Malcolm Mackay (1) (1981–)

Frank MacLeod is Peter Jamieson's best gunman. For 40 years he's followed orders and killed men for the benefit of the organization. Now he's 62, not old by modern standards but certainly starting to feel his age, now that he's had a hip replaced. His first job back is a bit of a shambles, truth be told. This makes him a liability. But how does a gunman say goodbye to the only life he's really known?

I enjoyed this book more than the first book, probably because now I knew what to expect: a show more compelling story of the underworld with only small dabs of local colour. (I did nearly cheer aloud when they mentioned the police station in Cowcaddens. "Yes! A familiar place name!") The narration is very rat-tat-tat, crisp and unemotional, which makes the second half of the book in particular that much more emotional for the reader (or at least this reader). The dust-jacket blurb is right to describe the book as "breathtaking" and "devastating"; the ending was as upsetting as it was inevitable.

You could almost read this book on its own, because enough of The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter is summed up as context, but reading the first volume will help you become accustomed to the style. I am really looking forward to the concluding volume, The Sudden Arrival of Violence. show less

Following the events of How a Gunman Says Goodbye, it's Calum MacLean's turn to want to say goodbye to the criminal life. He takes the opportunity of his most recent job to lay low for a while and make plans for his escape. But can he elude the clutches of his boss, Peter Jamieson?

This was indeed a stunning conclusion, as one review stated. The war between the city's various criminal factions comes to a head and the players scramble to put themselves in the best position for when everything show more blows up. The police are trying to secure credible leads and evidence that will help them shut the criminals down. And of course Calum is working to flee the city with the assistance of his older brother, William. It also vividly illustrates the steep price of the criminal life: for criminals, others in their lives, and the police investigating the crimes.

The book has a satisfactory ending, with enough scope for the reader to imagine how things will progress for the characters after the last page is turned, but at the same time tying up most of the loose ends. Recommended if you've read the rest of the trilogy. And if you haven't read the trilogy, it's recommended if you like hard-hitting gangster noir. show less

For Those Who Know The Ending – Another Gripping Glasgow Epic

Malcolm Mackay has followed up his excellent Glasgow thriller, Every Night I Dream of Hell with the excellent For Those Who Know The Ending. Malcolm Mackay certainly knows how to write standout Glasgow Noir that grips you by the throat and does not release you until the end. Once again he has captured the dark heart of Glasgow in terrifying detail and imagination.

I have said it before and I will say it again Malcolm Mackay gets show more better with every book and once again he has proven his excellence with For Those Who Know The Ending. If you are looking for heroes then this is not the thriller for you, this is all about the criminals and their fractured relationships, with each other, their loved ones and on the criminal organisations they work for. This thriller does not romanticise criminality it shows you that it is a hard life where you know the ending is prison if you are lucky death if you are not. No retiring off to the sun here, not that there is much in Mackay’s Glasgow Noir Thrillers.

The story centres around Nate Colgan who is now head of security for the Jamieson Organisation, which is an even more important position now that the head of the organisation is in prison. He is the man that needs to bring fear in to the hearts of others make sure they do not stray from the path otherwise there are consequences.

Colgan does not trust many people especially as one of his trusted lieutenants was recently killed and his needs to convince his mentor, Gully Fitzgerald back in to the business. A man who has his own demons to deal with but with a reputation to send fear down the back of most in Glasgow.

Usman Kassar is happy to be in his big brother’s shadow, because it means he manages to stay off the radar, so that he can action things without the worry of being detected. He thinks it is time to step up to another level, but it is that level where you will be noticed and not necessarily for the right reasons.

Martin Sivok has been sent in to exile from the Czech Republic, his reputation as a gunman has done him no favours, there are people after him who will do him harm, and that is just the police. He is in Glasgow, a weird city where he is trying to survive on the sort of jobs that are small and need you wanting more. When Kassar offers him a big pay day, he realises the dangers this will put him, but he has found love and needs the money.

When that big job is against the Jamieson Organisation, it certainly brings Kassar and Sivok to Nate Coglan’s attention and not for any positive reasons. Both need to realise you can run in Glasgow, but can you ever really hide when a criminal organisation is searching high and low for you. They both know they need to keep their wits about them if they wish to live, otherwise there will be brutal consequences.

Malcolm MacKay has written a taut thriller that is dark and hard, about hard men with hard attitudes that will do you damage if you give them reason. This is the story of what happens if you dare to be a lone wolf criminal who goes up against one of the major players and the consequences are not for the faint hearted.

This is a brutal and dark thriller at its best that shows you there is a really dark heart in Glasgow Noir that can match its Scandi equivalent. show less

Every Night I Dream of Hell – Brilliant Glasgow Noir

Every Night I Dream of Hell is the fifth book from the excellent writer Malcolm Mackay who has captured the dark heart of Glasgow in terrifying detail and imagination. Mackay is getting better with every book he writes, the characters are getting stronger, more defined completely unforgiving and totally compelling. None of these characters are written as anti-heroes but as the dark nasty criminals that they are.

This thriller is narrated show more through the eyes of Nate Colgon, a very violent man, who is the muscle for the Jamieson Organisation. Colgon is the guy you do not cross, or simply annoy; he is the one who should be feared otherwise ones meals will be fed through a straw. He has been promoted to the Organisation’s ‘security consultant’ now that Peter Jamieson is locked up, and there is a power battle taking place. Many in the organisation are not happy about his appointment, but understand why it has taken place; even he will be shocked at how things rapidly unravel.

Colgon at the same time knows that the eyes of DI Michael Fisher will be on him now that there is a power vacuum that he caused by arresting Peter Jamieson and other members of the organisation. He is following Colgon’s ex-wife Zara who is seriously dangerous in her own right, especially as people around her tend to wind up dead or in a serious amount of trouble, has arrived back in Glasgow.

One of Jamiesons organisation is executed after being lured to a flat and nobody has heard of the team behind the killing but they are very clear about the message it sends. A meeting is called and all the important members of the Jamieson Organisation are together as Lafferty one of the heads takes the lead and demands action quickly and that a message is sent in return.

As Colgon and Fisher are separately investigating the execution, one to find the killer and the other to find out who, what and why. The only problem is they need to find this new group that has arrived from Birmingham and committed the execution to first find out what they want and then put an end to their attack on the organisation.

Colgon realises soon enough this could be a race to the death if things are not handled correctly and he certainly does not want to see things blow up in his face. He also knows that his ex Zara attracts trouble like bees round a honey pot and would like to know what she is also doing back in Glasgow. Colgon might be the muscle but he soon realises that he will have to work out who to trust and will he be able to find that and survive.

Malcolm Mackay has written a gripping thriller and Every Night I Dream of Hell is what every reader enjoys starts at a blistering pace and keeps it up throughout the book. There are no wasted words, like Colgon every word is meant to convey the story and the harshness of the world they operate in. Mackay uses words like bullets from a snipe all carefully loaded and aimed to make sure they hit the target every time.

Every Night I Dream of Hell is a fantastic book that keeps the reader gripped from the beginning to the end, an enjoyable trip on to the dark heart of Glasgow. show less