Gary Weightman

Dazzling! A clever concept brilliantly executed.

Very much “why they didn't” rather “what if they had”.

Steve Richard's' anecdotal style makes it a very easy read whilst still packing in information and substance.

A stand alone set in the Glasgow gangster underworld.

Finely etched characters with a storyline that keeps moving and builds to final chapters full of tension. Great storytelling laced with suspense and dark humour throughout.

Perhaps the best Tom Thorne novel for a number of years. Set in 1996 the time is evoked with Mark Billingham's usual humour and detail.

A young boy goes missing, the search for him takes in some literal dead ends before a satisfying ending which isn't signposted earlier. Tom Thorne's nascent career and the early appearance of names and faces familiar from the other novels make it a great read for Thorne fans and those new to the series

Disappointing collection of often very predictable and prosaic short stories.

Not one of the stories offered much of a surprise Even that was predictable after the theme of revenge and retribution had been established in the early stories.

As a fan of Val McDermid's crime fiction I almost stopped reading this collection but I kept going to the end which probably compounded my disappointment.