Cast A Cold Eye is Robbie Morrisons' follow up to his Bloody Scotland Debut of the Year winning Edge of the Grave and it's just as good - if not better.

The Tartan Noir genre may be oversaturated but Morrison is definitely a stand out author, with his fantastic writing style adding nuance and depth to his novels. Jimmy Dreghorn and Archie McDaid are wonderful characters who I hope we'll be seeing a lot more of. Archie McDaid - the intimidating, stocky sidekick who would generally be the resident "tough guy" is the more sensitive of the two, favouring non-violence, much unlike Jimmy Dreghorn who does some brutal things in this novel in order to bring about swift justice. Both however - unlike a lot of Tartan Noir characters - have a lot more going on under the surface which makes the novel a joy to read.

Overall, excellently written with loveable characters, perfect pacing, plenty of twists and turns and a good dose of gallows humour - if you're a Tartan Noir fan and haven't read Robbie Morrison yet, you're missing out!

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

Loved this book. Great development on from Edge of the Grave, with an enjoyably gritty take on the police in 1930s Glasgow. This time we also have a big focus on Irish Republican activities, an area i have particular interest in, and that brings a fascinating dynamic to the catholic policeman in a Protestant majority force. Can’t wait to see more from Morrison.

This is a cracking sequel to the award winning historical crime noir, Edge of the Grave, by Robbie Morrison, featuring the scarred ex-war veteran, Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his partner, the man mountain, ex-Olympic wrestler, and family man, Sergeant Archie McDaid, part of the Special Crime Squad, the 'Untouchables', set up by Chief Constable Percy Sillitoe, to tackle the sectarianism and brutally violent gangs of Glasgow. Set in 1933, we are immersed in the dirt and grime of the city, the unemployment, poverty, overcrowded tenements, disease, sexism, misogyny, where life is cheap, the humour is dark, and people do whatever they can to survive. Whilst murderous violence is the norm in Glasgow, the use of guns is not, so when Dreghorn stumbles across a dead man on a narrowboat on the Forth and Clyde Canal, shot execution style with a single shot in the back of the head, it is no longer business as usual for the police.

The police race to find the killer, but find themselves in the middle of political intrigue as the killer strikes again as another murder with a similar MO is discovered, and the tentacles of the horrors of British history in Ireland reaching out in search of revenge in Glasgow. We have suspected IRA elements mingling with its notoriously sectarian criminal gangs as tensions rise sky high. This is exacerbated by the arrival of ruthless Special Branch agents and the justified concerns raised by the Gangard robbery and the stealing of explosives. The brave and courageous WPC Ellen Duncan finds herself once again having to fight off the unwanted attentions and misogyny of the despicable Inspector Boyd Strachan, no longer put off by Dreghorn.

As the body count rises, Dreghorn and McDaid find themselves locking horns with Special Branch, and Dreghorn's personal life comes back to haunt him, and a welcome face from his schooldays, Rachel McAdam, assistant to Martha Hepburn, comes back into his life. Jimmy and Archie are the good guys in a Glasgow of its time, but to achieve results and simply survive, they have to fight fire with fire, they cannot remain untainted by the violence they face on a daily basis. Morrison draws on the reality of what the British did in Ireland, the repercussions it has many years later on a Scottish city with a significant Irish Catholic population, whilst simultaneously capturing the unrestrained, partisan and underhand machinations of Special Branch. This is a exceptional historical crime series that I am sure many readers will appreciate and adore. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of Cast a Cold Eye, the second novel to feature Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and Sergeant Archie McDaid, of Glasgow Police, set in 1933.

Dreghorn and McDaid are alive to the implications when they find a man shot execution style on his barge, Glasgow is a violent city, but firearms and intent are not usual. Then there is another, similar murder and the arrival of Special Branch, hot on the heels of a suspected IRA terrorist.

I have not read the previous novel in the series, Edge of the Grave, so I was unprepared for the brilliance of Cast a Cold Eye. It is one of the best novels I have read in a long time with a gripping plot, tension, strong characterisation, twists and an amazing sense of time and place. I was glued to the pages from start to finish.

In the interests of full disclosure I was born and brought up in Glasgow, so I have familiarity with the locations and the vernacular and that is always a comfort in a read. It seems to me that the author has captured the mindset and speech of the locals perfectly with a certain dark humour and specifically Glaswegian vocabulary, some of which I had forgotten, but all of which I understood only too well. I felt quite nostalgic reading about the locations, many of which were still going in the 70s and 80s when I frequented the city centre.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, which centres principally around the hunt for a murderer and soon gets enmeshed in the IRA cell’s activities, which in turn leads to conflict with Special Branch and various other factions in the department. Needless to say sectarianism is also a focus. I was impressed by the way the author manages his material. This is a dark, violent novel and while there is always a justification for the violence, the morality of it isn’t so clear cut as gradually becomes apparent as the novel progresses. I like the way he examines these questions in clear, concise terms, but leaves room for reader interpretation. In contrast I also like the ambiguity of who did what and why.

The characters of Dreghorn and McDaid are flawed but realistic. Both survived the war physically intact, but Dreghorn in particular has nightmares about it still. He is darker and more volatile than McDaid, who is more settled with a family and a calmer demeanour. They are an extremely effective team, albeit a product of their times, not averse to mixing it up with the local neds.

I cannot do justice to such a strong, powerful novel, so all I can say is that I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Always enjoy books set in Glasgow and often those from a bygone age, like this one, has the edge over those of the present day settings.
A highly enjoyable read and recommended.