What do you think?
Rate this book
Smokeheads
Four friends, one weekend, gallons of whisky. What could go wrong?Driven by amateur whisky-nut Adam, four late-thirties ex-university mates are heading to Islay - the remote Scottish island world famous for its single malts - with a wallet full of cash, a stash of coke and a serious thirst.Over a weekend soaked in the finest cask strength spirit, they meet young divorcee Molly, who Adam has a soft spot for, her little sister Ash who has all sorts of problems and Molly's ex-husband Joe, a control freak who also happens to be the local police. As events spiral out of control, they are all thrown into a nightmare that gets worse at every turn.A wild trip to the Scottish Highlands, Doug Johnstone's debut on the Faber crime list is a classic violent thriller, doused with black humour.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
9 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Doug Johnstone
31 books256 followersDoug Johnstone is a writer, musician and journalist based in Edinburgh. His fourth novel, Hit & Run, was published by Faber and Faber in 2012. His previous novel, Smokeheads, was published in March 2011, also by Faber. Before that he published two novels with Penguin, Tombstoning (2006) and The Ossians (2008), which received praise from the likes of Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin and Christopher Brookmyre. Doug is currently writer in residence at the University of Strathclyde. He has had short stories appear in various publications, and since 1999 he has worked as a freelance arts journalist, primarily covering music and literature. He grew up in Arbroath and lives in Portobello, Edinburgh with his wife and two children. He loves drinking malt whisky and playing football, not necessarily at the same time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 24, 2015
It is a long time since I read a book as awful as this one.
It is about 4 guys, who have been friends since university, on a weekend trip to Islay to visit some of the local whisky distilleries and have some fun.
One of the friends, who is a whisky buff, has plans to open his own distillery in a remote part of the island, if he can convince his rich friend to back him financially. Needless to say things don't work out quite as planned.
I found almost all of the male character unbearable and way over the top, the pivotal point of the book, where things start to go wrong, is almost unbelievable and most of the following events way too far fetched and implausible.
Even the ending, the all important climax of the book, was unbelievably awful. I certainly won't be rushing to read anything else by this author.
It is about 4 guys, who have been friends since university, on a weekend trip to Islay to visit some of the local whisky distilleries and have some fun.
One of the friends, who is a whisky buff, has plans to open his own distillery in a remote part of the island, if he can convince his rich friend to back him financially. Needless to say things don't work out quite as planned.
I found almost all of the male character unbearable and way over the top, the pivotal point of the book, where things start to go wrong, is almost unbelievable and most of the following events way too far fetched and implausible.
Even the ending, the all important climax of the book, was unbelievably awful. I certainly won't be rushing to read anything else by this author.
September 1, 2011
Shite. Pointless. Repetitive. Contains two of the worst leading characters I have ever come across in a book. Over obvious and very poor dialogue. And a conclusion so unsatisfying and flat I felt like chucking the book in the fire. With its ultra short chapters it reads more like a detailed scene breakdown for a film than an actual novel. But don't let that put you off buying the book from me on Amazon Marketplace. (£3.50 folks, the lowest price there!)
January 15, 2021
This is another great read from Doug Johnstone.
It is seriously more violent than any of his later books.
Four friends, who met at university over 20 years ago, go to Islay to sample some fine Scottish malt whiskies. Only two return.
Death, murder, illicit stills, bent coppers, sexual misconduct, a smidge of romance, a ram in the wrong place at the wrong time and the islanders looking out for their own play a part in the book.
It is seriously more violent than any of his later books.
Four friends, who met at university over 20 years ago, go to Islay to sample some fine Scottish malt whiskies. Only two return.
Death, murder, illicit stills, bent coppers, sexual misconduct, a smidge of romance, a ram in the wrong place at the wrong time and the islanders looking out for their own play a part in the book.
June 8, 2012
I read this book from cover to cover one evening, it was that easy to read and I got that swept up in the momentum of the story.
Initially I found the characters difficult to connect with, and put this down to the fact that it was because they were male, however, later as the book went on I realised it was because most of the characters irritated me- not in a bad way- just in a way that made me want them to sort their lives out and realise that they should be happy with their lives, no matter how boring they think they are!
