Tony R Cox is an ex-provincial UK journalist. The Simon Jardine series is based on his memories of the early 70s - the time of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll - when reporters relied on word of mouth and there was no internet, no mobile phones, not even a fax machine.
No Less The Devil is an object lesson in how to use, and manipulate, a terrifyingly bloodthirsty basic plot, and capture and hold the reader’s attention over a sustained period. MacBride is a prolific author whose style stays fresh and even topical and who handles extreme gore dispassionately, as if he is a pathologist or a police family liaison officer.
‘Have a heart’! I hear readers cry, and our introductory serial killer, the Bloodsmith, does just that, hacking out each victim’s most vital organ. Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh has the unenviable task of finding the killer through interviewing the families of the butcher’s victims. Will No Less The Devil herald a new series by MacBride? One can but hope.
The hunt for the Bloodsmith runs alongside a personal problem for Lucy McVeigh when she has to deal with a recently released killer, who, at the age of 11, murdered a homeless man. He’s out of prison after sixteen years and frightened. McVeigh is in the crosshairs of a violent mother whose son died while he was with her. Somehow these different strands will eventually link up, but each is handled in an intriguing, standalone style.
MacBride avoids toying with readers: his sub-plots are powerful and grip the reader’s attention without weakening the storyline. Who is the Bloodsmith and how many victims will there be before justice must triumph? The book’s characters are deftly fleshed out. The single and double dimensions advance to three and even four or maybe five dimensions as their lives, personalities, characteristics, even their gaits, are illuminated through the effortless narration. There is a resounding factuality to almost every description and action, with words that are carefully honed to become tailored, precise ammunition, which are fired with clear aims.
Curved-ball deliveries litter No Less The Devil until the book reaches a jaw-dropping, action-packed, rationale-shredding pinnacle. It’s well worth the wait.
