Where No Shadows Fall

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.

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.

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!

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.