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Glasgow Underworld Series #3
Όταν η βία πλησιάζει
Είσαι ένας ευσυνείδητος επαγγελματίας δολοφόνος. Ο καλύτερος στον χώρο. Προετοιμάζεσαι σχολαστικά και εκτελείς άψογα κάθε συμβόλαιο θανάτου. Ωστόσο κάποτε φτάνει η στιγμή που η μοναχική ζωή του εκτελεστή γίνεται αβάσταχτη. Έτσι ο Κάλουμ ΜακΛίν, ο εκτελεστής που πρωταγωνιστεί στην Τριλογία της Γλασκώβης, προετοιμάζει την αποχώρησή του κρυφά από τους εργοδότες του, με την ίδια σχολαστικότητα που προετοίμαζε τα χτυπήματά του. Γύρω του μαίνεται ένας σιωπηλός, θανάσιμος πόλεμος. Οι μεγαλύτερες εγκληματικές οργανώσεις της Γλασκώβης συγκρούονται για την επικράτησή τους στον χώρο του υποκόσμου: μπράβοι, πλαστογράφοι, τοκογλύφοι, έμποροι ναρκωτικών, διεφθαρμένοι αστυνομικοί, αδίστακτες γυναίκες, πρόσωπα βίαια, κινούνται στη σκιά, έτοιμα να εξοντώσουν οποιονδήποτε στέκεται εμπόδιο στις φιλοδοξίες τους. Μακιαβελικά σχέδια και μηχανορραφίες συσκοτίζουν τις έρευνες της αστυνομίας. Όμως ο επιθεωρητής Φίσερ θα αξιοποιήσει τα στοιχεία που του δίνει μια αναπάντεχη ομολογία. Και ίσως αυτή τη φορά είναι η σειρά του να νικήσει... Ο Μακέι περιγράφει με οξυδέρκεια τα κίνητρα των ηρώων του, ανατέμνει τις πράξεις τους, αποκαλύπτει τη μοναξιά, τις αμφιβολίες, τους υπολογισμούς και τους φόβους τους, τα λόγια που δεν θα πουν, τα συναισθήματα που δεν θα εκδηλώσουν. Η ατμόσφαιρα που επικρατεί είναι έντονη, βαριά, υποβλητική, με αποχρώσεις. Η γραφή αδρή, με φράσεις συχνά σύντομες, στεγνές, συγκρατημένες. Ο ρυθμός, νευρώδης και εθιστικός, ακολουθεί τον Κάλουμ ΜακΛίν στην επικίνδυνη διαδρομή του, μέχρι το απροσδόκητο τέλος που ολοκληρώνει με συναρπαστικό τρόπο την Τριλογία της Γλασκώβης που άρχισε με τον "Αναγκαίο θάνατο του Λιούις Γουίντερ" και συνεχίστηκε με το "Πώς ένας εκτελεστής λέει αντίο".
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2015
38 people are currently reading
561 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Mackay
22 books178 followersMalcolm Mackay was born and grew up in Stornoway where he still lives. The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, his debut, is the first of a trilogy set in the Glasgow underworld.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
December 16, 2022
Μια κοφτερή ματιά στον υπόκοσμο και στην οργάνωσή του, μια ματιά από την κλειδαρότρυπα στο τι συμβαίνει μέσα στο μυαλό των εκτελεστών, των μπράβων,των αρχηγών τους. Ένας αγώνας επιβολής εξουσίας, παραγκωνίζοντας-αλλά κυρίως διαφθείροντας τους εκπροσώπους του νόμου, ένας μαραθώνιος ελέγχου των μικροδιακινητών, των χαφιέδων,κάθε λογής τσιρακιών,και κυρίως, η επιθυμία του να είσαι τιμωρός κατά παραγγελία και ταυτόχρονα ελεύθερος. Γιατί, ανεξάρτητα με το τι δουλειά κάνεις, το να είσαι από τους καλύτερους είναι mixed blessing - δεν είναι υποχρεωτικό ότι θα σου βγαίνει πάντα σε καλό.
Ένα tartan noir εξαιρετικό, με κοφτή αφήγηση και πολλαπλή ανάγνωση πίσω από τις γραμμές, αντιπροσωπευτικό-αν όχι καθοριστικό- του είδους.
(Η άποψη αφορά το σύνολο της τριλογίας)
Ένα tartan noir εξαιρετικό, με κοφτή αφήγηση και πολλαπλή ανάγνωση πίσω από τις γραμμές, αντιπροσωπευτικό-αν όχι καθοριστικό- του είδους.
(Η άποψη αφορά το σύνολο της τριλογίας)
August 10, 2025
Calum MacLean wants out of the business. Unfortunately, his business is killing people, and his employers have a vested interest in keeping him in. Can a simple gunman buck the system and get out of a life of crime unscathed?
Malcolm Mackay attempts to answer this question in the third and final installment of his Glasgow Underworld Trilogy, "The Sudden Arrival of Violence".
Calum doesn't like killing; he's just really good at it. He doesn't mind it when the victims deserve it, but after a recent job in which Calum killed a relatively innocent bookie and a driver whose only crime was to be a police informant (and a bad one at that), Calum has finally decided to call it quits.
Unfortunately for him, calling it quits iss unheard of in his line of work. He's simply too valuable. AND he knows where the bodies are buried. Literally.
He has two things going for him: 1) a turf war is brewing between an up-and-coming crime boss named Shug Francis and Calum's boss, Peter Jamieson. Confusion abounds, and everyone is stressed. He can easily take advantage of the situation. 2) Calum's older brother, William, an auto mechanic who has nothing to do with the business, is just as smart, if not smarter, than Calum.
Just when Calum is about to disappear, though, Jamieson sends a thug to deliver a painful message to William. The message: Jamieson knows Calum is thinking of quitting, and his resignation is NOT acceptable.
This has the unintended consequence of really pissing off Calum. Hence, the very appropriate title of the novel.
For fans of gritty crime dramas, Mackay's Glasgow trilogy is a treasure trove. If you're expecting a lot of action, though, his books may disappoint. Not that there isn't action in the story. It's just that it's not the focus. Mackay's real talent is in creating a real, believable world inhabited by real, believable characters. There are no cardboard cut-outs or stock cliche characters in this novel. This is the real deal.
Malcolm Mackay attempts to answer this question in the third and final installment of his Glasgow Underworld Trilogy, "The Sudden Arrival of Violence".
Calum doesn't like killing; he's just really good at it. He doesn't mind it when the victims deserve it, but after a recent job in which Calum killed a relatively innocent bookie and a driver whose only crime was to be a police informant (and a bad one at that), Calum has finally decided to call it quits.
Unfortunately for him, calling it quits iss unheard of in his line of work. He's simply too valuable. AND he knows where the bodies are buried. Literally.
He has two things going for him: 1) a turf war is brewing between an up-and-coming crime boss named Shug Francis and Calum's boss, Peter Jamieson. Confusion abounds, and everyone is stressed. He can easily take advantage of the situation. 2) Calum's older brother, William, an auto mechanic who has nothing to do with the business, is just as smart, if not smarter, than Calum.
Just when Calum is about to disappear, though, Jamieson sends a thug to deliver a painful message to William. The message: Jamieson knows Calum is thinking of quitting, and his resignation is NOT acceptable.
This has the unintended consequence of really pissing off Calum. Hence, the very appropriate title of the novel.
For fans of gritty crime dramas, Mackay's Glasgow trilogy is a treasure trove. If you're expecting a lot of action, though, his books may disappoint. Not that there isn't action in the story. It's just that it's not the focus. Mackay's real talent is in creating a real, believable world inhabited by real, believable characters. There are no cardboard cut-outs or stock cliche characters in this novel. This is the real deal.
November 22, 2017
Όπως και τα δυο προηγούμενα, και αυτό δεν απογοητεύει στο ελάχιστο.
Ο Καλουμ πλέον θέλει να αποσυρθεί αλλά δεν ειναι εύκολο όταν πλέον εισαι στην ομάδα του Τζειμσον. Επίσης, καλό θα ειναι να μη μπλέξεις τον αδερφό σου στον βούρκο που ζεις...
Ο Καλουμ πλέον θέλει να αποσυρθεί αλλά δεν ειναι εύκολο όταν πλέον εισαι στην ομάδα του Τζειμσον. Επίσης, καλό θα ειναι να μη μπλέξεις τον αδερφό σου στον βούρκο που ζεις...
August 2, 2020
This book made me feel so many different things. Heartbreak, excitement and fear for some of my favourite characters. Since the start of the trilogy I have had a soft spot for Calum and William MacLean (despite calum’s questionable career). I liked that they had prominent roles in this installment. I also liked the small sense of karma that hit some of the characters I wasn’t so fond of. This was an enjoyable finish to this gangland trilogy!
January 30, 2014
Have delayed writing a review of this one, as I am in a state of denial that this marvellous trilogy has reached its final curtain. Having been bowled over by the fist two instalments, The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter and How A Gunman says Goodbye (and bored everyone interminably with how good they are) Malcolm Mackay finishes his Glasgow Trilogy with a bang and not a whimper…
Redolent of the spare, gritty prose that Mackay has now gained a reputation for, and reminiscent of that colossus of Scottish crime fiction, William McIlvanney, The Sudden Arrival of Violence continues to pull no punches in its depiction of the Glasgow underworld and for many of the major characters this is the final reckoning with scores to be settled once and for all. Calum MacLean, a gunman for hire wants out, being heartily sickened with not only the elements of his last job for crime boss Peter Jamieson, but having become increasingly disillusioned with his choice of career, and life within the criminal fraternity. Jamieson himself has reached his boiling point in his determination to cement his position as the true overlord of criminal control in Glasgow, wanting to stamp out his challengers once and for all. Likewise, DI Michael Fisher, frustrated in his pursuit of Jamieson and his cohorts, is a man on a mission to bring them to justice by any means necessary. As all three men begin on their paths of action and try to extinguish the threats to their ultimate aims, Mackay ramps up the tension, neatly intertwining their three quests into a sublime and flowing narrative, manipulating the reader’s empathy, particularly in the case of Calum, with a true heart-wrenching episode along the way, that by its difference to the normal stone-cold narrative of these books, makes for a shocking impact on the reader. Such is Mackay’s skill at manipulation that for me certainly Calum is an inordinately sympathetic character, presented in such a way that it becomes easy to overlook his clinical and murderous career, and really empathize with his wish to escape, despite the personal cost that arises…
Although this could be read in isolation (and includes a handy list of characters) I would wholeheartedly implore you to read the trilogy in its entirety, to really get a feel for Mackay’s spare prose and to appreciate the nuances of the relationships between the characters. As I have said in my previous reviews of the series, there is a cold, dispassionate tone throughout, not only in relation to the violence of the events presented, but also in the emotional reactions of the characters themselves that is both alienating yet inclusive to the reader’s experience. The writing is seemingly straightforward, but almost witholds as much as it reveals. It is extremely rare to find a trilogy where all three books warrant a 5 star rating, but delighted to say that Mackay achieves this admirably. A great series with a suitably compelling ending. I wonder what’s next….
Redolent of the spare, gritty prose that Mackay has now gained a reputation for, and reminiscent of that colossus of Scottish crime fiction, William McIlvanney, The Sudden Arrival of Violence continues to pull no punches in its depiction of the Glasgow underworld and for many of the major characters this is the final reckoning with scores to be settled once and for all. Calum MacLean, a gunman for hire wants out, being heartily sickened with not only the elements of his last job for crime boss Peter Jamieson, but having become increasingly disillusioned with his choice of career, and life within the criminal fraternity. Jamieson himself has reached his boiling point in his determination to cement his position as the true overlord of criminal control in Glasgow, wanting to stamp out his challengers once and for all. Likewise, DI Michael Fisher, frustrated in his pursuit of Jamieson and his cohorts, is a man on a mission to bring them to justice by any means necessary. As all three men begin on their paths of action and try to extinguish the threats to their ultimate aims, Mackay ramps up the tension, neatly intertwining their three quests into a sublime and flowing narrative, manipulating the reader’s empathy, particularly in the case of Calum, with a true heart-wrenching episode along the way, that by its difference to the normal stone-cold narrative of these books, makes for a shocking impact on the reader. Such is Mackay’s skill at manipulation that for me certainly Calum is an inordinately sympathetic character, presented in such a way that it becomes easy to overlook his clinical and murderous career, and really empathize with his wish to escape, despite the personal cost that arises…
Although this could be read in isolation (and includes a handy list of characters) I would wholeheartedly implore you to read the trilogy in its entirety, to really get a feel for Mackay’s spare prose and to appreciate the nuances of the relationships between the characters. As I have said in my previous reviews of the series, there is a cold, dispassionate tone throughout, not only in relation to the violence of the events presented, but also in the emotional reactions of the characters themselves that is both alienating yet inclusive to the reader’s experience. The writing is seemingly straightforward, but almost witholds as much as it reveals. It is extremely rare to find a trilogy where all three books warrant a 5 star rating, but delighted to say that Mackay achieves this admirably. A great series with a suitably compelling ending. I wonder what’s next….
January 10, 2017
This was very good - I admire Mackay's talent and very much enjoy the style of this trilogy, rapid paced, realistic characters in how they speak and act, the plot compelling and believable, a triumph of the author to make such a complex cast of people (most of whom are criminals or bent cops) a group in which the reader feels some empathy and hence takes an interest.
I commented that #2 in the series had left me slightly disappointed, it felt like a bit of a come-down from the very stylish opener to the trilogy. This too was not as impactful as book 1 in the trilogy, but it didn't suffer as a consequence - it felt well-judged with a narrative that developed and changed and.. ah it was good. I'll look at picking up others by the same author - he's clearly someone whose style and genre are right up my alley.
I commented that #2 in the series had left me slightly disappointed, it felt like a bit of a come-down from the very stylish opener to the trilogy. This too was not as impactful as book 1 in the trilogy, but it didn't suffer as a consequence - it felt well-judged with a narrative that developed and changed and.. ah it was good. I'll look at picking up others by the same author - he's clearly someone whose style and genre are right up my alley.
April 22, 2018
Αυτή η τριλογία μάλλον ξεκίνησε ανάποδα ή τελικά πως ανακαλύπτεις ένα αστυνομικό που σου αρέσει και απορείς γιατί δεν ξεκίνησες με τη σωστη σειρά. Ας είναι λοιπόν..Ξεκινάς με τη φυγή του Κάλουμ, ενός δολοφόνου που όλα τα υπολογίζει και που στο τελος πληρώνει ενα βαρυ τιμημα για το δρομο της ελευθεριας. Το βιβλιο ειναι γρηγορο σε ρυθμο και οι κοφτες προτάσεις στηνουν τον αναγνώστη στον τοιχο. Πολλες φορες το φανταστικα σαν ταινια, με ενταση, μουσικη, ρυθμο και ενα παραξενο γκρι για χρωμα..σχεδον λευκο. Ισως γιατι καπως ετσι ονειρευομαι οτι μοιαζει η Γλασκώβη και ο υποκοσμος που περιγραφει τοσο πετυχημενα ο Malcolm Mackay. ΥΓ1 Προτεινω να ξεκινησετε με τη σειρα την 3λογια γιατι εχει ενδιαφερον και μαλλον θα κατανοησετε καλυτερα τον Κάλουμ και το περιβαλλον του υποκοσμου που τον περιβαλλει. ΥΓ2 Να βαλετε συνοδευτικά το Alive & Kicking των Simple Minds...
March 20, 2015
REVIEW: THE SUDDEN ARRIVAL OF VIOLENCE by Malcolm McKay
The third and concluding crime thriller in author Malcolm McKay' s GLASGOW TRILOGY, THE SUDDEN ARRIVAL OF VIOLENCE is keen, riveting, gritty "Glasgow Noir." What's a highly accomplished hit man to do if he wants to opt out of the game? He has two options: death--or play a very cunning and clever ploy of his own, pitting a triad of competitive, greedy, crime bosses against each the other, and turn the police on to then all. Very tricky, very dangerous, and potentially fatal--but, can it be effected?
The third and concluding crime thriller in author Malcolm McKay' s GLASGOW TRILOGY, THE SUDDEN ARRIVAL OF VIOLENCE is keen, riveting, gritty "Glasgow Noir." What's a highly accomplished hit man to do if he wants to opt out of the game? He has two options: death--or play a very cunning and clever ploy of his own, pitting a triad of competitive, greedy, crime bosses against each the other, and turn the police on to then all. Very tricky, very dangerous, and potentially fatal--but, can it be effected?
January 30, 2018
Θα προτιμήσω να μην το μετρήσω σαν ξεχωριστό βιβλίο, παρά σαν το εξαιρετικό τέλος ενός "μεγάλου" βιβλίου. Ο MacKey κάνει παπάδες εδώ, τόσο αφηγηματικά όσο και τεχνικά. Δεν θα μπορούσε να δώσει καλύτερο τέλος στην τριλογία του, και αυτό από μόνο του είναι αξιέπαινο. Θα πρότεινα σε όλους, όμως, να τα διαβάσουν συνεχόμενα όλα, για την καλύτερη και πιο ολοκληρωμένη αναγνωστική εμπειρία!
December 21, 2020
The final book in this Glasgow based crime trilogy was the best of the bunch. Calum MacLean is a gunman, once freelance now working for Peter Jamieson. He feels stifled by this commitment and is tired of being the man he has become. Calum wants out, not an accepted choice when you know too much. He plans carefully and then...
This is a well written, gritty, character driven crime thriller which I quite enjoyed. Now on to check out what else Malcolm Mackay has written.
This is a well written, gritty, character driven crime thriller which I quite enjoyed. Now on to check out what else Malcolm Mackay has written.
August 10, 2022
Συνεπής κατάληξη της τριλογίας της Γλασκώβης, ίσως με λίγο περισσό��ερο feelgood τέλος από όσο ταιριάζει σε μια ιστορία βίας και πόλεμου για νησίδες εξουσίας του υπόκοσμου. Τα νήματα της πλοκής φτάνουν στο τέλος τους, χωρίς κάποια τρομερή αντροπή ή εξέλιξη της οποίας η δυναμική να υπερσκελίζει τη μέχρι τώρα αφήγηση.
April 8, 2014
This is the third book in the "Glasgow" trilogy by Malcolm Mackay. All three can be described as "Tartan Noir". Starting with "The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter" which is Mr Mackay's debut novel, leading straight into "How a Gunman Says Goodbye" and finishing with "The Sudden Arrival of Violence", these are gripping tales set in the underworld of Glasgow crime.
Mr Mackay has a new and fascinating writing style and has given us a lead, Calum MacLean, that you really shouldn't like. However, we are let into the mind of this hit man and in a fairly short time, you will find yourself always hoping he remains safe. Using the same technique of letting us read the thoughts in the some of the other characters' minds, Mr Mackay leads us to actively dislike those that deserve our condemnation and to feel for those not so innocents who deserve our approbation. I read the trilogy over three consecutive weeks as they are "unputdownable"!
These books have been reviewed very favourably by mainline newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and not least by the terrific Lee Childs, who describes them as "very authentic, very gritty and a first class member of the Tartan Noir genre".
I highly recommend all three books for both story enjoyment and exposure to a "different" way to tell the story. Excellent!
Mr Mackay has a new and fascinating writing style and has given us a lead, Calum MacLean, that you really shouldn't like. However, we are let into the mind of this hit man and in a fairly short time, you will find yourself always hoping he remains safe. Using the same technique of letting us read the thoughts in the some of the other characters' minds, Mr Mackay leads us to actively dislike those that deserve our condemnation and to feel for those not so innocents who deserve our approbation. I read the trilogy over three consecutive weeks as they are "unputdownable"!
These books have been reviewed very favourably by mainline newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and not least by the terrific Lee Childs, who describes them as "very authentic, very gritty and a first class member of the Tartan Noir genre".
I highly recommend all three books for both story enjoyment and exposure to a "different" way to tell the story. Excellent!
April 17, 2014
Was slightly disappointed with this one as I'd really enjoyed the previous two in the series especially the second one. This one was written in the same unique style but seemed to drag a bit and be too long whereas I raced through the previous two. Think it was because I felt that some of the actions of the main protagonists didn't seem right and fit with what their characters were - either making silly mistakes or betraying key colleagues. The ending was a bit of a damp squib too - and there wasn't that much violence and it wasn't that sudden so the title seemed a bit off too !
Anyway, I feel that I'm putting it down a bit too much now - did enjoy it and anyone will who has read and enjoyed the first two as it is essentially more of the same. Strange how the third book of a trilogy is often a disappointment - either the first book is great and they should stop there and not milk it out (dare I suggest "Hunger Games" as an example ?) or the first book is good, second follows on and is even better (eg: this series) and the author then runs out of ideas and doesn't know how to finish it.
Anyway, I feel that I'm putting it down a bit too much now - did enjoy it and anyone will who has read and enjoyed the first two as it is essentially more of the same. Strange how the third book of a trilogy is often a disappointment - either the first book is great and they should stop there and not milk it out (dare I suggest "Hunger Games" as an example ?) or the first book is good, second follows on and is even better (eg: this series) and the author then runs out of ideas and doesn't know how to finish it.
February 22, 2018
Δεν με απογοήτευσε ο Mackay ούτε στο τρίτο και τελευταίο βιβλίο της σειράς.Υπέροχη σχεδόν καταιγιστική γραφή,σε πιάνει από το λαιμό και δε σ’αφήνει.Θα περιμένω με αγωνία το επόμενο βιβλίο του Σκωτσέζου.
July 31, 2018
Πρέπει να είναι το βιβλίο με τα λιγότερα λογοτεχνικά σχήματα και επίθετα που έχω διαβάσει. Και όμως η εικονογραφία του είναι συγκλονιστική και η μετατροπία του απίστευτη.
October 16, 2018
A little background on this & the others in the series - I had them all on my "Want to Read" list with no real sense of urgency until a recent foray to Jim Thorpe, PA & a visit to a local used bookstore. They had the 2nd & 3rd installments for sale, so I purchased them & set to reading.
The irony of the titles is veddy UK! The arrival of the violence was sudden in the same way that something simmering on the stove that suddenly erupts or bursts into flames is sudden. Things have been cooking along in the Glasgow, Scotland underworld for two books & this is the culmination. Frank MacLeod's replacement is the central figure in this one, but unlike his predecessor, he has an escape plan to say goodbye in his own way & time. It is a rollicking read with a conclusion that leaves everything in disarray, setting up the epilogue in "Every Night I Dream of Hell". They should all be read in order!
The irony of the titles is veddy UK! The arrival of the violence was sudden in the same way that something simmering on the stove that suddenly erupts or bursts into flames is sudden. Things have been cooking along in the Glasgow, Scotland underworld for two books & this is the culmination. Frank MacLeod's replacement is the central figure in this one, but unlike his predecessor, he has an escape plan to say goodbye in his own way & time. It is a rollicking read with a conclusion that leaves everything in disarray, setting up the epilogue in "Every Night I Dream of Hell". They should all be read in order!
March 21, 2024
Mackay’s Glasgow Trilogy, which really should be read as a single book, should go to the top of the list for any crime/noir — esp. Irish/Scottish — aficionados. Smart, complicated, driving, and analytical, there is plenty of action, but it is always subsumed under the chessboard of Scottish underworld politics — all handled with subtlety and skill. Top notch. It’s books like this that keep one hunting through the huge piles of mediocrity that get published each year.
It doesn’t look as if Mackay’s other books reached this same pitch of intelligence — though I can’t speak at first-hand.
It doesn’t look as if Mackay’s other books reached this same pitch of intelligence — though I can’t speak at first-hand.
September 8, 2018
I enjoyed the first two books in this series but this one, the third, is by far the best. The consequences of decisions made in the first two build to heart quickening climax here. My issue with the first two books was pacing. They dropped off in the third half; whole chapters were spent on thinking through a decision. Here Mackay gets the plotting right. It's exiciting and tense through out. It starts with a bang and doesn't let up. Worth reading the whole trilogy for.
August 28, 2017
Compelling inevitability. A mark of great fiction is that its denouement is inevitable. You can guess what would befall the characters. But, here, even though you know the ending, the author keeps you guessing how the story will get there. He compels you to turn the page. Bravo!
August 18, 2022
Excellent. It was always going to be difficult to match the second in the series but this one keeps one guessing (again) and ultimately satisfies.
December 18, 2014
Het is aan te raden de Glasgow-trilogie op volgorde te lezen, want het verhaal loopt door en de personages ontwikkelen zich. De uitgever komt (nieuwe) lezers hierin tegemoet: wie 'Een plotselinge uitbarsting van geweld' (= deel 3) koopt, kan tot 12 maart 2015 de e-books van de delen 1 en 2 gratis downloaden (zie laatste pagina van deel 3).
Voor info over de auteur en sfeertekening et cetera verwijs ik naar mijn recensies van 'De onvermijdelijke dood van Lewis Winter' (= deel 1) en 'Hoe een huurmoordenaar zijn verdiende afscheid krijgt' (= deel 2).
Calum MacLean is er klaar mee, zijn vak als huurmoordenaar heeft hij meer dan lang genoeg uitgeoefend. Zodra de gelegenheid zich voordoet wil hij uit het criminele leven stappen en een eerzaam burger worden. Makkelijker gezegd dan gedaan … Hoe zal de Glasgowse onderwereld reageren? Laten zijn bazen Peter Jamieson en John Young hem gaan? Verlinken de mensen die hem moeten helpen verdwijnen – want ook Calum kan niet alles alleen – hem niet? Vragen, dilemma’s, is Calum slim genoeg om de juiste route uit te stippelen? En dan komt er een kink in de kabel, een probleem in de 'kring' van de zeer weinig mensen die Calum na aan het hart liggen.
Tezelfdertijd laait de oorlog tussen de rivaliserende bendes in de stad tot grote hoogte op. In feite maken Jamieson & Young de dienst uit. Zij maken gebruik van corrupte politiemensen, gevoelens van loyaliteit en spelen tegenstanders tegen elkaar uit. Een huurmoordenaar is onontbeerlijk, is Shaun Hutton goed genoeg om Calum op te volgen? Een fout is snel gemaakt en in dit vak onherstelbaar …
Dan is er nog inspecteur Michael Fisher. Die zit met de handen in het haar, omdat hij al lange tijd geen noemenswaardige resultaten meer geboekt heeft. De moordenaar van Lewis Winter is niet gevonden en ook de daaropvolgende moorden zijn niet opgelost. Dankzij de verdwijning van Richard Hardy en Kenny McBride komt er weer enig licht in de duisternis.
De spanning in 'Een plotselinge uitbarsting van geweld' komt grotendeels voort uit de vragen óf en zo ja hoé Calum erin weet te slagen zich los te maken uit de criminele wereld. Terugdenkend aan deel 2 van de trilogie spreekt het niet vanzelf dat Calum dit overleeft. Er hangen donkere wolken boven Glasgow, het is een ingewikkeld en moeizaam verlopend proces. Een hele klus ook voor auteur Malcolm Mackay om hierin de weg niet kwijt te raken en logische stappen te blijven zetten om tot een bevredigende oftewel plausibele afronding te komen. Mackay verslapt, evenals in de eerdere delen, geen moment. Zijn schrijfstijl is om door een ringetje te halen, zijn krachtige manier van vertellen spreekt zeer tot de verbeelding en voert je mee in het onderwereldperspectief, zijn personages kun je aan de hand van de beschreven typeringen uittekenen. Michael Fisher blijft een beetje een raadsel, maar ook dat heeft zijn charme. De beslissende wending in het verhaal is buitengewoon origineel, wat een lef en wat een vondst!
De trilogie is hiermee compleet. Van Malcolm Mackay is in augustus jongstleden een 'standalone novel' uitgebracht onder de titel 'The Night The Rich Men Burned'. De boekbeschrijving is veelbelovend: "There's nothing so terrifying as money ...". Laat maar komen!
[plot 5, spanning 4, leesplezier 5, schrijfstijl 5, originaliteit 5, psychologie 5]
Voor info over de auteur en sfeertekening et cetera verwijs ik naar mijn recensies van 'De onvermijdelijke dood van Lewis Winter' (= deel 1) en 'Hoe een huurmoordenaar zijn verdiende afscheid krijgt' (= deel 2).
Calum MacLean is er klaar mee, zijn vak als huurmoordenaar heeft hij meer dan lang genoeg uitgeoefend. Zodra de gelegenheid zich voordoet wil hij uit het criminele leven stappen en een eerzaam burger worden. Makkelijker gezegd dan gedaan … Hoe zal de Glasgowse onderwereld reageren? Laten zijn bazen Peter Jamieson en John Young hem gaan? Verlinken de mensen die hem moeten helpen verdwijnen – want ook Calum kan niet alles alleen – hem niet? Vragen, dilemma’s, is Calum slim genoeg om de juiste route uit te stippelen? En dan komt er een kink in de kabel, een probleem in de 'kring' van de zeer weinig mensen die Calum na aan het hart liggen.
Tezelfdertijd laait de oorlog tussen de rivaliserende bendes in de stad tot grote hoogte op. In feite maken Jamieson & Young de dienst uit. Zij maken gebruik van corrupte politiemensen, gevoelens van loyaliteit en spelen tegenstanders tegen elkaar uit. Een huurmoordenaar is onontbeerlijk, is Shaun Hutton goed genoeg om Calum op te volgen? Een fout is snel gemaakt en in dit vak onherstelbaar …
Dan is er nog inspecteur Michael Fisher. Die zit met de handen in het haar, omdat hij al lange tijd geen noemenswaardige resultaten meer geboekt heeft. De moordenaar van Lewis Winter is niet gevonden en ook de daaropvolgende moorden zijn niet opgelost. Dankzij de verdwijning van Richard Hardy en Kenny McBride komt er weer enig licht in de duisternis.
De spanning in 'Een plotselinge uitbarsting van geweld' komt grotendeels voort uit de vragen óf en zo ja hoé Calum erin weet te slagen zich los te maken uit de criminele wereld. Terugdenkend aan deel 2 van de trilogie spreekt het niet vanzelf dat Calum dit overleeft. Er hangen donkere wolken boven Glasgow, het is een ingewikkeld en moeizaam verlopend proces. Een hele klus ook voor auteur Malcolm Mackay om hierin de weg niet kwijt te raken en logische stappen te blijven zetten om tot een bevredigende oftewel plausibele afronding te komen. Mackay verslapt, evenals in de eerdere delen, geen moment. Zijn schrijfstijl is om door een ringetje te halen, zijn krachtige manier van vertellen spreekt zeer tot de verbeelding en voert je mee in het onderwereldperspectief, zijn personages kun je aan de hand van de beschreven typeringen uittekenen. Michael Fisher blijft een beetje een raadsel, maar ook dat heeft zijn charme. De beslissende wending in het verhaal is buitengewoon origineel, wat een lef en wat een vondst!
De trilogie is hiermee compleet. Van Malcolm Mackay is in augustus jongstleden een 'standalone novel' uitgebracht onder de titel 'The Night The Rich Men Burned'. De boekbeschrijving is veelbelovend: "There's nothing so terrifying as money ...". Laat maar komen!
[plot 5, spanning 4, leesplezier 5, schrijfstijl 5, originaliteit 5, psychologie 5]
February 27, 2017
A great way to end the trilogy
January 22, 2016
This is the final novel in The Glasgow Trilogy, and it is a wonderful way to wrap up the series, living up to the high standard set by the earlier novels: “The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter” and “How a Gunman Says Goodbye.” The war between crime syndicates is coming to a showdown.
From the publisher: It begins with two deaths: A moneyman and an informant. The deaths offer a unique opportunity to a man like Calum MacLean. A hitman who has finally had enough of killing. It’s never easy to walk away from a job. It’s near impossible when that job is murder. Nobody’s gotten away with it before. But nobody who’s tried is as good as Calum MacLean at leaving no trace. Calum plans an unprecedented escape just as his employers need him the most. Glasgow’s biggest criminal organizations are gearing up for a final, fatal confrontation. The panic over Calum’s abrupt disappearance may finally give Detective Michael Fisher the chance he needs to close the case of a lifetime. But first he must track down a man who has become a master at staying in the shadows.
Calum is 29 years old. “After ten years of killing people for a living,” the ‘complicated turf war’ has gotten to the point that he wants to walk away, although he is mindful of how difficult that is: “They’re going to do what they do to anyone who tries to walk away without permission. Anyone who knows too much. They’ll put a bullet in him.” He relearns something he already knew: “As long as you trust them all to be untrustworthy, they’ll never let you down.” The bad guys and the ostensibly good guys (the cops) are filled with people who can’t be trusted, by the other side or their own. Can Calum finally get away from all this?
The author once again masterfully conjures up this world, and the suspense builds as the denouement nears. A fitting conclusion to a trilogy well worth reading, and this one as well is highly recommended.
From the publisher: It begins with two deaths: A moneyman and an informant. The deaths offer a unique opportunity to a man like Calum MacLean. A hitman who has finally had enough of killing. It’s never easy to walk away from a job. It’s near impossible when that job is murder. Nobody’s gotten away with it before. But nobody who’s tried is as good as Calum MacLean at leaving no trace. Calum plans an unprecedented escape just as his employers need him the most. Glasgow’s biggest criminal organizations are gearing up for a final, fatal confrontation. The panic over Calum’s abrupt disappearance may finally give Detective Michael Fisher the chance he needs to close the case of a lifetime. But first he must track down a man who has become a master at staying in the shadows.
Calum is 29 years old. “After ten years of killing people for a living,” the ‘complicated turf war’ has gotten to the point that he wants to walk away, although he is mindful of how difficult that is: “They’re going to do what they do to anyone who tries to walk away without permission. Anyone who knows too much. They’ll put a bullet in him.” He relearns something he already knew: “As long as you trust them all to be untrustworthy, they’ll never let you down.” The bad guys and the ostensibly good guys (the cops) are filled with people who can’t be trusted, by the other side or their own. Can Calum finally get away from all this?
The author once again masterfully conjures up this world, and the suspense builds as the denouement nears. A fitting conclusion to a trilogy well worth reading, and this one as well is highly recommended.
October 15, 2015
This is the concluding volume in Malcolm MacKay's excellent Glasgow Trilogy and it maintains the brilliance of the preceding two. It is comprehensible if you haven't read the previous two, but I would strongly recommend beginning with The Necessary Death Of Lewis Winter and How A Gunman Says Goodbye because the story and characters progress through all three to the climax here.
The story is of the Glasgow underworld and how different "organisations" manoeuvre for power between each other and within themselves. As before, we get the points of view of a number of characters which is a difficult trick to pull off but MacKay does it brilliantly, showing the way in which these things play out and the rapid changes in perspectives and loyalties as things change. He is so good at this that, slightly disturbingly, I found myself concerned for a cold-blooded gunman and wanting him to be safe. It's an excellent, exciting and thoughtful story, full of tension and insight and which avoids most of the clichés of the genre.
I find MacKay's style riveting. He writes mainly in short, staccato sentences. Not many adjectives. No similes or metaphors. It moves the action along. Builds the tension, too. You get the idea, and it's fantastically effective, I think. Despite the title, there isn't all that much graphic violence. What violence there is, is described in the same tone as the rest of the book which, to me, makes it exceptionally vivid and disturbing.
I was completely hooked on this as I have been on the previous two books. If you like a good crime novel (this is a lot more than a basic thriller) you'll probably love this and I recommend it very warmly indeed.
The story is of the Glasgow underworld and how different "organisations" manoeuvre for power between each other and within themselves. As before, we get the points of view of a number of characters which is a difficult trick to pull off but MacKay does it brilliantly, showing the way in which these things play out and the rapid changes in perspectives and loyalties as things change. He is so good at this that, slightly disturbingly, I found myself concerned for a cold-blooded gunman and wanting him to be safe. It's an excellent, exciting and thoughtful story, full of tension and insight and which avoids most of the clichés of the genre.
I find MacKay's style riveting. He writes mainly in short, staccato sentences. Not many adjectives. No similes or metaphors. It moves the action along. Builds the tension, too. You get the idea, and it's fantastically effective, I think. Despite the title, there isn't all that much graphic violence. What violence there is, is described in the same tone as the rest of the book which, to me, makes it exceptionally vivid and disturbing.
I was completely hooked on this as I have been on the previous two books. If you like a good crime novel (this is a lot more than a basic thriller) you'll probably love this and I recommend it very warmly indeed.
September 5, 2015
It was gratifying to see Malcolm Mackay get back to good form on this final part of his Glasgow underworld trilogy. Where his short, staccato interior monologues had just become tedious in the second book, they returned in this novel to driving the tense plot forward, without ever making you certain where it would end up.
As this book opens, young hit man Calum MacLean is engaged in a brutal job, killing the milquetoast money man for his boss' rival, and making his unwitting driver dig his own grave because the organization had found out he was talking to police.
As Calum's bosses, Peter Jamieson and John Young, prepare to finally wipe out their rival, Shug Francis, Calum is hoping to use the silent no-communication period following a job to pull off his escape from this deadly life, which has left him with no true friends, no love live, no ability to walk down a street without looking over his shoulder.
To do that, though, he must rely on one person: his brother William, a car repair shop owner and his only sibling.
The book becomes a saga of what happens to William and Calum in these final days, as well as the revenge that police inspector Michael Fisher finally can wreak on the city's gangsters.
To say any more would be to give away too much, but suffice it to say the pace is taut, the subplots are humming and the book achieves that mastery of the "sudden arrival of violence" punctuated with the eerily mundane day to day lives of professional criminals.
If you took time for only one part of the trilogy, I'd jump straight to this one.
As this book opens, young hit man Calum MacLean is engaged in a brutal job, killing the milquetoast money man for his boss' rival, and making his unwitting driver dig his own grave because the organization had found out he was talking to police.
As Calum's bosses, Peter Jamieson and John Young, prepare to finally wipe out their rival, Shug Francis, Calum is hoping to use the silent no-communication period following a job to pull off his escape from this deadly life, which has left him with no true friends, no love live, no ability to walk down a street without looking over his shoulder.
To do that, though, he must rely on one person: his brother William, a car repair shop owner and his only sibling.
The book becomes a saga of what happens to William and Calum in these final days, as well as the revenge that police inspector Michael Fisher finally can wreak on the city's gangsters.
To say any more would be to give away too much, but suffice it to say the pace is taut, the subplots are humming and the book achieves that mastery of the "sudden arrival of violence" punctuated with the eerily mundane day to day lives of professional criminals.
If you took time for only one part of the trilogy, I'd jump straight to this one.
November 1, 2015
This was one of the books submitted to the Crime Writers' Association in the best thriller category, for which I was a judge.
While I really like Malcolm Mackay, the novel did split the judges. I was certainly gripped by it and nominated it for the long list, but several other judges found it to be cold, with no likeable characters. It is true that this tale of the rise of darkly brutal and ambitious Oliver Peterkinney in Glasgow is full of compromised and often unpleasant characters. Here, the author is continuing his MO from his Glasgow trilogy (The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, How a Gunman Says Goodbye, The Sudden Arrival of Violence) of writing in a near-documentary style to depict criminal lives. The bosses are bastards, their underlings are desperate bastards, and the whole story unfolds with ruthless logic.
Personally, I don't want every book I read to always have a shiny, likeable protagonist. However uncompromising the author's view is here, it is not true that the story is totally bereft of humanity and compassion, though these qualities need to sifted for carefully.
But what is distinctive and highly effective is Mackay's style of shifting viewpoints and detached observation. It can't be long before the movie and TV folk come calling, surely.
While I really like Malcolm Mackay, the novel did split the judges. I was certainly gripped by it and nominated it for the long list, but several other judges found it to be cold, with no likeable characters. It is true that this tale of the rise of darkly brutal and ambitious Oliver Peterkinney in Glasgow is full of compromised and often unpleasant characters. Here, the author is continuing his MO from his Glasgow trilogy (The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, How a Gunman Says Goodbye, The Sudden Arrival of Violence) of writing in a near-documentary style to depict criminal lives. The bosses are bastards, their underlings are desperate bastards, and the whole story unfolds with ruthless logic.
Personally, I don't want every book I read to always have a shiny, likeable protagonist. However uncompromising the author's view is here, it is not true that the story is totally bereft of humanity and compassion, though these qualities need to sifted for carefully.
But what is distinctive and highly effective is Mackay's style of shifting viewpoints and detached observation. It can't be long before the movie and TV folk come calling, surely.
September 10, 2016
This book is the story of a hitman, Calum MacLean and his efforts to leave his lifestyle and organized crime. He enlists the aid of his brother to help disappear. Meanwhile, crime bosses are battling it out and people are being killed.
Calum does one last job, and knowing his boss won't expect to hear from him directly after, he runs off to his brothers place. He has his brother get him a false identity from a forger and is almost ready to go. Until the forger 'grasses' on him and things get crazy.
Michael Fisher, a detective with the police force is hot on the trail of the crime bosses. He finds evidence against one of the bosses and starts gathering more. He wants to put the biggest bosses in jail for a long time.
This book is chock full of action and intrigue. It is the third installment of the Glasgow Trilogy but reads very well on its own. I've read the first one and somehow skipped the second. I'll definitely read it as well, since they are exceptionally well written and exciting. Recommended reading for all who like a good tale of crime and punishment.
Calum does one last job, and knowing his boss won't expect to hear from him directly after, he runs off to his brothers place. He has his brother get him a false identity from a forger and is almost ready to go. Until the forger 'grasses' on him and things get crazy.
Michael Fisher, a detective with the police force is hot on the trail of the crime bosses. He finds evidence against one of the bosses and starts gathering more. He wants to put the biggest bosses in jail for a long time.
This book is chock full of action and intrigue. It is the third installment of the Glasgow Trilogy but reads very well on its own. I've read the first one and somehow skipped the second. I'll definitely read it as well, since they are exceptionally well written and exciting. Recommended reading for all who like a good tale of crime and punishment.
July 3, 2016
This was not as good as the first two. The first one was excellent. The second one was very good. This one is gasping for air. Too many players, too many parts. Seems like filler. The character of the hitman Calum Maclean was great, and his character held those first two books. He gets some look ins here. The other characters aren't as compelling. Interesting, sure. But when you are writing an internal dialogue on the girlfriend of a very small player who has been killed, then you know you are lost. This was 380 pages. Could have done with 300 and more MacLean chapters.
October 13, 2014
A gunman is tired of his life and the hurt that he causes, so decides to go on the run from his employers – will his plan work or will even more people get damaged?
I thought this book had a great story and compelling writing.
If you enjoy gritty crime thrillers this is definitely worth looking at.
I thought this book had a great story and compelling writing.
If you enjoy gritty crime thrillers this is definitely worth looking at.
February 7, 2014
As the third part of a trilogy, this book is best enjoyed after you've devoured its two predecessors; if you're coming to it cold you're only getting a small part of a much bigger picture. It's a superbly satisfying and desperately sad conclusion to an extraordinary series.
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