Absolutely incredible. I’ve read a few of Louise Walsh’s books before and they never disappoint!
Thank you for letting me read an arc

I could potentially be a little biased in this review given it is set in the city where I work and the main character works in the University where I am currently studying part time.

Having said that, even if those things weren't true, I would still be highly recommending this book.

Jim Brennan is living his best life. Although growing up with his father was tough, Jim has forged a beautiful life with his wife, two kids, his beautiful home and his career heading to the top.

However, when his son, Elliot, gets in trouble with the wrong people and ends up in prison, Jim soon realises that the life he left behind never really went away and that the ghost of his father still looms over him.

In his desperation to help his son with his troubles, Jim soon realises that the life he has built is as steady as a house of cards with many people from his past waiting to knock it down.

As I say, this was highly enjoyable for me. Very dark in places and very gritty, it is a novel which I think blurs the lines between good and bad. Throughout the novel, we meet a number of characters from the streets of Glasgow. Whilst it is easy to caricature them as being baddies, Welsh does an excellent job of showing the complexity of those trying to survive in a dangerous industry and lifestyle, particularly those trying to fight their way out but struggling due to their past.

I don't want to share too much more for fear of spoilers but I would love to hear others thoughts on the main characters in this novel once they read it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canongate for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

4.5 stars

James Brennan, Professor of criminology at Glasgow University, has just got off the flight from Beijing, his university career is also flying high. That is until he receives the news that his 23-year-old son Eliot is in police custody, and is in all probability, looking at serving time for drugs offences. This is just the start of Jim‘s problems as the past catches up with him in a way that could bring down everything he has striven so hard to achieve and leave behind things he’d much rather forget.

I enjoyed this well written, multi layered mystery thriller as Jim desperately tries to juggle everything that is going on in his life. There’s a joint focus on the politics of academia at the University, for example, the source of funding and this takes the storytelling in an interesting direction with several angles that also get personal. This is combined with the domestic angle of the parent/child drama of the situation that Eliot is in which opens up a gateway to Jim‘s past that he’d much rather draw a veil over but does ultimately and cleverly take the storytelling back to the University. I thoroughly enjoy how the author connects everything together.

The plot is very well thought out and there is really a dull moment for Jim as he tries to navigate the pitfalls. Needless to say there is tension in abundance and some very good plot twists.

The characterisation is also good, especially of Jim, who is very intriguing, as he is torn between doing the right thing and protecting his nearest and dearest. He probably more of his father in him than he’d like to admit! There are plenty of nefarious or colourful characters who tread both sides of the line who further add to the intrigue.

This is a gritty storyline in a really good setting which keeps my attention throughout.

PS I really enjoy the play on Barlinnie Prison!!!

With thanks to NetGalleyand especially to Canongate for the much appreciated
arc in return for an honest review.

Professor Jim Brennan is a high-flying academic ,on course to be promoted to the top job at the University he works at. Brennan has done well in life with his lovely home, equally successful wife and 2 children. Life would be good but for the behaviour of son Elliot ,in trouble since his teenage years ,now arrested on drug charges.
With an ill-equipped Elliot looking at a long prison sentence and in debt to some very nasty people Jim is approached by people he thought he'd never see again who threaten everything he's got.
Jim is the son of "Big Jim" Brennan, long dead ,notorious gangland heavy who bullied and ridiculed his scholarly son at every opportunity. Years later Brennan thinks his background and roots are well behind him............he's wrong.

As you'd expect from Louise Welsh this is an excellent read with Brennan desperately trying to do the right thing and avoid sorting things the way his late Father would have, not making things any easier for himself by being a rather stubborn and it has to be said,not particularly likeable, character. With everything at risk Brennan's inner turmoil is palpable as he finds himself being dragged into the web of the past he's worked so hard to put behind him.

This is top class writing,a great story,believable characters and an author at the top of their game.

Jim Brennan is the son of a Glasgow hardman. He got away from a life of crime and built a new life of his own. Now a family man, he has a distinguished career and an opportunity to have the top job at the university. His son gets arrested and so we see Jim going back to the place he grew up in order to help him. This is a wonderful book. Growing up in a similar setting I felt that I knew all of the characters.

An unusual thriller, multi-layered and really well told.
A successful academic is confronted by old family connections. His father was not a nice man and used to spend time in prison, now his son has also been arrested.
As he tries to keep his family and his job and reputation safe, things become more and more interconnected. Is someone pulling the strings? And why?
Great Glasgow atmosphere, and an insight into the not so rarefied world of Academia.

This was a gritty, realistic thriller which ranged from the rarified world of academia to the grimy and crime ridden back streets of Glasgow.

Jim Brennan thought he had put his family background behind him but his past catches up with him and when his life suddenly takes a turn for the worst, he is forced to revert to behaviour more associated with his ex-con father rather than the University Don he is.

Exciting and. With well developed characters this is a thriller that thrills and is beautifully written as well.

Professor Jim Brennan is called away from a graduation ceremony at the Beijing institute associated with his university in Glasgow when his son is arrested on a drugs charge. He catches the first plane home, heading straight for the police station before calling in at the Fusilier, his gangster father’s old haunt, where he bumps into Eddie, an old schoolmate, now a solicitor. By the time Jim wakes up with an appalling hangover, his wife has engaged Eddie to represent Eliot. Before long, he finds himself dragged back into the world he’d assumed he’d long since left behind while navigating the ethical grey area of university funding. One world might look down on the other, but neither is squeaky clean.
Welsh’s cleverly plotted novel neatly contrasts straightforward crime with the dubious morality of accepting funding from repressive regimes. Jim is a pleasingly complex character, a good man determined to put the safety of his family before everything else, slipping back into the world he’d turned his back on while finding ways to justify donations from sources others find repugnant in the name of advancing education. I raced through this pacy slice of campus crime. Highly recommended, even if you’re not a crime reader.