Adrian Magson is the author of 27 crime and spy thrillers. 'Death at the Old Asylum', the 8th title in the Inspector Lucas Rocco series set in 1960s France, currently in ebook, comes out in paperback on the 14th March via Canelo Books.
More information: https://www.adrianmagson.com/
It begins with two deaths: one on the remote Loch Torridon on the west coast of Scotland in a drug deal gone bad, the other with a young man leaping to his death from a Glasgow bridge, reportedly terrified out of his head.
For DS Max Craigie, they are two incidents far apart in location and degree – at first. But he soon comes to believe that they are connected. Proof, however, is scarce, and he wonders whether the deaths are going to escalate.
Already tormented by having crossed the worst kind of criminals in the past, one especially who has threatened to kill his family, Craigie begins to suspect a threat from other sources. The involvement of the NCA – National Crime Agency – and PIRC – the body responsible for scrutinising and investigating standards in the police, is causing problems in his investigation, not least when he believes highly sensitive information is getting out to the criminal gangs.
The threat for Craigie, therefore, comes potentially from all sides: from a criminal he knows will one day come calling, to someone hiding among his colleagues who can subvert his investigation at any time and, if powerful enough, threaten his career.
This is a cracking good story-line full of tension, differing points-of-view and a host of lively characters good and bad, each expertly drawn.
More than a simple story of criminality and deduction, it reveals the fragile underbelly of inter-agency relationships, especially when a policeman, determined to fight for the truth, cannot trust those around him.
Craigie is gruff but likable, and his relationship with his colleague, DC Janie Calder, bubbles with light humour and understanding, a welcome contrast with the darker areas of the story, such as their boss, DI Ross, who seems to inhabit a permanent bubble of stress and anger. The excitement hums as the chase for enemies grows more intense and the peep-hole we’re given to the main criminal conspirators reveals the extent they will go to pursue their ends while covering their activities and building their networks.