The ensuing drama in the novel soon did this job for me though. The pace of the drama was breathtaking, and I found myself eager to turn the page, desperate to see what else would happen to them next, and whether it would be resolved.
A highly dramatic, well written novel, I would definitely recommend this book, particularly to men.
Initially I found the characters difficult to connect with, and put this down to the fact that it was because they were male, however, later as the book went on I realised it was because most of the characters irritated me- not in a bad way- just in a way that made me want them to sort their lives out and realise that they should be happy with their lives, no matter how boring they think they are!
The ensuing drama in the novel soon did this job for me though. The pace of the drama was breathtaking, and I found myself eager to turn the page, desperate to see what else would happen to them next, and whether it would be resolved.
A highly dramatic, well written novel, I would definitely recommend this book, particularly to men.
September 6, 2016
A main character that compares himself to Seinfelds George (what a winner), and another secondary character that acts like a complete obnoxious tool who loves to brag about his endless money supply. The characterisation of the money flasher was realistically done though. I hated every time he was mentioned. No fault of the author he makes the characters realistic but they aren't people i'm going to empathise with at all. Maybe someone else might
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2018
Brilliant, more brilliant!
Couldn't out it down. Fantastic characters, great storyline. Highly recommended.
Couldn't out it down. Fantastic characters, great storyline. Highly recommended.
November 21, 2022
I’m a fan of Doug Johnstone’s writing and so I jumped at the chance to listen to a book of his that I haven’t yet read and I must say, Smokeheads was right up my street. It’s Johnstone in sparkling black form but also a Doug Johnstone who knows his whiskies and has clearly put a lot of research into the Islay malts and even I, not the biggest whisky lover, ended up thirsting for a glass of the Bruichladdich.
Set in Islay, a beautiful island and home to many of Scotland’s best peaty malts, Johnstone does a fabulous job of creating the atmospherics of its rugged, fractal coast and the way in which many of the whiskies on the south of the island especially, have a distinctive taste infused with peat smoke, brine and iodine.
Four long standing friends come to Islay for a whisky tour. Adam is harbouring big plans of his own but as yet it is too early to unveil them; he is the whisky expert of the four and has planned their itinerary for the weekend. Roddy is a hedge fund manager. He lives life to the max and runs largely on booze and coke. He has an unattractive macho and somewhat aggressive attitude to women. Luke is a musician and something of a loner, while Ethan is the most settled of the four.
Adam is our guide and storyteller on this trip. In truth these friends don’t have a great deal in common anymore and it is Adam’s enthusiasm for this trip that has got them there.
From the start we know that this trip is going to land the friends in trouble. Roddy is a nightmare and it only takes one visit to the local pub for things to begin to cause grief. From there it is a hop, skip and a jump towards violence, intemperate behaviour and the realisation that there’s very little holding these friends together.
Islanders of course, protect their own and Islay is a place that harbours many secrets. When the boys realise that they have uncovered one such secret they also understand that this puts their lives in danger.
Johnstone uses the wild geography of Islay to enhance the danger and they lads become trapped by the winds and tide, by the rugged environment and by some pretty heinous adversaries. This is a violent tale and no-one will emerge unscathed. There’s something about being trapped on an island, even in the 21st Century, that lends itself well to this kind of writing.
Smokeheads is a dark tale of wrongdoing, spoiled love and fractured friendships, greed and venality. Liberally peppered with sweary words and laden with gore, it is both horrific in places and yet full of black humour.
Angus King proves himself yet again to be a worthy narrator. His own voice is as smooth as the long aged single malt and his tonality and inflection catching well those moments that turn black humour into scathing language and violent moments.
Verdict: a fast moving, violent story that has several ‘squick’ moments. You need to suspend disbelief somewhat but once you do, this is a story that quickly gathers momentum and barrels towards a climactic finish. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Set in Islay, a beautiful island and home to many of Scotland’s best peaty malts, Johnstone does a fabulous job of creating the atmospherics of its rugged, fractal coast and the way in which many of the whiskies on the south of the island especially, have a distinctive taste infused with peat smoke, brine and iodine.
Four long standing friends come to Islay for a whisky tour. Adam is harbouring big plans of his own but as yet it is too early to unveil them; he is the whisky expert of the four and has planned their itinerary for the weekend. Roddy is a hedge fund manager. He lives life to the max and runs largely on booze and coke. He has an unattractive macho and somewhat aggressive attitude to women. Luke is a musician and something of a loner, while Ethan is the most settled of the four.
Adam is our guide and storyteller on this trip. In truth these friends don’t have a great deal in common anymore and it is Adam’s enthusiasm for this trip that has got them there.
From the start we know that this trip is going to land the friends in trouble. Roddy is a nightmare and it only takes one visit to the local pub for things to begin to cause grief. From there it is a hop, skip and a jump towards violence, intemperate behaviour and the realisation that there’s very little holding these friends together.
Islanders of course, protect their own and Islay is a place that harbours many secrets. When the boys realise that they have uncovered one such secret they also understand that this puts their lives in danger.
Johnstone uses the wild geography of Islay to enhance the danger and they lads become trapped by the winds and tide, by the rugged environment and by some pretty heinous adversaries. This is a violent tale and no-one will emerge unscathed. There’s something about being trapped on an island, even in the 21st Century, that lends itself well to this kind of writing.
Smokeheads is a dark tale of wrongdoing, spoiled love and fractured friendships, greed and venality. Liberally peppered with sweary words and laden with gore, it is both horrific in places and yet full of black humour.
Angus King proves himself yet again to be a worthy narrator. His own voice is as smooth as the long aged single malt and his tonality and inflection catching well those moments that turn black humour into scathing language and violent moments.
Verdict: a fast moving, violent story that has several ‘squick’ moments. You need to suspend disbelief somewhat but once you do, this is a story that quickly gathers momentum and barrels towards a climactic finish. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 6, 2018
Smokeheads follows the fortunes of four men on a lads' weekend away to Islay, the famous Scottish whisky island. Islay whisky is often smoky, hence whisky tourists are known as "smokeheads".
Smokeheads is a pacy story - perhaps not entirely credible - but is an amusing short read. It is quite violent and that may not be apparent from the cover blurb but it is really nothing that fans of tartan noir can't cope with. There's plenty of atmospheric scenery - peat bogs, rugged coastline, Bowmore's round church, abandoned villages and all. This makes up a little for the lack of deep characterization. The Edinburgh hedge fund manager, the whisky shop assistant, the tour guide, the bar maid and the dodgy policemen are just a little bit hackneyed.
Where Smokeheads scores is the understanding of the psyche of a Scottish island. It's a community where people don't necessarily like one another; they don't always help one another but they will go to any length to avoid interference from outside. Hence, the end of the action is not the end of the novel - fully one third of it is dedicated to trying to find a face saving way out for all concerned.
Where Smokeheads is less successful is that it wears its research quite heavily. There are repeated references to whisky tasting notes, almost all dredged up from Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. There is a geography lesson to teach us where the different distilleries are and some of the favourite distillery tour guide phrases are trotted out. There's even a detailed explanation of Laphroaig Distillery's "Friends" loyalty programme. Even for a whisky nerd like myself, it left the dialogue sounding stilted and pretentious.
Oh, and for future reference, a whisky barrel's bung is in the middle, not the end. If you want to remove the end of a barrel, the only way to do it is to take off the metal hoops so the staves come apart. The end won't just pop out if you pull it.
Smokeheads is a pacy story - perhaps not entirely credible - but is an amusing short read. It is quite violent and that may not be apparent from the cover blurb but it is really nothing that fans of tartan noir can't cope with. There's plenty of atmospheric scenery - peat bogs, rugged coastline, Bowmore's round church, abandoned villages and all. This makes up a little for the lack of deep characterization. The Edinburgh hedge fund manager, the whisky shop assistant, the tour guide, the bar maid and the dodgy policemen are just a little bit hackneyed.
Where Smokeheads scores is the understanding of the psyche of a Scottish island. It's a community where people don't necessarily like one another; they don't always help one another but they will go to any length to avoid interference from outside. Hence, the end of the action is not the end of the novel - fully one third of it is dedicated to trying to find a face saving way out for all concerned.
Where Smokeheads is less successful is that it wears its research quite heavily. There are repeated references to whisky tasting notes, almost all dredged up from Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. There is a geography lesson to teach us where the different distilleries are and some of the favourite distillery tour guide phrases are trotted out. There's even a detailed explanation of Laphroaig Distillery's "Friends" loyalty programme. Even for a whisky nerd like myself, it left the dialogue sounding stilted and pretentious.
Oh, and for future reference, a whisky barrel's bung is in the middle, not the end. If you want to remove the end of a barrel, the only way to do it is to take off the metal hoops so the staves come apart. The end won't just pop out if you pull it.
June 21, 2022
Really not my cup of tea. I feel the characters have been simplistic, there is a lot of whisky snobbery in it which as a whisky enthusiast I can't quite cope with. Some nice twists and turns make it readable to me but overall I found it shallow (an easy read without the joy of finding something I like).
June 19, 2023
An early Doug Johnstone but equally as enjoyable as his more recent work. Four friends on a visit to Islay (a trip that would have made me jealous before I gave up alcohol) and I was tasting some of the Islay malts, particularly my all time favourite, Laphroaig. As it says on the back cover events do spiral out of control for the quartet. My new favourite author.
April 7, 2018
Of the Doug Johnstone books I’ve read this was the poorest in terms of plot and narrative and some pretty unbelievable story plots.
But it was set on Islay. It was short. I was on a train it passed a happy couple of hours away.
But it was set on Islay. It was short. I was on a train it passed a happy couple of hours away.
November 22, 2024
Decided to read this after reading Johnstone's first "Skelfs"mystery which was entertaining. This book appealed to me because of its setting on Islay and it's focus on Scotch whisky. The real story, however, was an action-chase-death thriller. A disappointment but glad I checked it out.
April 15, 2021
A riveting page turner, this is ideal holiday reading.
October 29, 2023
GoodRead
Good read!
Little romance, little intrigue, little mayhem, and kind of a happy ending. It kept me hooked til the end.
Good read!
Little romance, little intrigue, little mayhem, and kind of a happy ending. It kept me hooked til the end.
December 12, 2023
I listened to the audio book and really enjoyed it. Four friends go on a trip to Islay which takes a turn for the worse! Also has an amazing knowledge of whiskies
February 4, 2025
Enjoyed this, an easy reading thriller set among the rugged landscape and distilleries of the Isle of Islay off the west coast of Scotland.
March 29, 2011
My initial thought on the title was that a ‘Smokehead’ must be a pot-smoker or a poorly organised pyromaniac. It turns out to be a term for someone who’s in love with the malt-whiskies of the Isle of Islay.
The book tells the tale of a group of 4 middle-aged men who share a love of the brown nectar. They’re taking a tour of Islay to get as many tastes of the hard stuff as they can manage. We have Adam (whisky taster extraordinaire), Roddy (coke-snorting live life to the full millionaire), Luke (enigmatic musician and loner) and Ethan (Mr Average).
The book opens on a cliff-hanger, with our protagonist falling through the ice into a frozen lake. We know immediately that he’s in trouble - damned if he gets out and drowned if he doesn’t. It certainly grabbed my attention from the off.
The story then steps back and tells us how he ended up there.
Adam has a plan to change his life from the mundane to the exciting by persuading Roddy to invest in a remote, old still. In the meantime Adam finds himself hoping to rekindle the odd spark with Molly, a local whisky expert, who last time they met was married to Joe.
Unfortunately for Adam, Joe still carries a torch for his ex and is keen to use it to ignite the odd fire of his own. Worse, he’s the hard man of the local police force and has more than the odd screw loose.
Having encountered the charm of a small community, they soon discover the drawbacks of being outsiders.
Following a car accident, life for the whisky tourists is never going to be the same ever again.
