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Double Proof
Robbie Gould is not psychic. Of course he isn't – that's not a real thing. So why is a woman standing in his driveway begging him for help in finding her son, Albie, who she's convinced has been kidnapped?
Years ago Gould, an ambitious reporter, was working on the horrific case of a missing girl when a moment of inspiration showed him, clear as day, where she was. After the girl's body was found where he said it would be, the resulting press furore destroyed both his career and marriage.
Gould, now living a hermit-like existence in the back of beyond, is in no position to turn down this plea for help. The family's fortunes are they're tied up in a court case disputing ownership of the finest, rarest whisky their distillery has ever produced – the Double Proof. As Gould tries to find Albie he plunges deeper into the bizarre world of rare whisky and a twisted chain of drug dealers, bent cops, gangsters, social influencers and yakuza mobsters.
Years ago Gould, an ambitious reporter, was working on the horrific case of a missing girl when a moment of inspiration showed him, clear as day, where she was. After the girl's body was found where he said it would be, the resulting press furore destroyed both his career and marriage.
Gould, now living a hermit-like existence in the back of beyond, is in no position to turn down this plea for help. The family's fortunes are they're tied up in a court case disputing ownership of the finest, rarest whisky their distillery has ever produced – the Double Proof. As Gould tries to find Albie he plunges deeper into the bizarre world of rare whisky and a twisted chain of drug dealers, bent cops, gangsters, social influencers and yakuza mobsters.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2024
15 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 13, 2024
This book was extremely witty, with dry, sarcastic Scottish humour running through it like a stick of rock.
The author is obviously influenced, like quite a few contemporary Scottish authors, by Irvine Welsh and here, there's also a smattering of Stuart MacBribe, who himself is a Welsh disciple.
The story itself was plausible, mixing a broad sneer of inditement at the world of social media influencers and contemporary society with an almighty clash of old world Scottish traditionalism and although there was some gruesome moments, it was certainly a pleasurable ride, that had me chortling away almost at every turn.
The lead character, Robbie Gould, was not only very likeable, he was also the main source of the caustic Scottish comedy, with strings of acerbic one liners, often uttered when finding himself in a seemingly hopeless situation! Where you'd like to imagine, if you found yourself in similar predicaments, that you'd be just as witty and verbally quick of the mark!
Gould also couldn't stand whisky, where even the smell of it would make him boak, which made him a man after my own heart, as I despise the stuff, bloody awful! When I once accidentally drank two unknown nips, which turned out to be whisky and blackcurrents, as soon as it hit my stomach, I compulsively puked it back up, my body automatically and immediately rejecting the poison I'd just ingested and amazingly, just the whisky, not the blackcurrent mixer!
So, to sum up, I'd highly recommend this debut adult fiction novel by Martin Stewart and I'll also keep my fingers crossed we see much, much more of the very, very witty and sarcastic Robbie Gould in the near future! Slàinte mhath!
The author is obviously influenced, like quite a few contemporary Scottish authors, by Irvine Welsh and here, there's also a smattering of Stuart MacBribe, who himself is a Welsh disciple.
The story itself was plausible, mixing a broad sneer of inditement at the world of social media influencers and contemporary society with an almighty clash of old world Scottish traditionalism and although there was some gruesome moments, it was certainly a pleasurable ride, that had me chortling away almost at every turn.
The lead character, Robbie Gould, was not only very likeable, he was also the main source of the caustic Scottish comedy, with strings of acerbic one liners, often uttered when finding himself in a seemingly hopeless situation! Where you'd like to imagine, if you found yourself in similar predicaments, that you'd be just as witty and verbally quick of the mark!
Gould also couldn't stand whisky, where even the smell of it would make him boak, which made him a man after my own heart, as I despise the stuff, bloody awful! When I once accidentally drank two unknown nips, which turned out to be whisky and blackcurrents, as soon as it hit my stomach, I compulsively puked it back up, my body automatically and immediately rejecting the poison I'd just ingested and amazingly, just the whisky, not the blackcurrent mixer!
So, to sum up, I'd highly recommend this debut adult fiction novel by Martin Stewart and I'll also keep my fingers crossed we see much, much more of the very, very witty and sarcastic Robbie Gould in the near future! Slàinte mhath!
April 12, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed this! Loved the main character, Robbie Gould - could picture him (and his flip flops) as he navigated his way through the streets of the south side of Glasgow in search for dear Albie. Very of the moment - references to influencers, social hubs etc but with the underlying Glasgow crime still functioning despite the ever changing world. Very clever and very witty. Right up my street. Looking forward to more Robbie Gould stories.
September 16, 2024
A good fast paced and very funny Glasgow based crime thriller about a kidnapping, interspersed with gangster mayhem, Japanese killers and expensive whisky. An excellent, cinematic mixture based around a sharp witted gumshoe type. Great fun and I predict more stories will be in the pipeline. This would make a really strong TV drama!
October 17, 2024
I did enjoy this book, albeit it was a wee bit quirky!! It moved along at a good pace. Robbie Gould is a character who gets in to lots of scrapes and near misses! An interesting ending!!
February 11, 2024
I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started to read this book. A completely new to me author, this is not Martin Stewart's first fiction rodeo, but Double Proof is his first adult crime fiction novel. Now I love discovering new authors, and new characters, and it is safe to say that, with Robbie Gould, Polygon have hit onto a real winner. A most disagreeable, and reluctant, private investigator, of sorts, he is a whole lot of fun - and a whole lot of trouble for the daft idiots who thought it was a good idea to go and abduct Albie Dalziel.
This book had me from the start. It had a dry, sardonic, humour which really hit the right notes for me and that good old Scottish sarcasm that I absolutely love. It's a classic crime novel - organised crime, some very 'out of town' gangsters, and whole lot of threat - and yet with a very modern edge. The victim in this case is a social media influencer - hard to be sympathetic to influencers now isn't it 😉 - but is also part of the famous Dalziel family, the makers of some of Scotland's finest Whisky's, including the infamous, 'Double Proof' whisky, once thought lost and now subject of an ownership claim. But could this whisky, as valuable as it may be, be the root cause of Albie's abduction, or is there something darker in play?
Well, thankfully for Albie's mother, and us readers, Robbie Gould is on the case. Eventually. It's fair to say that he is not initially a keen participant in this investigation, and the more we learn about him, the more understandable his reluctance, and occasional petulance, is. Former journalist and now author, Gould is a man with a reputation. Having previously been caught up in a high profile missing person case he comes with some 'baggage' but that is part of what makes him such a compelling and enjoyable character. He is sarcastic, cynical and has an amazing knack of getting under people's skin, including that of the people who have hired him to find Albie. But I really liked him. When he gets into the case he is like a dog with a bone and so much about his personality and behaviour really made me chuckle. He does have a gift, just perhaps not the one that earned him the moniker of 'Robbie the Ghoul'. He ends up in a world of trouble and seemingly has more lives than a cat, but I was very happy to go on the journey with him. And what a journey it is.
This is a kind of ticking clock case in that there is a finite deadline in which to save Albie - an impending ransome demand that the family are not able to meet. But this is no straightforward case and with a little bit of deception and misdirection on the author's part, there is far more going on than first meets the eye. Gould ticks off the suspects one by one, slowly uncovering more evidence which ends up leading him in a completely different direction. The flow of this story is perhaps as disorganised as Gould's note making, but, strangely, it actually works really well. There is plenty of tension, and behind the humour, a whole lot of underlying threat. Some of the scenes in which Gould is in greatest peril actually turned into some of the funniest in the book, his ability to get out of trouble actually very amusing, if not without injury to be poor man - plenty of injury in fact.
The pacing of this book was spot on and I actually finished in in one afternoon and evening. I'm definitely hoping this is just the first outing for Robbie Gould. he's not the most conventional investigator out there, but he's a whole lot of fun. If you like a little witty tartan noir, this could well be the right book for you.
This book had me from the start. It had a dry, sardonic, humour which really hit the right notes for me and that good old Scottish sarcasm that I absolutely love. It's a classic crime novel - organised crime, some very 'out of town' gangsters, and whole lot of threat - and yet with a very modern edge. The victim in this case is a social media influencer - hard to be sympathetic to influencers now isn't it 😉 - but is also part of the famous Dalziel family, the makers of some of Scotland's finest Whisky's, including the infamous, 'Double Proof' whisky, once thought lost and now subject of an ownership claim. But could this whisky, as valuable as it may be, be the root cause of Albie's abduction, or is there something darker in play?
Well, thankfully for Albie's mother, and us readers, Robbie Gould is on the case. Eventually. It's fair to say that he is not initially a keen participant in this investigation, and the more we learn about him, the more understandable his reluctance, and occasional petulance, is. Former journalist and now author, Gould is a man with a reputation. Having previously been caught up in a high profile missing person case he comes with some 'baggage' but that is part of what makes him such a compelling and enjoyable character. He is sarcastic, cynical and has an amazing knack of getting under people's skin, including that of the people who have hired him to find Albie. But I really liked him. When he gets into the case he is like a dog with a bone and so much about his personality and behaviour really made me chuckle. He does have a gift, just perhaps not the one that earned him the moniker of 'Robbie the Ghoul'. He ends up in a world of trouble and seemingly has more lives than a cat, but I was very happy to go on the journey with him. And what a journey it is.
This is a kind of ticking clock case in that there is a finite deadline in which to save Albie - an impending ransome demand that the family are not able to meet. But this is no straightforward case and with a little bit of deception and misdirection on the author's part, there is far more going on than first meets the eye. Gould ticks off the suspects one by one, slowly uncovering more evidence which ends up leading him in a completely different direction. The flow of this story is perhaps as disorganised as Gould's note making, but, strangely, it actually works really well. There is plenty of tension, and behind the humour, a whole lot of underlying threat. Some of the scenes in which Gould is in greatest peril actually turned into some of the funniest in the book, his ability to get out of trouble actually very amusing, if not without injury to be poor man - plenty of injury in fact.
The pacing of this book was spot on and I actually finished in in one afternoon and evening. I'm definitely hoping this is just the first outing for Robbie Gould. he's not the most conventional investigator out there, but he's a whole lot of fun. If you like a little witty tartan noir, this could well be the right book for you.
March 17, 2024
Great read. You pick it up with Chris Brookmyres endorsement on the front hoping it's of a similar vein and it doesn't disappoint. Scottish crime caper with genuine mystery that keeps you engrossed but laced with quality comedy that doesn't detract from the plot. In a world where everyday there is horror, travesty and just general upset in all our media books like this are my escapism. When he writes another I'll be buying and reading it.
October 30, 2024
A fast-paced kidnap mystery. The tone of this book isn't very serious, in some parts, and quite brutal in others, although the author always gives the writing a comedic twist. This was a fun read that never out stayed it's welcome at any point during the mystery. Each chapter gave you an answer to something, and I got through this at lightning speed.
My only gripe with it is the number of names you need to try and remember. I'm used to lots of red herrings in a mystery like this so multiple characters are expected, but I could not keep track of some of these characters as we were given first names, second names and they seemed to switch between using them when the main character would discuss the clues and the motives. Because of that, I wasn't really left trying to work out the 'who done it' by the time I got to the answer, I just rolled with the punches instead but still had a good time.
My only gripe with it is the number of names you need to try and remember. I'm used to lots of red herrings in a mystery like this so multiple characters are expected, but I could not keep track of some of these characters as we were given first names, second names and they seemed to switch between using them when the main character would discuss the clues and the motives. Because of that, I wasn't really left trying to work out the 'who done it' by the time I got to the answer, I just rolled with the punches instead but still had a good time.
August 2, 2024
This book was great! I really enjoyed Robbie Ghoul as a protagonist, he was so funny but also he had so much depth which I feel a lot of protagonists lack. Stewart did an excellent job of making all his characters feel plausible in their moral flaws and dilemmas faced through the story. I’m also really glad he didn’t go for the easy plays of getting him back with his ex wife or anything I feel like Robbie and Imelda’s relationship really built up throughout the book. All in all a fantastic read and it’ll definitely make me want to read more by Stewart in the future!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2024
I was sure this was going to be a 5 star review, until the last 20 pages or so.
That’s not to say that it’s not a great, pacy, funny read.
I just felt that the wrapping up of the story lacked something. It almost felt as though a deadline had been reached for submission, so it was dashed off.
But the journey to the end was a delight, loved the characters, the story zoomed along and there was a nice balance of suspense, humour and interest.
I’d certainly read more by the author, and would like to see more of the Robbie Gould character.
That’s not to say that it’s not a great, pacy, funny read.
I just felt that the wrapping up of the story lacked something. It almost felt as though a deadline had been reached for submission, so it was dashed off.
But the journey to the end was a delight, loved the characters, the story zoomed along and there was a nice balance of suspense, humour and interest.
I’d certainly read more by the author, and would like to see more of the Robbie Gould character.
April 11, 2024
A crime novel set in Glasgow, which manages to include a lot of the clichés of the genre but at the same time turning to the camera with a cheeky wink. Laugh out loud funny at times, and I suspect there will be more to follow. First time I've read a book that had some Yakuza hiding out in a Maryhill tenement.
August 26, 2024
Impulse bought this based on a blurb by Chris Brookmyre. As a fan of Brookmyre’s style of humour-tinged Glasgow crime fiction, this book definitely scratched that same itch. Great protagonist, sharp tone, and a propulsive plot had me finish this much faster than any book in recent memory. Highly recommended.
July 19, 2024
What a debut novel, this had me guessing about what on earth could have happened in a certain scene, laughing and riveted throughout. Written with love of Scottish whisky and a dark sense of humour this author is definitely one to watch. 5* from me
April 24, 2024
Excellent read!
October 17, 2024
So much fun with this crime thriller. Definitely big Chris Brookmyre vibes, specifically the Parlabane series. Loved all the Glasgow/Scottish references!
November 16, 2024
Overall this book was pretty good.
The Japanese mafia was very far fetched and added nothing to the story.
I did find the author to be a fan of using extra words for the sake of it.
The Japanese mafia was very far fetched and added nothing to the story.
I did find the author to be a fan of using extra words for the sake of it.
November 25, 2024
Not my cup of tea, really. Smart Alec-ie main character, silly dialogue, overstretched, but yet quite predictable plot.
October 31, 2025
Entertaining, but a tad ridiculous. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it weren’t for the misogyny.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews