Mackay, Malcolm

"Glasgow Trilogy" author Mackay (winner of both the Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read Award and the Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award) delivers another gritty, staccato-told tale that makes the Glasgow underworld seem almost as cutthroat as any boardroom of a Fortune 500 firm. Those who prefer their crime novels as dark as their coffee will delight in this bitter tidbit along the lines of those of Mick Herron and Jake Arnott. [See Prepub Alert, 11/21/17.]

The first book in what will, one hopes, be a long-running series, featuring a new kind of historical leading lady, Welsh's debut is an inspiring feminist tale perfect for the modern age.

Mackay continues to ascend the ranks of hard-boiled British crime fiction authors. His latest novel, although unrelentingly dark, is streaked with black humor and a fast-paced plot that never sacrifices the truly fleshed-out characters,

Recommended with modest reservations, this compelling modern noir will stand out in most crime fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, 11/16/15.]

To loosely paraphrase Mackay (and Raymond Chandler), it's easy to write a crime novel; it's hard to write a crime novel well. And this unrelenting look at the grimy underbelly of Glasgow's criminal underworld does it very well. [See Prepub Alert, 11/1/14.]