By the time I got back to the frozen loch scene I was almost as exhausted as the characters, not having had the chance to rest since the off. The good news was that the resolution to the cliff-hanger is only a new beginning and there’s still plenty that remains unresolved.
I feel that Doug Johnstone’s work is at its best when taking us through action scenes (and there are plenty of them). He raises the temperature by degree so that it becomes increasingly uncomfortable (no boiling frogs here). He also has a great knack of taking his characters from extreme situations and surprising them with things that aren’t so much left-field as Outer Limits.
By the end of the book, I realised that I didn’t actually like any of the main characters. I’m not sure I’d want to spend much time with them, but I’d certainly buy them a drink to steady their nerves and to wipe out their memory banks – that would be the compassionate thing to do.
I’d recommend this to fans of fast-paced action, quality writing, thrilling and unexpected twists, harsh landscapes and those who like a little bit of black humour. I guess it’s also a must for any smokeheads out there.
Excellent stuff.
The book tells the tale of a group of 4 middle-aged men who share a love of the brown nectar. They’re taking a tour of Islay to get as many tastes of the hard stuff as they can manage. We have Adam (whisky taster extraordinaire), Roddy (coke-snorting live life to the full millionaire), Luke (enigmatic musician and loner) and Ethan (Mr Average).
The book opens on a cliff-hanger, with our protagonist falling through the ice into a frozen lake. We know immediately that he’s in trouble - damned if he gets out and drowned if he doesn’t. It certainly grabbed my attention from the off.
The story then steps back and tells us how he ended up there.
Adam has a plan to change his life from the mundane to the exciting by persuading Roddy to invest in a remote, old still. In the meantime Adam finds himself hoping to rekindle the odd spark with Molly, a local whisky expert, who last time they met was married to Joe.
Unfortunately for Adam, Joe still carries a torch for his ex and is keen to use it to ignite the odd fire of his own. Worse, he’s the hard man of the local police force and has more than the odd screw loose.
Having encountered the charm of a small community, they soon discover the drawbacks of being outsiders.
Following a car accident, life for the whisky tourists is never going to be the same ever again.
By the time I got back to the frozen loch scene I was almost as exhausted as the characters, not having had the chance to rest since the off. The good news was that the resolution to the cliff-hanger is only a new beginning and there’s still plenty that remains unresolved.
I feel that Doug Johnstone’s work is at its best when taking us through action scenes (and there are plenty of them). He raises the temperature by degree so that it becomes increasingly uncomfortable (no boiling frogs here). He also has a great knack of taking his characters from extreme situations and surprising them with things that aren’t so much left-field as Outer Limits.
By the end of the book, I realised that I didn’t actually like any of the main characters. I’m not sure I’d want to spend much time with them, but I’d certainly buy them a drink to steady their nerves and to wipe out their memory banks – that would be the compassionate thing to do.
I’d recommend this to fans of fast-paced action, quality writing, thrilling and unexpected twists, harsh landscapes and those who like a little bit of black humour. I guess it’s also a must for any smokeheads out there.
Excellent stuff.
March 27, 2016
Smokeheads is the story of four middle-aged friends who take a brief trip to the small Scottish island of Islay to sample the world-famous whiskies made there. A slight sense of menace and impending doom and a somewhat clunkily-placed reference to Deliverance give the reader a pretty good idea of what is to come, and I won't spoil the book by giving away any more of the plot. It is a well-written book which eventually turned into an exciting story, but I thought it was ultimately lacking in anything enduring.
The narrative is prefaced with a page of heart-pounding action from later in the book to hook our attention. Just as well, from my point of view because the opening was rather slow and introduces us to the characters who are pretty much a stock group of disparate stereotypes - particularly the obnoxiously cocky and flash millionaire fund manager. As the publishers put it "events spiral out of control" and the middle section is exciting and gripping, but in the end I thought it added up to very little. In particular, I found the thinly-drawn characters, and especially the lack of any development of the one enigmatic and promising character, very disappointing.
