FICTION

For Those Who Know the Ending

by Malcolm Mackay
Mulholland: Little, Brown. May 2018. 272p. ISBN 9780316556071. $26; ebk. ISBN 9780316556057. MYS
COPY ISBN
That bloke who's escorting you this week may in a week be your boss, or you might be dispatched to kill him. Welcome to the Organization. Martin Sivok desperately wants in. Forced to relocate to Glasgow from the Czech Republic where he'd assembled an impressive résumé as a hit man, he hooks up with a goofy and loud accomplice. Together they manage to rob a bookie's office that turns out to be owned by the Organization. That certainly puts them squarely in the headlights of those players Martin wants to attract, which might not be a good thing. Moral: As the poet says, climbing the greasy ladder is never an easy matter.
VERDICT "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.]
Reviewed by Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO , Mar 30, 2018
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Spiral and Other Stories
by Koch, Aidan
FICTION

Not in Love
by Hazelwood, Ali
FICTION

Heads Will Roll
by Winning, Josh
FICTION

The Year of What If
by Patrick, Phaedra
GRAPHIC NOVELS

Anna
by Oberländer, Mia
MEDIA

Finding Sophie
by Mahmood, Imran
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?