This was an okay read, it did get me gripped but I didn't have much sympathy for our main character. Some parts did seem a bit out there in terms of coincidences

Following a university vice principal as his life becomes extremely complicated this book had me hooked from the beginning. The story follows Jim Brennan as he tries to move away from the illegal world his father inhabited and which his son seems to be falling into.

There was tension around every corner as Jim tries to protect himself, his career and his family while limiting the damage to every area.

I loved the characters in this book which were well developed inside the fast paced narrative. My first book by this author but it won't be my last.

It's both a thriller and a crime novel, tough and gritty, well written and clever, as might be expected from Louise Welsh, who never disappoints.

Set in the mean streets and venerable university of Glasgow, Jim Brennan is a rising man, one who has escaped his rough and violent family background, and is in sight of the top university post. But his son Elliott is his Achilles' Heel, arrested for drug dealing, the ramifications threaten to drag Jim back into the criminal networks of his childhood. How far will he go to save his son? How far will he go to save himself and his own ambitions?

It's the realism which convinces. Jim Brennan is no angel, nor is he a conventional hero. But he is a clever and determined fighter, son of a hard man, and even in the glossy new environment of the modern city, certain elements do not change.

Really enjoyed - steeped in immersive scenes, great characters that pop off the page and a plot that kept me pushing through late into the night - couldn’t out it down!

This dark, gritty and original crime thriller kept my attention throughout. The author's writing is characterized by a stark yet poetic style that effectively conveys the bleakness of the setting while also highlighting moments of unexpected beauty and humanity. The characters are complex and flawed, each dealing with their own sense of loss and purpose in a world that seems increasingly devoid of hope.

From a troubled background, Jim has worked hard and is now on the brink of being appointed principal at his university. His son Eliot is on a very different trajectory and his latest arrest threatens Jim’s livelihood and the lives of his wife and daughter.

A well-paced thriller which contrasts the public face of the city (and its university) with its dark underbelly. It also examines the tensions between maintaining one’s principles and the unwanted compromises that life presents.

Ostensibly set in Glasgow but the location could be anywhere. Where money is involved, there will be many interested parties, not all of them honest in their dealings.

Well written and plotted although the ending may feel a bit pat and rushed for some readers. But a gripping and enjoyable story with interesting characters (minor characters tend to be stereotypes) and an enjoyable storyline.

Thank you to Canongate Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of To The Dogs by Louise Welsh

I do love books that are set in Scotland and this one did not disappoint.

Jim Brennan has worked his way up from his humble beginning and worked his way out of the shadow of his hardman father.
The book seems like many unrelated mini-stories but they all tie up nicely in the end.

I'm looking forward to reading more from Louise Welsh.

An interesting read, based around a university professor and his family, who are trying to help the son who has gotten involved with the wrong people. The only issue I have is I still don't understand why the author brought in a missing Chinese student to the plot...

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

Enjoyed this book. Not a page turner but a good storyline. Started off very good and then felt it lost the excitement

To the Dogs is a literary thriller that tells the story of how Jim Brennan’s comfortable middle-class life starts to come apart at the seams. Returning from a work trip to China, he learns that his wastrel of a son has been arrested on drugs charges. As the son of a now deceased Glasgow hardman, he has overcome his background to make a name for himself in academia, and is in line for the top job at the university. Suddenly all this is in jeopardy as he has to decide whether to save his family or his career. Characters from his past life, with long memories and a score to settle, now emerge from the shadows and try their best to destroy him.
The descriptions of life at the university are convincing as Louise Welsh actually teaches creative writing at Glasgow University so brings an authenticity to the narrative. Many years ago, I was a student there, and this book brought back a lot of memories as I recognised many of the locations.
The characters are well drawn but few of them are very likeable. There are several strands to the plot, maybe too many, and any one of them could bring him down. The pacing is a bit uneven, but the quality of the writing kept me turning the pages. To the Dogs is a tense and gritty thriller with plenty of twists to keep you guessing who is trying to destroy everything Jim Brennan holds dear.
I really enjoyed The Cutting Room and The Second Cut by this author, this book not quite so much only because I found it hard to warm to the main character. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but this one is very striking and I like it a lot. I fully intend to read more from her back catalogue, and look forward to reading her next book. Thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

I received an ARC of this book via netgalley. There are parts of it that i thought captured the tension of events but it meandered off course at other times. It felt like the author kept having eureka moments of something else she could crotchet into the plot line. Eventually leading to an unholy mess of plot and counterplot.

There is nothing like Scottish crime fiction to get those nerves crackling. Louise Welsh is a new author to me, but I will be searching out her back catalogue as soon as possible. The fluidity of her words, the nice simple easy language, and scenarios that could easily occur in anyone’s lives, given the right sequence of circumstances. Her writing catapults you into the story with only a few words.

James Brennan is a Professor of Criminology at Glasgow University. He’s earmarked for the position of Principal of the university with his boss being diagnosed with cancer. It’s everything he’s worked for but to be entirely honest, it has come at the worst time. He’s just back from Beijing and he has landed to the news that his son has been arrested. It reminds him of everything that he went through with his father. A crime lord in the city. Things were unstable and Jim Brennan was damn sure his life would be different. That his family's life would be different. It has been, but with his son’s incarceration – it threatens to lead him back down a path that he’d destroyed.

I really enjoyed this story. I’ve been craving a well written Scottish crime novel, and this fit the bill. It’s multi layered with different storylines being juggled throughout. I found it intriguing to see how Jim struggled to come to terms between just letting his son deal with what was coming to him-he did break the law, let him deal with the consequences, to doing everything in his power to protect him. The humanity of difficult decisions really shone through.

A reasonably good thriller, with well thought out main characters but the storyline just seemed a bit much. There was just a bit too much going on with coincidental meetings of people from Jim's past, which although maybe not entirely coincidental as per the story just made it a too far fetched. Throw in the missing Chinese student and I often wondered just what the point of several of these parts were. Enjoyable enough to keep going but definitely not something that would draw me in to further reads.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I love reading books set in Glasgow, my own home city. The plot was intriguing and current, with Jim facing a dilemma that felt realistic involving the politics of academia at the University and his own personal life involving his son. This tension drives the plot forward in a satisfying way that you know you are in good hands.

There was an abudance of unlikable characters. Although, in real life I imagine there are plenty of indivduals who deep down are also out for solely their own self interest. Overall enjoyed the book but I still prefer the grubby honesty of Welsh's Rilke books.

I enjoyed this book. I have read a lot of Louise Welsh’s previous novels and I admire that she tackles different genres. She definitely seems like someone encapsulated within literature. The book swept me along and I did finish it quite quickly. University campus and life in and around Glasgow were very much characters within the story, I did feel that the story reminded me of a tv crime drama at times - Shetland, possibly, and felt a bit rote at points. Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend it to readers and not just to readers of crime books.

I enjoyed this book and found it very readable. Jim's dilemma, whether to risk sacrificing his career or his family, produces a lot of suspense. Gritty Glasgow background. Recommended.

To The Dogs by Louise Welsh is a gritty Glaswegian thriller that had me hooked from the first page.
Jim (James) Brennan is a criminologist professor, a vice chancellor of the local university. We meet him as he gets off a flight from Beijing in order to go to his local police station where his son is being held. Jim has tried hard to make his life as different as possible from the one he grew up in: his father was a local legend and hard man. Everyone was scared of his violence. It looks as though Jim’s son is determined to take up from where his grandfather left off.

Things go from bad to worse, when someone is determined to undermine everything Jim has tried to do for himself and his family.

I really enjoyed this. There’s never a dull moment (much to Jim’s detriment!), and Jim finds himself in a terribly awkward situation. He has to decide between his family and his reputation - or is there a way that he can protect both?

This is exciting stuff, and had me guessing up to the last page.

This was my first book by the author and I requested it after seeing it described as dark academia. It was a fast-paced read with an engaging plot and a readable writing style. Definitely won't be my last book by this author.

I thought this started out really well but seemed to slow down after a few chapters. Quite dark at times with characters who weren't exactly likeable. All in all though it was an enjoyable read.

I stuck it out to 40%, during which Jim's son got arrested for dealing drugs, and Jim angsted about it. That's it. I can't even categorise this one. Eliot's crime is off-stage - his criminality and danger merely there to give his father a moral dilemma which he seems incapable of recognising, much less dealing with. But the characterisation is too superficial to class it as straight fiction either. It's one of the emptiest books I've ever read - clichéd dilemma, clichéd characters. As for the Glasgow setting, it's so badly done. Either be realistic or set your story in a fictional city. Why call the prison in Glasgow Linbarley rather than its actual name of Barlinnie? Silly and annoying. This was my first Louise Welsh and I fear it is also my last.