The book has a good build-up of atmosphere and is rather interesting about whisky itself. There is a lot of well-described action, pursuit and sickening violence which certainly kept me reading, but in the end I didn't think it amounted to much and I found it very unsatisfying in lots of ways, so I can't give it more than three stars.
The narrative is prefaced with a page of heart-pounding action from later in the book to hook our attention. Just as well, from my point of view because the opening was rather slow and introduces us to the characters who are pretty much a stock group of disparate stereotypes - particularly the obnoxiously cocky and flash millionaire fund manager. As the publishers put it "events spiral out of control" and the middle section is exciting and gripping, but in the end I thought it added up to very little. In particular, I found the thinly-drawn characters, and especially the lack of any development of the one enigmatic and promising character, very disappointing.
The book has a good build-up of atmosphere and is rather interesting about whisky itself. There is a lot of well-described action, pursuit and sickening violence which certainly kept me reading, but in the end I didn't think it amounted to much and I found it very unsatisfying in lots of ways, so I can't give it more than three stars.
April 22, 2011
"Four friends. One Weekend. Gallons of whisky. What could go wrong?" - well, just about everything it seems.
4 late-thirties, ex-university friends with a serious passion for malt whisky set off to Islay for a weekend of sampling the products from the island's many distilleries. Within minutes of leaving the ferry terminal they, or more specifically the loud-mouthed Roddy, get on the wrong side of the local police and from there everything goes downhill - rapidly! Instead of the jolly weekend they'd planned, arguments lead to an accident, the accident leads to them falling into the sort of nightmare scenario usually reserved for Hollywood movies - think of Deliverance with a Scottish twist. Will anyone survive to tell the tale?
Not everyone is going to take to these four whisky nerds or sympathise much when they land in trouble, but it's a fast paced, action-packed, roller-coaster-ride thriller which I found to be quite enjoyable, though you might be forgiven for thinking it's a "man's" book. There's not a lot of deep characterisation unless the characters are talking about the subtleties of malt whisky and then they could go on for ever! It's VERY violent and full of strong language, drug and alcohol abuse but bizarrely I find myself thinking of it as a lighthearted, enjoyable little book - perhaps I'm perverse.
I'd just like to add that I've been to Islay - and it was nothing like this!
4 late-thirties, ex-university friends with a serious passion for malt whisky set off to Islay for a weekend of sampling the products from the island's many distilleries. Within minutes of leaving the ferry terminal they, or more specifically the loud-mouthed Roddy, get on the wrong side of the local police and from there everything goes downhill - rapidly! Instead of the jolly weekend they'd planned, arguments lead to an accident, the accident leads to them falling into the sort of nightmare scenario usually reserved for Hollywood movies - think of Deliverance with a Scottish twist. Will anyone survive to tell the tale?
Not everyone is going to take to these four whisky nerds or sympathise much when they land in trouble, but it's a fast paced, action-packed, roller-coaster-ride thriller which I found to be quite enjoyable, though you might be forgiven for thinking it's a "man's" book. There's not a lot of deep characterisation unless the characters are talking about the subtleties of malt whisky and then they could go on for ever! It's VERY violent and full of strong language, drug and alcohol abuse but bizarrely I find myself thinking of it as a lighthearted, enjoyable little book - perhaps I'm perverse.
I'd just like to add that I've been to Islay - and it was nothing like this!
June 30, 2012
We know that deliverance came a long time before - but did this book get written before or after the series Mad Dogs on Sky? Certainly lots of parallels, as we have four university friends, who probably don't like each other as much as they should, head off for a boys adventure that goes massively wrong.
This is a fast paced page turner that has the four 30 somethings heading off to Islay to taste the whiskey, with one of the gang aiming to talk the monied one into investing in resurrecting a distillery of their own. They then run foul of the local police, who are running an illegal still, and all hell breaks lose.
Much to admire, not least of all the place and the whisky. Should have been commissioned by the Scottish Tourist board, as I am well up for a visit.
The thrills are plentiful, if not largely unrealistic and the author is less sentimental of his charaters than George RR Martin.
A rollicking good summer read.
This is a fast paced page turner that has the four 30 somethings heading off to Islay to taste the whiskey, with one of the gang aiming to talk the monied one into investing in resurrecting a distillery of their own. They then run foul of the local police, who are running an illegal still, and all hell breaks lose.
Much to admire, not least of all the place and the whisky. Should have been commissioned by the Scottish Tourist board, as I am well up for a visit.
The thrills are plentiful, if not largely unrealistic and the author is less sentimental of his charaters than George RR Martin.
A rollicking good summer read.
February 10, 2013
I thought it would be a lot better. It was fast and pacey, the characters were reasonably vivid, but I just didn't get it. It said there was a lot of humour in it, but I failed to find any of it funny. It left me flat - I finished it in 2 days, but that was probably because I kept reading to see where the point was, or where it got better. The only point I could find in the whole book was that the author wanted to show off some level of knowledge about Scottish Malt Whisky, which he did, again, and again and again until it just got dull.
Very disappointed, and won't be reading any Johnstone again. So much other stuff to get through before more of him.
Very disappointed, and won't be reading any Johnstone again. So much other stuff to get through before more of him.
August 5, 2016
I read and enjoyed Hit and Run by the same author and this book is similar in a lot of ways. The author proposes a scenario (I hate that word, redolent of union meetings, but it fits here) and then expands it along an unlikely path with many dead ends along the way. Like Hit and Run, Smokeheads has its fair share of gory violence, so beware those of a gentle temperament. I didn't give it the full 5*s because:
1. The constant references to whisky tasting became overpowering and pointless.
2. I felt the book lacked closure (another of my hated words).
I still liked the book, enjoyed the storytelling and finished it in about 3 days. Almost a record for me!
1. The constant references to whisky tasting became overpowering and pointless.
2. I felt the book lacked closure (another of my hated words).
I still liked the book, enjoyed the storytelling and finished it in about 3 days. Almost a record for me!
May 22, 2020
I wanted a paperback to read on a long train journey so borrowed this from the library. Four friends who like whisky go on a trip to Islay. "Smokeheads" is apparently what the islanders call the tourists who like the local whiskies. I think my main problem was that I did not like any of the four characters so I was not bothered when bad things happened to them. Some exciting events do take place but I did not find that the author actually managed to convey much excitement in his writing. I doubt I will read any of his other books.
January 3, 2016
It was only quite okay. Galloped along, fast enough, reasonably believable in places but ... the lightness of Adam!! ... and the several holes in possibility (survival of blood loss, snow and immersion in an icy loch) refused to let me suspend the sense of being told a story sufficiently to ever be fully absorbed.
I also hoped the final pair would do the decent thing, returning from Port Ellen.
I also hoped the final pair would do the decent thing, returning from Port Ellen.
July 20, 2015
2 stars may be too kind. I enjoyed the plot of this book and was thoroughly frustrated by the clumsy writing that stymied it at every turn. The characters were one dimensional and there was no variation in the voices used for each. The ridiculous pace precluded any thought of depth and all I can say in the books defence is it didn't take long to get through.
February 7, 2016
Bought this book on sale only because it's about bunch of whisky-nuts going to home islands of Scottish malt. Four friends, who don't have much common anymore, besides love of whisky, get into trouble with local smugglers. Story wasn't so great, but descriptions of whisky tasting and distilleries made it worth reading.
October 10, 2011
Disappointing - I was very keen to read this with it's great setting and subject matter of whisky - but the author opted for a fast-paced thriller - not what I was expecting - too far-fetched also, but still I enjoyed the setting!
September 30, 2013
easy to read, although the characterisation is a little light. Passes the time well, and gives a reasonable feel for Islay scenery, but be warned as there are some brutal scenes hidden inside a book that looks like a light thriller on the cover.
May 17, 2011
A good read, does exactly what it says on the back cover I guess, felt like it finished too soon though, as if the ending had been rushed. Left me a bit unsatisfied.
August 3, 2011
Good wee page turner, felt somewhat disconcerted with how the victims of the piece became the perpetrators?? Unsettled by "the law" being so corrupt too...naive? Yeah probably!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews