Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

Where no shadows fall by Peter Ritchie.
Grace Macallan is finding a career away from the frontline difficult, so when she’s asked to review a suicide at Barlinnie Prison it feels like a break. The dead prisoner is Tommy McMartin, once heir to one of Scotland’s criminal families, but when he was convicted for the murder of his gay lover, the family disowned him. As Grace unearths the truth of what befell McMartin, she is faced with her greatest dilemma yet: to expose the truth or let the dead lie still.
A good read with some good characters. Good story little slow though. But readable. 3*.

Where No Shadows Fall is the fourth novel in Peter Ritchie's police procedural series featuring Detective Grace Macallan. Having missed the first books in the series, though I have read the fifth - Our Little Secrets - I was happy to jump straight in and read this. The author helpfully provided enough backstory on the characters and setting to make this instalment very readable and hugely enjoyable. Grace Macallan made a determined and unyielding detective with plenty of inner reserve and I would have gladly had her on my team.

Due to the horrors of her previous cases Grace has taken a step back from detective work to concentrate on her family, but she misses it and jumps at the chance of a last investigation. She’s asked to review a suicide at Barlinnie Prison, the dead prisoner being Tommy McMartin, once an heir to one of Scotland’s criminal families, but when he was convicted for the murder of his gay lover, the family disowned him. As Grace unearths the truth of what happened to McMartin, she is faced with her greatest dilemma yet: to expose the truth or let the dead lie still.

As Grace investigates, she struggles to re-evaluate her life and she also has to contend with a stalker as she delves into a world of family feuding and secrets, criminal dynasties, police complicity, corruption, threats and menace.

This superb thriller really packed a punch with an excellent plot and plenty of suspense and drama to interest the reader. I particularly liked Peter Ritchie’s first-rate character creation, many of whom I was absorbed with, no matter what particular traits they possessed. There was definitely something about the deviousness of his characters that completely held my attention.

Dark and gritty, Where No Shadows Fall kept me on my toes and fully entertained all the way through and I can't wait to read another of Peter Ritchie’s masterfully written books. If you are a fan of crime, police procedurals and thrillers, you don't want to miss Where No Shadows Fall!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Black & White Publishing via NetGalley at my request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I received this from the publisher through NetGalley. I requested specifically because of the setting. Not only is it set in Scotland but features Glasgow! I love Scotland and Glasgow is such a fun place. Tons of history and really cool people, it's the perfect setting for a book.

It's a gritty, character-driven novel about the power dynamics of a crime family and the secrets that they bury. The book has several subplots and mysteries and I was worried that Ritchie wasn't going to be able to bring it all to a conclusion but he absolutely did. I really liked how Ritchie resolved the mysteries and how complex it all was. After it was over I had to just really sit and think on the plot...it stays with you.

Grace Macallan is asked to investigate a suicide at the Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow. The suicide is a man named Tommy McMartin, who was a rising member of the McMartin Crime Family until he was convicted of murder. Before Grace Macallan graces the pages, Peter Ritchie details Tommy's rise and fall from the crime family and his life in prison. The prison scenes do include the rape of Tommy from other inmates who are foes of his family. I mention it because I don't like rape scenes in books and it shook me out of the story for a bit, although I understand Ritchie's purpose in including it. I skimmed this section after the first scene because it was upsetting but that's just me.

This is not a book that you can read fast and not pay attention to. It took me a few days because I read it in spurts as I wanted to be fully focussed on the story. The plotting was excellent, and I really liked reading about the setting (Glasgow) as that was exciting to me. Ritchie is big on descriptive characters which I think helped me jump into the series (I didn't feel like I was missing vital anything from previous books)

Grisly, twisted and dark ! I enjoyed this book, I found it very interesting and it captivated my attention until late a night. I have never read a book by the author, and I was pleasantly surprised. And finding out it is a series was a bonus! Going to go and start at the first book. Thank you #netgally and the publisher for the opportunity to read the acr.

This is a really strong series featuring Grace Macallan and book 4 is the best to date. I would recommend starting with book one in the series but this is also a stand alone. I found this very addictive, gritty and compelling to read. An extremely well written thriller which you will struggle to put down.The author is just creeping on to my favourites list! No hesitation in recommending this book and I give it 5*. My thanks to Net Galley for my ARC. Reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Facebook.

Very engaging story with lots of plots and twists to keep you engrossed. Taut and heart pounding. If you enjoy well written thrillers pick up this winner. Happy reading!

Brilliant. Gritty thriller with action the whole way through. There are a lot of threads in this plot and everything is well thought out and well written. Glasgow is a great setting for this story. The characters and their actions pulled me in from the start. I was totally engrossed in their world. I would definitely recommend this book and will be looking out for more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Where No Shadows Fall # Netgalley
Interesting, gangland family although none too happy with Tommy until something happens . They soon close ranks . Grace goes to investigate having been moved off frontline policing she’s just happy to escape her 9-5 desk job. However she comes up against Tommy’s adversaries. With secrets exposed that where dead and buried. Not only was it interesting in parts it was superb read . On the whole a damnd good book. I just felt at some points, it was a bit slow. So in retrospect one minute it was slow suddenly to superb. It’s unfortunate that a few small parts did appear slow, it’s for that reason I am knocking a extra stay off. Although I would still say it’s definitely worth reading

This was an engrossing book and the plot was multi layered with varying strands which all came together in a satisfying conclusion. I did have to concentrate a little to make sure I stayed on track with all the goings on but that did not lessen my enjoyment in any way.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Black & White Publishing for an advance copy of Where No Shadows Fall, the fourth novel to feature Superintendent Grace Macallan of Police Scotland.

Grace has moved to an office job for the sake of her family and is unhappily compiling reports when she is asked to review the prison suicide of Tommy McMartin, former heir apparent to the Glaswegian McMartin crime family. Nothing is as it seems and soon Grace and her old bagman, Jimmy McGovern, are investigating much more than a suicide.

I thoroughly enjoyed Where No Shadows Fall which is a complicated, multi-stranded procedural requiring concentration to keep up with all the characters and their connections. I can imagine the author using charts and diagrams to plot these connections because it must have taken some effort to pull it all together so seamlessly and logically. The first few chapters are used to set the scene and introduce the main players from their own perspective. It does make for a bit of choppiness with a continually changing perspective but it’s riveting as the reader tries to work out where it’s going and how the characters fit together. I found that I soon got used to it and became totally absorbed in each character’s story and contribution to the whole.

Characterisation plays a large part in the novel and while the police officers are fairly straightforward the villains are extremely well drawn and believable. They are violent, with a couple of notable exceptions, and rarely over endowed in the brains department. If in doubt, attack seems to be their modus operandi, except Bobbo and Goggsy, the notable exceptions, whose squeamishness causes all sorts of problems and not a little humour. Through it all Grace tenaciously investigates. She is a tough cookie but she’s struggling to reconcile her life. Due to the horrors of her past cases she has taken a step back from detective work to concentrate on her family but she misses it and jumps at the chance of one last investigation. It comes at a price, of course and if that wasn’t enough she has a stalker (the least convincing part of the novel).

The setting added to my reading pleasure as I’m a sucker for novels set in Scotland and Glasgow in particular. It is always a bonus when you can identify the landmarks and fall in to the vernacular although the author is better at authentic Edinburgh than Glaswegian. The cities may be less than hour apart but are distinctly different in accent, slang and outlook.

Where No Shadows Fall is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.