The Long Glasgow Kiss

In this second book in the Lennox series, Lennox undertakes to solve the murder of a bookie whose daughter he was romancing (on the very night of the murder, in fact). At the same time, he receives a missing-persons case: singer Sheila Gainsborough is worried about her missing brother, who had some seamy underworld friends. These cases end up being connected, but how they are connected is what the reader has to find out!

This installment of the series was maybe a bit lighter in tone than the first installment. Sure there’s organized crime and a great deal of violence, but Lennox is able to show some of the kinder side of his personality, the Kennebecasis Kid shining through the self that was damaged in the war. The character of Lennox show more has me on his side as he wades through the postwar life in Glasgow. On to the next installment. show less

The Long Glasgow Kiss by Craig Russell is the second book featuring P.I. Lennox, a Canadian that didn’t leave when the war was over, instead he set up shop in Glasgow and runs a fine line in his investigations between staying on the side of the law or drifting into shady areas. 1950’s Glasgow is pictured as a rather seedy and dark place, run by the Three Kings of Crime with whom Lennox often has to both work for and balance between. Lennox is a tough guy, with a smart mouth that more often than not lands him in trouble.

As much as I enjoy the twist and turns of the plot, I did find this one ran a little long and took too much time for it to come together. Then at the end when all the pieces were finally meshing, it felt rushed, as show more if the author simply wanted to finish and get on to something else. However, I did thoroughly enjoy the glimpses we are given of Glasgow in the fifties, still feeling the affect and deprivations of the war.


Into this story of boxing and missing persons, the author also manages a storyline about how heroin is finding it’s way westward to America, implying that this is the beginning of an international market being developed for these drugs. Like Glasgow and Lennox itself these books are sharp and tough and I am hoping the author is able to pull all the ingredients together and vault this series up into the ranks of other great tartan-noir series by the likes of Rankin and McBride. show less

This is a great series with some laugh out loud lines. I read the first three out of order. Didn't matter a whole lot except for the relationship with his landlady. Fun snow storm reading.

THE LONG GLASGOW KISS is the second book from Craig Russell featuring Lennox, Canadian raised, returned soldier, Private Investigator who dances a fine line between the law and the gangsters. Glasgow in the 1950's is controlled by the Three Kings, dangerous men who have divided up the spoils of organised crime and negotiated a sort of working relationship. It goes without saying that they don't trust each other, and Lennox often finds himself caught up in the middle. But Lennox is one of those lone-wolf; act first, think later; never take a step backwards sort of characters - somehow perfect for post-war, gloomy and complicated Glasgow.

Of course there's lots of lone wolf style characters in crime fiction and it's hard to avoid show more stereotypes, but Lennox does add his own particular flavour to things. A little unlucky in love, it's more that he doesn't really try that hard - rather than constantly being used and abused. Okay, so when he's deep in act first, think later mode he's very inclined to get beaten up - and to hand out a few thumpings of his own. Often he's dancing that fine line between the law enforcers and the law forcers, but with Lennox is less Quick Step and more The Stomp. And he does have a tendency to bite off a bit more than he can chew - in this case too many simultaneous investigations. He's been hired to look for a missing brother, heavied into working out what's going on with a prominent boxer and sort of "johnny on the spotted" into searching for the killer of Jimmy MacFarlane - father of his current, well girlfriend's probably too strong a word for the sort of relationship they have.

In order to pull off this workload Lennox uses an interesting combination of help on the side from all sides, a bit of adroit juggling of time and focus, a bit of luck, and a lot of his favourite method of investigation - the "poke something with a very big stick" and see what bites back method. And that's part of the reason why I really like these Lennox books. There's an absolute honesty to the way that Lennox works - part who you know / part what you know / part knowing who knows what you don't know / part who you can annoy until they spit the dummy and reveal more than they intended. He works the streets, the people, his friends and his foes with adroitness, but at the same time there's a basic decency and loyalty about the man that really fits not just his persona but the time and place. A fundamental loyalty that sits well on the shoulders of a man with a past, who is struggling a lot with what his future will be.

Because of the timeframe of the books you can forget computers and mobile phones. We're talking shoe leather and phone boxes. Because of the location we're talking dark, and gloomy. Glasgow is still very much in the thrall of the Second World War, partially because so many of its denizens are also still struggling with the reality of war, and the deprivations afterwards. We are also given a glimpse into a future of drugs and international influences which don't bode well for anyone. Now I'm waiting patiently for the next book because you just can't help wondering what's going to happen to the kingdom of the Three Kings, and where Lennox goes from here. show less

This is the second of the books featuring PI Lennox, which is set in 1950's Glasgow. As those who have read the first book will know,the central character is a tough guy in a tough city. In many ways he is akin to Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe. (Hard in many ways,but with a soft centre) The underworld of Glasgow is controlled by 'The Three King's',who are three very different but equally hard men. Lennox on occasion does work for one or other of these crime bosses,as well as more legit jobs too. One of these jobs is to find the brother of an up and coming female singer and soon the legal work gets entangled with the more dodgy sort. As usual our friend Lennox takes on rather more than he can easily deal with and finds himself in show more trouble with both the police and with various low-life too.
A good swift-moving thriller which will please most readers and only annoy the Glasgow Tourist Board. show less

Enjoyable, old-fashioned noir novel with an evocative fifties Glasgow setting and, in Lennox, a hard hero with a soft centre. The plot is fairly routine and perdictable, but the writing is witty and carries a heavy nod to the likes of Chandler and probably more so to Spillane.

Lennox is an ex-Canadian soldier who has ended up in Glasgow after the second World War. He's now a private eye and often does rather shady work for the criminal element in Glasgow.
In this story, he's looking into two mysteries--one, a missing young man who may have been involved in some shady dealings. The other job is looking into what looks like intimidation of a fighter one of the "kings" of Glasgow's underworld has an interest in.
This is a well-written, atmospheric story with a great sense of time and place.
It is also extremely well narrated.