Dead Men and Broken Hearts

It's 1956 in Glasgow, and enquiry agent Charles Lennox has been tasked with tracking a potentially wayward husband. But this case becomes more complicated than it initially seems, with consequences at higher political and lower criminal levels than he would like. Especially when he's trying to return to a more straight-and-narrow version of himself.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The setting of Glasgow in the 1950s was what drew me in, and the fact that Lennox is a Canadian makes it (for this Canadian) even better. His voice is consistently amusing without being a smartass, matter-of-fact and also fanciful when he chooses to be, and most importantly not afraid to admit his mistakes. In this way he reminded me a bit of Lew Archer, less show more spiky than Marlowe and less hard-nosed than Sam Spade. He's been hardened by life but not completely, and it is a pleasure to follow him through these pages and hope he gets his life sorted out.

Some quotes to illustrate Lennox's voice (and Canadianness):

"an American accent that was so cod you could have hauled it up in a trawler net."

"the majesty of the Glaswegian vowel, flatter and broader than the Saskatchewan prairie."

"a face that looked like he'd used it to beat someone to death."

"I'm a Canadian. We make Boy Scouts and Quakers look like ne'er-do-wells."

This is the fourth book in the series and as such may be best read in order if you're the sort who likes to follow the characters' backstories in chronological order over the course of a series. show less

This is the first of the (private investigator) Lennox series set in 1950s Glasgow that I've read, but is the fourth in the series. Lennox's involvement with two seemingly separate investigations, Hungarian emigres, the police and the intelligence community all lends to a rather complex tale which, while for the most part interesting and entertaining, seemed a wee bit contrived, with it never been fully clear to me how Lennox quite figured out one or two crucial elements. The quality of Russell's writing and his bleak depiction of Glasgow are big pluses, it must also be said. Having read all in the Jan Fabel series, I have no choice but to come back to Lennox in order to continue to enjoy this good writer, which I will gladly do in time.

An excellent installment in a brilliant series.