s position provide a dramatic story and Dennis Boyd provides another. So two fast moving action crime stories within one. Owen Mullen is such a skilled writer that the two threads run seamlessly alongside each other, with characters easily recognisable and the storylines easy to follow.
This is definitely a 5* read for those who like gritty and convincing crime/gangster thrillers, however I found the themes and action disturbing and too troubling to make it an enjoyable read for me.
This is the 4th book in the Charlie Cameron series, though all can be read as stand alone, I have read them all (indeed I have read all of Owen Mullen’s thrillers to date) and find The Accused to be the grittiest so far.

Absolutely loved this book, and I am on a mission to read everything else she has written. Quite brutal in parts but it goes with the storyline so I didn’t mind.

Definitely deserves a read…. Enjoy

It's always a good feeling when you thoroughly enjoy a book by an author previously unknown to you and an even better one when you realise they already have a back catalogue.
Two storylines, partly intertwined, with a promise of more to come on one of them.
Tense, often brutal but always engaging.
Loved it.
Many thanks.

Charlie Cameron is a private investigator who takes on a cold case of a man murdered years ago,Dennis Boyd was found guilty of the murder but now his out and he wants to prove his innocence but the first of three people who helped to put him away has been murdered and his the prime suspect.
Kim Rafferty is the wife of a bad news East End gangster and she wants out and needs to take her daughter with her but her husband has other ideas.Charlie feels its to much of a risk to help her so now she's on her own
Dennis is on the run and Charlie must chase every lead to help him.
Having only read the Glass family books by Owen Mullen which I loved I thought I'd see what else the author had written and I wasn't dissapointed I devoured this book it was brilliant.
I'm now going to read the earlier Charlie Cameron books while I wait for the next installment of the Glass family.
I would highly recommend this book.Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for the ARC