CRIME THRILLER REVIEW: Lennox 5: The Quiet Death of Thomas Quaid - Craig Russell

Release Date: 04/08/16
Publisher:  Quercus

SYNOPSIS:

PI Lennox - the Scottish Philip Marlowe - returns with a new helping of fast-paced detective noir. where the violent death of Quiet Thomas Quaid shows that Quaid's life had been anything but quiet. From the winner of of the Bloody Scotland Crime Novel of the Year.

Lennox liked Quiet Tommy Quaid. Perhaps it's odd for a private detective to like - even admire - a career thief, but Quiet Tommy Quaid was the sort of man everyone liked. Amiable, easy-going, well-dressed, with no vices to speak of - well, aside from his excessive drinking and womanising, but then in 1950s Glasgow those are practically virtues. And besides, throughout his many exploits outside the law, Quiet Tommy never once used violence. It was rumoured to be the police who gave him his nickname - because whenever they caught him, which was not often, he always came quietly. So probably even the police liked him, deep down.

Above all, the reason people liked Tommy was that you knew exactly what you were dealing with. Here, everybody realized, was someone who was simply and totally who and what he seemed to be.

But when Tommy turns up dead, Lennox and the rest of Glasgow will find out just how wrong they were.


REVIEW:

Craig is a Crime author that I originally stumbled across with his original novel Blood Eagle and to be honest I’ve been hooked ever since. He has a knack for bringing cracking prose with top notch dialogue alongside an arc that just keeps the reader glued.

In this title, a tale featuring PI Lennox really gives the reader the gritty feel of a post WW2 Glasgow with the darker, seedier aspects really helping to give the city a feeling of reality for the reader which when backed with solid description really helps bring it all to life. Finally throw into the mix a principle character that just keeps giving and never letting go, all round generates a story that at the end of the day sated me as a reader leaving a smug satisfaction at the end of the final page. If you love Crime Noir and want some home grown talent, then Craig should be top of your list, trust me you won’t regreat it Just prepare to spend a lot of late nights savouring the stories.