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Doug Michie #2
The Inglorious Dead
This is the second Doug Michie crime novel by Tony Black, the acclaimed Scottish writer. Full of intrigue, lies, secrets, and illicit sexual encounters, this is a must-read for all fans of crime noir.
Doug Michie is still holed up in Burns Country, trying to lick his wounds after the death of his mother and the disaster of his last case, when he finds himself something of a local celebrity in Ayrshire. His name, it seems, is now synonymous with the eradication of corruption - but, living up to the expectations of others has never been a strong point of his. After selling off the family home, he finds himself looking for something to fill his long days. What he finds is the case of a murdered member of the Orange Order, who could have been a poster-boy for the sectarian bigotry he despises so much. His sense of justice is alerted when he hears the facts of the case and he feels compelled to dig deeper. Uncovering a victim whose lifestyle was anything but wholesome, and with potential killers mounting up by the minute, Doug feels he has taken on an unsolvable case. Knowing the territory, and calling in old favors from contacts in the north of Ireland, Doug endeavors to root out the true reasons behind the Ayrshire killing, and finds a wider conspiracy than he ever imagined possible. If you love hard boiled crime you'll love this book.
Doug Michie is still holed up in Burns Country, trying to lick his wounds after the death of his mother and the disaster of his last case, when he finds himself something of a local celebrity in Ayrshire. His name, it seems, is now synonymous with the eradication of corruption - but, living up to the expectations of others has never been a strong point of his. After selling off the family home, he finds himself looking for something to fill his long days. What he finds is the case of a murdered member of the Orange Order, who could have been a poster-boy for the sectarian bigotry he despises so much. His sense of justice is alerted when he hears the facts of the case and he feels compelled to dig deeper. Uncovering a victim whose lifestyle was anything but wholesome, and with potential killers mounting up by the minute, Doug feels he has taken on an unsolvable case. Knowing the territory, and calling in old favors from contacts in the north of Ireland, Doug endeavors to root out the true reasons behind the Ayrshire killing, and finds a wider conspiracy than he ever imagined possible. If you love hard boiled crime you'll love this book.
170 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2013
6 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Tony Black
77 books115 followersTony Black is the author of more than 20 books, most recently Her Cold Eyes. He has been nominated for eight CWA Daggers and was runner up in The Guardian's Not the Booker prize for The Last Tiger.
He has written three crime series, a number of crime novellas and two collections of short stories. His acclaimed author interviews series was collected under the title, Hard Truths.
His novella, The Ringer, was adapted for the stage and the Ayr Gaiety performance can be found on YouTube.
A former Young Journalist of the Year, he still writes for the press regularly.
For more information, and the latest news visit his website at: www.tonyblack.net or his blog: www.pulppusher.blogspot.com or find him on Facebook, Twitter or Linked-In.
He has written three crime series, a number of crime novellas and two collections of short stories. His acclaimed author interviews series was collected under the title, Hard Truths.
His novella, The Ringer, was adapted for the stage and the Ayr Gaiety performance can be found on YouTube.
A former Young Journalist of the Year, he still writes for the press regularly.
For more information, and the latest news visit his website at: www.tonyblack.net or his blog: www.pulppusher.blogspot.com or find him on Facebook, Twitter or Linked-In.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 18, 2014
I remember liking the first Doug Michie novel, but I don't remember liking it THAT much. So is it me of THE INGLORIOUS DEAD is a step up from THE STORM WITHOUT? I sure enjoyed the crap out of it on an intellectual and on an emotional level both.
I'm pretty sure that if I browse hard enough, I'm going to find a couple negative reviews of this novel that claims that 'nothing ever happens'. That's because THE INGLORIOUS DEAD is a suspense novel rooted in the tension both within and outside the protagonist. There is a murder investigation at the center of the plot, but it's only a part the life Doug Michie's trying to keep together. Lots of 30somethings will feel as compelled as I was by Doug Michie's existential struggle.
Another terrific impressionistic hardboiled novel by Tony Black, a writer of considerable skill. I'm going to break down THE INGLORIOUS DEAD on my blog later this week. Don't miss out on that.
I'm pretty sure that if I browse hard enough, I'm going to find a couple negative reviews of this novel that claims that 'nothing ever happens'. That's because THE INGLORIOUS DEAD is a suspense novel rooted in the tension both within and outside the protagonist. There is a murder investigation at the center of the plot, but it's only a part the life Doug Michie's trying to keep together. Lots of 30somethings will feel as compelled as I was by Doug Michie's existential struggle.
Another terrific impressionistic hardboiled novel by Tony Black, a writer of considerable skill. I'm going to break down THE INGLORIOUS DEAD on my blog later this week. Don't miss out on that.
July 7, 2014
Doug Michie is a man cast loose in a sea of melancholy. Single, living in his deceased parents house and out of the RUC he's on his own and not sure what the hell to do with himself. Then an old friend, Andy, persuades Doug to take a case - investigating the murder of local lad Steven Nichols, a crime the police have given up getting to the bottom of. Doug has been employed by local tough guy Davie Grant. Grant and Stevie's father are loyalist sectarians, meaning Doug has some serious issues to skirt whilst tracking down the killer.
Doug Michie returns for this his second outing, his debut appearance occurring in the excellent A Storm Without. Michie spends much of this follow up looking over his shoulder, to the past. He's not sure what to do with his life, there's no one and nothing he can really relate to anymore.
Another excellent noir crime novel from the pen of Tony Black.
Doug Michie returns for this his second outing, his debut appearance occurring in the excellent A Storm Without. Michie spends much of this follow up looking over his shoulder, to the past. He's not sure what to do with his life, there's no one and nothing he can really relate to anymore.
Another excellent noir crime novel from the pen of Tony Black.
February 15, 2026
It's reading a book as bad as this and then reading the reviews on the sleeve that make me appreciate how ludicrous the UK publishing business is. One that was clearly bought and paid for describes the location as Edinburgh whereas this 'book' is set in Ayr. The Inglorious Dead is puerile drudgery at its worst where the exposition is brought to us by the pathetic conduit of the main character simply talking out loud to himself. And driving around in the rain knocking on people's doors to ask them questions does not a noir make.
At one point, in a desperate attempt to build some tension, the 'author' has the hero and a friend desperately search the hero's house for his girlfriend who they fear may have been abducted. But they can't find her - shock horror. The reason for this is because she was taking a shower and they forgot to look in the bathroom. Oh yeah, and the hero is an ex cop. Some detective.
This book reads like it was written by someone who has just started a creative writing correspondence course in which the first assignment is - write a crime thriller. This they have clearly done with zero insight, inspiration and indeed talent. I suspect Tony Black is aware of his limitations because he attempts to make up for them by using words such as catafalque and hypnopompic in the hope his readers will think he can write. I'm onto you, Blackie.
At one point, in a desperate attempt to build some tension, the 'author' has the hero and a friend desperately search the hero's house for his girlfriend who they fear may have been abducted. But they can't find her - shock horror. The reason for this is because she was taking a shower and they forgot to look in the bathroom. Oh yeah, and the hero is an ex cop. Some detective.
This book reads like it was written by someone who has just started a creative writing correspondence course in which the first assignment is - write a crime thriller. This they have clearly done with zero insight, inspiration and indeed talent. I suspect Tony Black is aware of his limitations because he attempts to make up for them by using words such as catafalque and hypnopompic in the hope his readers will think he can write. I'm onto you, Blackie.
December 17, 2017
Tony Black is a good addition the the Tartan Noir genre. A brave man to take the town of Ayr as his location for his tale , plus the Orange Order as a background. I will be searching for more of his tales in the New Year.
July 15, 2016
"The Inglorious Dead" is a detective story set in Scotland. I appreciate the locale; it's one of my favorite rainy-day mystery countries. The story is told quite quickly. Some might call the author efficient but I felt that the book needed some fleshing out. This felt more like a script for a televised hour-long mystery than a novel. The mystery itself is nothing terribly unusual or original, so the characters must carry the tale and we haven't enough information on the supporting characters for them to draw our real interest. However, our protagonist Doug Michie isn't a bad sort and he's got enough going on in his real life that he is more than a cardboard cutout detective. I only wish he had something better to do. To be fair, I should note that this is a sequel and I have not read the first book. Doing so might have given me a better feel for the story. Recommended if you're looking for something fast that won't tax you with too much detail . . . well, little detail at all, actually.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews