My Life as a Man

by Frederic Lindsay

When factory owner Bernard Morton fires him from his first job, Harry Glass protests by impulsively going off with Morton's car and the intriguing Mrs Morton. Shocked out of the life she has been living, Mrs Morton forms a bond with Harry as they are pursued from one city to another with the Morton brothers in pursuit. Bernard wants his wife back; Norman is more concerned with the contents of a briefcase left in the car boot. When Harry and Mrs Morton are given shelter in a remote house in the Highlands, it seems they have found refuge. But by the time the Morton brothers find them they have been caught up in a world of sexual perversity and fantasy. "My Life as a Man" begins with a nation in the grip of anti-war fever, and ends with an old man's discovery that life can still surprise him.

217 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Frederic Lindsay was a Scottish crime writer who was born in Glasgow and lived in Edinburgh. He was a full-time writer from 1979 and previously worked as a lecturer, teacher and library assistant.

Eight of Lindsay's thirteen novels are police procedurals featuring Detective Inspector Jim Meldrum, an officer with Lothian and Borders Police, as their main protagonist.

In 1987, his novel Brond was made into a three-part television series for Channel 4 directed by Michael Caton-Jones and featuring the actors Stratford Johns, John Hannah and James Cosmo.

Lindsay also wrote for radio and the stage.

Reviews

[Jenny Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very odd, quite unique book which was strangely gripping. It would have been 5* but for the prologue – this ruined the whole story because it gave away the ending.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable thriller. It was easy to imagine watching this as a noir BBC production while reading.

[Marcella · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover said "it will scare the bejesus out of you". I scare easily. This book is not scary, nor is it tense nor is it a thriller.

It is a well written coming of age story if you can get past the part where Henry Glass at age 18 hops into his boss' car with the boss' wife in the backseat and takes off. Oh, and if you can also believe that his wife doesn't seem to mind being kidnapped.

The story of their escapades and their life together is interesting. The bad guys chasing them are predictable and not terribly threatening. The strange couple they stay with doesn't even really surprise.

Perhaps "thriller" means something different in Scotland than in the US.

Perhaps I've read too many Alex Cross novels and my thrill o'meter is set too high.

Enjoyable quick read? Yes. A page turner with me on the edge of my seat? Nope.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Chilling psychological thriller'? No way. But definitely a unique, intriguing and wholly absorbing study of a patchwork-mature eighteen-year-old trying to get to grips with situations way beyond his understanding, experience or education, which include a dumb sort of love affair and several dangerous individuals. But it could be argued he is just as dangerous in the randomness of some of his own decisions. Frederic Lindsay is definitely a writer like no other, and hooray to him for that.

[Sandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange thriller set in Scotland.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very strange little tale.