What do you think?
Rate this book
Les fugueurs de Glasgow
Cinquante ans après un crime resté impuni, trois vieux Écossais s’échappent de Glasgow en compagnie d’un jeune geek obèse. Revenant sur les pas de leur adolescence et de la fugue qui les mena, à dix-sept ans, jusqu’à Londres, ils vont remonter jusqu’à la nuit terrible qui vit mourir deux hommes et disparaître pour toujours la jeune fille qui les accompagnait. Peter May signe un grand polar mélancolique autour des promesses non tenues de l'adolescence.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
532 people are currently reading
2463 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 641 reviews
January 6, 2021
The final straw for young seventeen year old teenager Jack MacKay was his expulsion from school after a particular incident at a school dance. He was a member of the group Shuffle with friends Maurie, Luke, Dave and Jeff; their great love of the music of the 60s stirred a longing of their own – at fifteen Jack had formed Shuffle and they hadn’t looked back. But being expelled from school proved to be the catalyst in his life – running away from his home in Glasgow to London was his idea; his friends decided the group needed to stay together, so the five of them ran away in 1965 – never realizing the change it would bring to their lives, and not in a good way.
The adventure and misadventure; the fun and panic-filled adrenalin that those five young friends discovered on their tenuous journey to London – none of it was quite as they had envisioned their start in the music industry. The awe they felt on their arrival in London though was inspiring; seeing both John Lennon and Bob Dylan – but would Jack and his friends get a break into the music industry?
Fifty years later the report of a brutal murder which Maurie saw in the local newspaper brought the past rushing back to them. Maurie was a sick man by this stage, but he was determined to return to London to face the past; to face the truth of what had happened all those years before. Jack and Dave, along with Jack’s grandson Ricky joined Maurie in their quest for answers. But was it a mirror image of their bolt to London fifty years prior? What would the three friends and a bemused young grandson find in a London that was changed; but not changed?
I thoroughly enjoyed Runaway by Scottish author Peter May; my first by this author but most definitely not my last! A gripping crime novel, filled with fast paced, heart thumping tension; plus intrigue, emotional nostalgia and flashes of humour throughout. Told in the two timelines of 1965 and 2015 it worked incredibly well in showing the differences fifty years makes. I have no hesitation in recommending Runaway very highly.
With thanks to TRR and Hachette Australia for my copy to read and review.
The adventure and misadventure; the fun and panic-filled adrenalin that those five young friends discovered on their tenuous journey to London – none of it was quite as they had envisioned their start in the music industry. The awe they felt on their arrival in London though was inspiring; seeing both John Lennon and Bob Dylan – but would Jack and his friends get a break into the music industry?
Fifty years later the report of a brutal murder which Maurie saw in the local newspaper brought the past rushing back to them. Maurie was a sick man by this stage, but he was determined to return to London to face the past; to face the truth of what had happened all those years before. Jack and Dave, along with Jack’s grandson Ricky joined Maurie in their quest for answers. But was it a mirror image of their bolt to London fifty years prior? What would the three friends and a bemused young grandson find in a London that was changed; but not changed?
I thoroughly enjoyed Runaway by Scottish author Peter May; my first by this author but most definitely not my last! A gripping crime novel, filled with fast paced, heart thumping tension; plus intrigue, emotional nostalgia and flashes of humour throughout. Told in the two timelines of 1965 and 2015 it worked incredibly well in showing the differences fifty years makes. I have no hesitation in recommending Runaway very highly.
With thanks to TRR and Hachette Australia for my copy to read and review.
January 15, 2015
As much as it pains me to draw on the words of Forrest Gump, Peter May’s writing is like a box of chocolates- you never know what you’re going to get. From the brilliant Enzo Files series, to the China thrillers, to, the wonderful Hebridean trilogy, and the haunting standalone Entry Island, May consistently demonstrates his flexibility as a writer, instilling total belief in his characters and locations for us gentle readers. Runaway proves itself an excellent addition to his multifarious back catalogue, and drawing so closely on his own life experiences gives us a delightful insight into the background of one of Britain’s finest crime writers.
Working with a dual timeline of 1965 and 2015 the story pivots seamlessly between the two as we follow the travails of Jack Mackay, a headstrong seventeen year old in the Sixties, who succumbs to the allure of the bright lights of London, as he and his band (comprising of Maurie, Joe, Luke and my favourite character, Dave) run away from Scotland to seek their fame and fortune. May captures perfectly the impetuousness of youth, and their black and white view of the world, after a series of hapless accidents mar their dreams of fame. Into the mix, May inserts the womanly charms of Rachel, Maurie’s cousin who they liberate from a drug-fuelled abusive relationship along the way, a few interesting brushes with stardom, an encounter with a bizarre hippy therapy group, and a murder where all is not how it appears. With a backdrop of the swinging music scene of the era, and a perfect recreation of London itself, there is much to garner the reader’s interest. Now, zap forward to 2015, and Jack is a disillusioned pensioner lamenting a life where so much more could have happened, However, with the news of a suspicious death linked to his 60’s experience, and spurred on by the terminally ill Maurie, he and the remaining members of his band, up sticks to London with his grandson Ricky, to revisit the past and lay some old ghosts to rest but at what cost? And are some skeletons best to be left nestled in this particular cupboard?
My overarching reaction to this book is one of warmth. I loved the poignancy attached to Jack and his cohorts in their twilight years, haunted by their failed dreams and ambitions, but undercut by a humour and determination of spirit that we so often ignore when we perceive people as old. Likewise, May totally taps into the irascibility and naivety of youth, in the 60’s timeline, and the exploits of this band of hotheads, and their emotional entanglements are powerfully wrought. To my mind, the actual crime element of this book was completely over-ridden by this strong characterisation and the examination of the impetuousness of youth, and the stoicism of age that so dominates the plot. Hence, this was a different reading experience, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed, manipulating my emotions from laughter to sadness, and all points in-between. I liked the utterly authentic recreation of the 1960’s, with its allusions to people, places and fashions, tempered by the relatively anodyne existence of our band of misfits in their later years. A welcome break from the usual crime fiction fare, and highly recommended.
Working with a dual timeline of 1965 and 2015 the story pivots seamlessly between the two as we follow the travails of Jack Mackay, a headstrong seventeen year old in the Sixties, who succumbs to the allure of the bright lights of London, as he and his band (comprising of Maurie, Joe, Luke and my favourite character, Dave) run away from Scotland to seek their fame and fortune. May captures perfectly the impetuousness of youth, and their black and white view of the world, after a series of hapless accidents mar their dreams of fame. Into the mix, May inserts the womanly charms of Rachel, Maurie’s cousin who they liberate from a drug-fuelled abusive relationship along the way, a few interesting brushes with stardom, an encounter with a bizarre hippy therapy group, and a murder where all is not how it appears. With a backdrop of the swinging music scene of the era, and a perfect recreation of London itself, there is much to garner the reader’s interest. Now, zap forward to 2015, and Jack is a disillusioned pensioner lamenting a life where so much more could have happened, However, with the news of a suspicious death linked to his 60’s experience, and spurred on by the terminally ill Maurie, he and the remaining members of his band, up sticks to London with his grandson Ricky, to revisit the past and lay some old ghosts to rest but at what cost? And are some skeletons best to be left nestled in this particular cupboard?
My overarching reaction to this book is one of warmth. I loved the poignancy attached to Jack and his cohorts in their twilight years, haunted by their failed dreams and ambitions, but undercut by a humour and determination of spirit that we so often ignore when we perceive people as old. Likewise, May totally taps into the irascibility and naivety of youth, in the 60’s timeline, and the exploits of this band of hotheads, and their emotional entanglements are powerfully wrought. To my mind, the actual crime element of this book was completely over-ridden by this strong characterisation and the examination of the impetuousness of youth, and the stoicism of age that so dominates the plot. Hence, this was a different reading experience, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed, manipulating my emotions from laughter to sadness, and all points in-between. I liked the utterly authentic recreation of the 1960’s, with its allusions to people, places and fashions, tempered by the relatively anodyne existence of our band of misfits in their later years. A welcome break from the usual crime fiction fare, and highly recommended.
February 11, 2015
“Regret is such a waste of energy. You can’t undo what’s been done. But every new day offers the chance to shape it in the way you want”
Runaway is the seventh stand-alone novel by Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. When seventeen-year-old Jack MacKay makes a sudden decision, in 1965, to escape Glasgow and head for London, he is surprised that his four friends are ready to drop everything and become a runaway too. Each has his own reasons, but all are convinced their band, The Shuffle, can make it big in the Big Smoke. But events don’t follow the script they have written: some months later, Jack and two of the band return to Glasgow to nurse their emotional (and physical) wounds.
In 2015, the three lads, now in their late sixties, are brought together again by the report of a murder in London. In response to the near-death demand of one of their number, they are heading south again to face up to the shocking events that, fifty years before, shaped their lives, in Jack’s case, for the worse: “…his own sad story was so painfully stark that all the regrets of his life came flooding back to very nearly drown him. All the missed opportunities and squandered chances….. His unrealised dream of becoming a professional musician. Dropping out of university. Settling always for second best, because that was the path of least resistance. Leaving him now, in his late sixties, widowed and alone, treading the boards in the role of a non-speaking extra until it was his turn to exit the stage”
May runs the two narratives in tandem: events in 1965 are told by Jack in the first person; those in 2015, in the third person. They have various elements in common: runaways using “borrowed” vehicles; pursuit by disapproving family; diversions off the A74; an inconvenient loss of goods and transport through theft; and a certain money belt. May perfectly evokes the feel of the times, both the sixties and the present day. His wide-eyed, naïve lads and his cranky old men are completely convincing, his pacing is faultless and his plot twists are brilliantly conceived. The banter between the characters has a genuine feel and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments on both road trips.
May gives the reader some marvellous prose and his descriptions are beautifully evocative: “…I grew up in Glasgow in the fifties and sixties, two decades that morphed from sepia to psychedelic before my very eyes as I segued from childhood to adolescence” is one example. While readers of a certain vintage will enjoy the nostalgia, fans of May’s work will not be disappointed, and new readers are sure to seek out his backlist. Funny, moving, and thought-provoking, this is an exceptional read.
With thanks to The Reading Room and Hachette Australia for this copy to read and review.
Runaway is the seventh stand-alone novel by Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. When seventeen-year-old Jack MacKay makes a sudden decision, in 1965, to escape Glasgow and head for London, he is surprised that his four friends are ready to drop everything and become a runaway too. Each has his own reasons, but all are convinced their band, The Shuffle, can make it big in the Big Smoke. But events don’t follow the script they have written: some months later, Jack and two of the band return to Glasgow to nurse their emotional (and physical) wounds.
In 2015, the three lads, now in their late sixties, are brought together again by the report of a murder in London. In response to the near-death demand of one of their number, they are heading south again to face up to the shocking events that, fifty years before, shaped their lives, in Jack’s case, for the worse: “…his own sad story was so painfully stark that all the regrets of his life came flooding back to very nearly drown him. All the missed opportunities and squandered chances….. His unrealised dream of becoming a professional musician. Dropping out of university. Settling always for second best, because that was the path of least resistance. Leaving him now, in his late sixties, widowed and alone, treading the boards in the role of a non-speaking extra until it was his turn to exit the stage”
May runs the two narratives in tandem: events in 1965 are told by Jack in the first person; those in 2015, in the third person. They have various elements in common: runaways using “borrowed” vehicles; pursuit by disapproving family; diversions off the A74; an inconvenient loss of goods and transport through theft; and a certain money belt. May perfectly evokes the feel of the times, both the sixties and the present day. His wide-eyed, naïve lads and his cranky old men are completely convincing, his pacing is faultless and his plot twists are brilliantly conceived. The banter between the characters has a genuine feel and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments on both road trips.
May gives the reader some marvellous prose and his descriptions are beautifully evocative: “…I grew up in Glasgow in the fifties and sixties, two decades that morphed from sepia to psychedelic before my very eyes as I segued from childhood to adolescence” is one example. While readers of a certain vintage will enjoy the nostalgia, fans of May’s work will not be disappointed, and new readers are sure to seek out his backlist. Funny, moving, and thought-provoking, this is an exceptional read.
With thanks to The Reading Room and Hachette Australia for this copy to read and review.
May 28, 2021
Real Rating: 3.75* of five, rounded up because I've read so many of his books
I RECEIVED AN ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER. IN 2015. AM I EMBARRASSED OR WHAT.
My Review: Aging. Yuck. No one really likes it...prostate pees for men, hot flashes for women, a general sense of "oh why bother" when confronted with la crise du jour...suddenly all those Godard films you watched to impress that cute guy make sense, ennui is one's default state.
But there are a few who, for whatever (usually external) reason, decide that this just Will Not Do. They put on their velcro-close "running shoes" (ha! like they're ever gonna run absent a fire alarm or a closing buffet) and say, "fuck this I'm outta here." In fact there's quite a little subgenre of books about old folk running away: those Swedish ones by that boring man, what was his name, anyway you know the ones I mean; long ago, Paul Gallico wrote one, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, and then M from the Bond movies was in that English one set in India...Marigold Something.
We are decidedly not, however, in any of those cute-old-folk entertainments here.
There are secrets in all our pasts. We don't tell others because they're too personal, or too painful, or too embarrassing...rare is the secret, though, that has cost lives in two centuries. Jack Mackay has one of those.
In 1965, Jack and four friends were about to defy the odds and Be Someone. Rise to their personal heights! They had to get the hell away from the dank chains of family, of course, and the mildewy environs of Glasgow. London! Music was happenin' in 1965 London! And they had what it takes, they were going there to build better than their small-time successes.
Tragedy. Humiliation. Homegoing, for some anyway. Jack spends fifty years being, well, nobody and everybody. Mediocre, an almost-was whose life has dragged on and on. Now more changes are being forced on Jack, his awful absence of success is revisiting him with its wet shroudlike envelopment. And suddenly, from the depths of 1965, the Jack of 2015 takes off back to London, his grandson at the wheel, because the siren call of unfinished business is LOUD.
The awful part is that finishing up that business could get people killed. Jack wouldn't be arsed if it was him whose "life" was the only one in danger, but the threat includes his old friends. And his grandson.
I must say that the indentity of the perpetrator of the coercive and criminal scenarios made all the sense in the world to me, and the nature of the disaster in the past was very deeply sad if not terribly unusual. The pure-D unadulterated Peter-May-ness of the resolution to the disasters past and present stems from his utter, abject inability to leave a thread to dangle. Every last end is tightly bound up.
Since Author May is a veteran of the TV mills and decades of thriller- and mystery-writing, he's developed that habit of story-telling and be damned if you, reviewer, wish for something a bit more textured, true to life. As this particular novel is a standalone and is based in part on some of the author's own lived experience, well...maybe it's all down to that specialty of the old, the tidying-up of the past.
I *do* know that, in spite of taking a thoroughly humiliating six years to write this review, I approve of the story, polished and tidied into fiction though it may be.
I RECEIVED AN ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER. IN 2015. AM I EMBARRASSED OR WHAT.
My Review: Aging. Yuck. No one really likes it...prostate pees for men, hot flashes for women, a general sense of "oh why bother" when confronted with la crise du jour...suddenly all those Godard films you watched to impress that cute guy make sense, ennui is one's default state.
But there are a few who, for whatever (usually external) reason, decide that this just Will Not Do. They put on their velcro-close "running shoes" (ha! like they're ever gonna run absent a fire alarm or a closing buffet) and say, "fuck this I'm outta here." In fact there's quite a little subgenre of books about old folk running away: those Swedish ones by that boring man, what was his name, anyway you know the ones I mean; long ago, Paul Gallico wrote one, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, and then M from the Bond movies was in that English one set in India...Marigold Something.
We are decidedly not, however, in any of those cute-old-folk entertainments here.
There are secrets in all our pasts. We don't tell others because they're too personal, or too painful, or too embarrassing...rare is the secret, though, that has cost lives in two centuries. Jack Mackay has one of those.
In 1965, Jack and four friends were about to defy the odds and Be Someone. Rise to their personal heights! They had to get the hell away from the dank chains of family, of course, and the mildewy environs of Glasgow. London! Music was happenin' in 1965 London! And they had what it takes, they were going there to build better than their small-time successes.
Tragedy. Humiliation. Homegoing, for some anyway. Jack spends fifty years being, well, nobody and everybody. Mediocre, an almost-was whose life has dragged on and on. Now more changes are being forced on Jack, his awful absence of success is revisiting him with its wet shroudlike envelopment. And suddenly, from the depths of 1965, the Jack of 2015 takes off back to London, his grandson at the wheel, because the siren call of unfinished business is LOUD.
The awful part is that finishing up that business could get people killed. Jack wouldn't be arsed if it was him whose "life" was the only one in danger, but the threat includes his old friends. And his grandson.
I must say that the indentity of the perpetrator of the coercive and criminal scenarios made all the sense in the world to me, and the nature of the disaster in the past was very deeply sad if not terribly unusual. The pure-D unadulterated Peter-May-ness of the resolution to the disasters past and present stems from his utter, abject inability to leave a thread to dangle. Every last end is tightly bound up.
Since Author May is a veteran of the TV mills and decades of thriller- and mystery-writing, he's developed that habit of story-telling and be damned if you, reviewer, wish for something a bit more textured, true to life. As this particular novel is a standalone and is based in part on some of the author's own lived experience, well...maybe it's all down to that specialty of the old, the tidying-up of the past.
I *do* know that, in spite of taking a thoroughly humiliating six years to write this review, I approve of the story, polished and tidied into fiction though it may be.
October 23, 2020
Confronto com o Passado
“O dedo que se move escreve, e ... nenhuma piedade nem nenhum talento o trarão de volta para mudar meia linha...”
5 jovens fogem de Glasgow para Londres — movidos pelo Sonho e unidos pela paixão à música, partem à aventura!
Contudo, menos dum ano depois, 3 deles retornam — algo acontecera em Londres que ficara por lá morto e enterrado, mas não olvidado.
Porém, volvidos 50 anos, dá-se um homicídio que irá ressuscitar o Passado — chegara o momento do inevitável Confronto!...
Em Fuga é mais um thriller onde o Passado surge como um Caçador que se esconde nos cantos mais escuros da memória, sempre alerta, a aguardar pacientemente o momento certo para investir sobre a(s) presa(s)!
É mais um... mas é único! ❤️🌟🌟🌟🌟❤️
“O dedo que se move escreve, e ... nenhuma piedade nem nenhum talento o trarão de volta para mudar meia linha...”
5 jovens fogem de Glasgow para Londres — movidos pelo Sonho e unidos pela paixão à música, partem à aventura!
Contudo, menos dum ano depois, 3 deles retornam — algo acontecera em Londres que ficara por lá morto e enterrado, mas não olvidado.
Porém, volvidos 50 anos, dá-se um homicídio que irá ressuscitar o Passado — chegara o momento do inevitável Confronto!...
Em Fuga é mais um thriller onde o Passado surge como um Caçador que se esconde nos cantos mais escuros da memória, sempre alerta, a aguardar pacientemente o momento certo para investir sobre a(s) presa(s)!
É mais um... mas é único! ❤️🌟🌟🌟🌟❤️
February 10, 2019
‘I always thought’ (Ricky) said, ‘I don’t know why…but I always thought that, you know, old people were just annoying.’
Runaway opens in 2015 with a murder in a downmarket room in London. Few would remember the name of the aging victim, former actor, Simon Flet, except Maurie. Fifty years earlier five starry-eyed 17-year-olds playing in a band together, were runaways from Glasgow, following their dream of finding fortune in Swinging Sixties London.
Now, as he lies dying of cancer in a Glasgow hospice, Maurie contacts Jack and Dave, to make a final desperate journey to London to put things right. Jack enlists the help of his grandson, Ricky - a brilliant young man who sleeps by day and plays violent video games at night - to drive the three down to London. Fifty years earlier it was the parents who agonised, now it is their own children.
The truth of what happened back in 1965 gradually unfolds, of the predators awaiting them as, while competent musicians, the band has no particular charisma or talent of their own. Their story is pitted against a background of gang violence, experiments in social housing and drug-therapy, to the widespread closures of unprofitable railway lines under the Beecham scheme - once the lifeblood of the Victorian era, superseded by cars and motorways.
The housing around us became more sparse, and up ahead I saw that the street lights came to an abrupt end, leaving only darkness beyond them. Fear sat among us like another passenger. It could only be a matter of time before Andy made his move.
Each had their own reason to leave and their experiences test the bonds of friendship, eventually taking a tragic turn. Of the five who left Glasgow, only three will return.
The second journey in 2015 with an ailing Maurie in many ways reflects the first, with flashes of humour and heart-wrenching sadness along the way. But for me it is the quiet achiever, Luke, who silently steals the show.
Verdict: Peter May comes up trumps yet again.
Runaway opens in 2015 with a murder in a downmarket room in London. Few would remember the name of the aging victim, former actor, Simon Flet, except Maurie. Fifty years earlier five starry-eyed 17-year-olds playing in a band together, were runaways from Glasgow, following their dream of finding fortune in Swinging Sixties London.
Now, as he lies dying of cancer in a Glasgow hospice, Maurie contacts Jack and Dave, to make a final desperate journey to London to put things right. Jack enlists the help of his grandson, Ricky - a brilliant young man who sleeps by day and plays violent video games at night - to drive the three down to London. Fifty years earlier it was the parents who agonised, now it is their own children.
The truth of what happened back in 1965 gradually unfolds, of the predators awaiting them as, while competent musicians, the band has no particular charisma or talent of their own. Their story is pitted against a background of gang violence, experiments in social housing and drug-therapy, to the widespread closures of unprofitable railway lines under the Beecham scheme - once the lifeblood of the Victorian era, superseded by cars and motorways.
The housing around us became more sparse, and up ahead I saw that the street lights came to an abrupt end, leaving only darkness beyond them. Fear sat among us like another passenger. It could only be a matter of time before Andy made his move.
Each had their own reason to leave and their experiences test the bonds of friendship, eventually taking a tragic turn. Of the five who left Glasgow, only three will return.
The second journey in 2015 with an ailing Maurie in many ways reflects the first, with flashes of humour and heart-wrenching sadness along the way. But for me it is the quiet achiever, Luke, who silently steals the show.
Verdict: Peter May comes up trumps yet again.
December 17, 2019
I have read a lot of this author's books and enjoyed them very much. This one was a bit different from the rest but it was still excellent.
Runaway is told as two parallel stories about the same group of men, as they were in 1965 and as they are in 2015. The parts about the sixties in London were just brilliant with frequent nostalgic mentions of the music and events of the day. I enjoyed all of the characters and felt a little sorry that they had not all had better lives.
The mystery was well done although I had a pretty good idea of who the murderer would eventually turn out to be. I really enjoyed the epilogue and the sweet ending. Very well done Mr. May - please keep up the good work!
Runaway is told as two parallel stories about the same group of men, as they were in 1965 and as they are in 2015. The parts about the sixties in London were just brilliant with frequent nostalgic mentions of the music and events of the day. I enjoyed all of the characters and felt a little sorry that they had not all had better lives.
The mystery was well done although I had a pretty good idea of who the murderer would eventually turn out to be. I really enjoyed the epilogue and the sweet ending. Very well done Mr. May - please keep up the good work!
September 6, 2018
This was absolutely fantastic.
The plot takes place on two separate timelines, 1965 and 2015.
As a baby boomer in his late teens in 1965 this part of the plot resonated so strongly for me. It so replicated my own life it could have been my biography. But my experience of the 1965s was a lot less traumatic than the young men in this story, I am glad to say.
Five very young men, disillusioned with life in Glasgow, decide to leave home and seek fame and fortune in London. Just a note left, for unsuspecting parents, to say goodbye.
Nothing, of course, goes to plan. For all of them this will be a life changing journey. Some will benefit from the journey but some will never recover from it. After a few months of traumatic living in London most of the boys make the decision to return home to Glasgow and their worried parents.
Fifty years later one of the adventures, now dying from terminal cancer, wants to do the journey again. He has unfinished business in London and want to put it to rest before he dies. So with the help of his best friends, now all old, the trip is once again undertaken. The trip is a replica of the 1965 trip but this time seen through the eyes of older and wiser heads.
This was such a joy to read. Peter May captures the essence that was the swinging 60s so perfectly. Add to that the dark underbelly of London of that time and what you have is a compulsive reading experience.
Highly recommended for baby boomers and anybody else who enjoys a good read.
July 29, 2023
This novel marks something of a change of pace from previous Peter May novels I’ve read. In many ways, the subject matter, social commentary and frequent splashes of humour are more reminiscent of fellow Scot, Christopher Brookmyre: but that’s certainly no bad thing.
In 1965, five teenage Glaswegian boys form a rock band and, after a series of disappointments at home, decide to travel south to London to seek their fame and fortune. Yet, before the end of the year, three of them return home. Desperate to put the past few months behind them.
However, 50 years later, the murder of an old man in a seedy London bedsit, makes former vocalist Maurie Cohen, who is dying of cancer, feel compelled to return and confront the ghosts of the past and he persuades his two former bandmates to accompany him.
The chapters alternate between the then and the now (1965 and 2015) so we are treated to a comparison of the two journeys, 50 years apart. Although there are obvious differences, it’s the similarities which provide the main entertainment. By the final chapter, all the mysteries which had lain buried for 50 years are shockingly unearthed.
Despite the deviation from his usual novels, the quality is as high as ever. A very thought provoking and engrossing read.
In 1965, five teenage Glaswegian boys form a rock band and, after a series of disappointments at home, decide to travel south to London to seek their fame and fortune. Yet, before the end of the year, three of them return home. Desperate to put the past few months behind them.
However, 50 years later, the murder of an old man in a seedy London bedsit, makes former vocalist Maurie Cohen, who is dying of cancer, feel compelled to return and confront the ghosts of the past and he persuades his two former bandmates to accompany him.
The chapters alternate between the then and the now (1965 and 2015) so we are treated to a comparison of the two journeys, 50 years apart. Although there are obvious differences, it’s the similarities which provide the main entertainment. By the final chapter, all the mysteries which had lain buried for 50 years are shockingly unearthed.
Despite the deviation from his usual novels, the quality is as high as ever. A very thought provoking and engrossing read.
September 23, 2015
Hit the road, Jack...
When Jack Mackay is expelled from school, he decides to run away to London. He tells his friends, the other four members of the band he plays in, and they decide to go with him – partly to get away from problems in their own lives, and partly to seek fame and fortune. It's 1965, and London is swinging – the place to be for all aspiring musicians. But it's also a place where young people can find themselves manipulated and used, and caught up in events they can't control. And Jack's London adventure ends with a killing. Fifty years on, one of the band members, Maurie, now terminally ill with cancer, reveals that the person everyone thought was the killer was innocent, and that he knows who really did it. He persuades Jack and Dave, the two remaining band members still living in Glasgow, to go back with him to London to put things right while there's still time.
The publicity blurb for the book tells us that parts of the story are based on May's own experiences of running away to London as a teenager. As with his last few books, this one has a double timeline. The story of the '60s London trip is told by Jack in the first-person, while the present day section is third person, though still very firmly from Jack's perspective, and both sections are written in the past tense. Though we know from the beginning that someone is murdered, we don't know who or why until near the end, so this has more of the feel of thriller than a mystery. We also know that Maurie knows whodunit, so there's no investigation element. Instead what we have are two linked but very different stories of the characters heading to London, and the gradual revelation of what happened to the boys in the earlier storyline once they got there.
Both timelines have a great feeling of authenticity and, as always with May, the sense of place is done superbly. I hadn't realised May grew up in the Southside of Glasgow (as did I), but the accuracy with which he describes it suggests he must have done. Although he's writing about a somewhat earlier era than my own, the places, attitudes, language and lifestyle are all spot-on. Spookily so, in fact – I kept finding parts of my own life mirrored in the story and spent much of the early part of the book being reminded of events and places in my own past.
The two journeys, 50 years apart, allow May to show the changes across the country in that time, and he does so very well. Both journeys take the form of road-trips, punctuated by accident and disaster, but lifted by a healthy dose of humour. Along the way, the boys rescue Maurie's cousin from her drug-dealing boyfriend and she becomes one of the gang as they finally arrive in London and start looking round for the streets paved with gold. And at first, when they are given lodgings and a job by a man who promises them a chance to cut a demo disc, it looks as though they have landed on their feet. But it's not long before things go wrong and start to spiral out of control.
The trip undertaken by the older version of the men in the present day is filled with a mixture of nostalgia and humour. It's through Jack's reminiscences during this trip that we see the earlier story unfold, and see him reassessing with the eyes of experience the risks to which his younger self laid himself open. Gradually we see how his whole life has been affected by the things that happened back then, with this trip giving him a chance for some kind of resolution and even redemption.
The one weakness of the book for me was the crime element itself. The murder and motive for it weren't quite strong enough to justify the lengthy lead-up – in fact, it felt a little as if it had been tacked on to justify the book being classed as a crime novel. The strength of the book is in the relationships between the boys as they face up to the realities of life; and later between the men as they come to terms with the events that had such an impact on each of their lives. The ending felt a little contrived to bring the whole thing to a neat conclusion.
Overall, though, this is an excellent read that convinces me again that May is at his strongest when he's writing about his own native country – his instinctive feel for the places and people is far more convincing than even his best researched books set elsewhere. But perhaps I'm biased...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Quercus.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When Jack Mackay is expelled from school, he decides to run away to London. He tells his friends, the other four members of the band he plays in, and they decide to go with him – partly to get away from problems in their own lives, and partly to seek fame and fortune. It's 1965, and London is swinging – the place to be for all aspiring musicians. But it's also a place where young people can find themselves manipulated and used, and caught up in events they can't control. And Jack's London adventure ends with a killing. Fifty years on, one of the band members, Maurie, now terminally ill with cancer, reveals that the person everyone thought was the killer was innocent, and that he knows who really did it. He persuades Jack and Dave, the two remaining band members still living in Glasgow, to go back with him to London to put things right while there's still time.
The publicity blurb for the book tells us that parts of the story are based on May's own experiences of running away to London as a teenager. As with his last few books, this one has a double timeline. The story of the '60s London trip is told by Jack in the first-person, while the present day section is third person, though still very firmly from Jack's perspective, and both sections are written in the past tense. Though we know from the beginning that someone is murdered, we don't know who or why until near the end, so this has more of the feel of thriller than a mystery. We also know that Maurie knows whodunit, so there's no investigation element. Instead what we have are two linked but very different stories of the characters heading to London, and the gradual revelation of what happened to the boys in the earlier storyline once they got there.
Both timelines have a great feeling of authenticity and, as always with May, the sense of place is done superbly. I hadn't realised May grew up in the Southside of Glasgow (as did I), but the accuracy with which he describes it suggests he must have done. Although he's writing about a somewhat earlier era than my own, the places, attitudes, language and lifestyle are all spot-on. Spookily so, in fact – I kept finding parts of my own life mirrored in the story and spent much of the early part of the book being reminded of events and places in my own past.
The two journeys, 50 years apart, allow May to show the changes across the country in that time, and he does so very well. Both journeys take the form of road-trips, punctuated by accident and disaster, but lifted by a healthy dose of humour. Along the way, the boys rescue Maurie's cousin from her drug-dealing boyfriend and she becomes one of the gang as they finally arrive in London and start looking round for the streets paved with gold. And at first, when they are given lodgings and a job by a man who promises them a chance to cut a demo disc, it looks as though they have landed on their feet. But it's not long before things go wrong and start to spiral out of control.
The trip undertaken by the older version of the men in the present day is filled with a mixture of nostalgia and humour. It's through Jack's reminiscences during this trip that we see the earlier story unfold, and see him reassessing with the eyes of experience the risks to which his younger self laid himself open. Gradually we see how his whole life has been affected by the things that happened back then, with this trip giving him a chance for some kind of resolution and even redemption.
The one weakness of the book for me was the crime element itself. The murder and motive for it weren't quite strong enough to justify the lengthy lead-up – in fact, it felt a little as if it had been tacked on to justify the book being classed as a crime novel. The strength of the book is in the relationships between the boys as they face up to the realities of life; and later between the men as they come to terms with the events that had such an impact on each of their lives. The ending felt a little contrived to bring the whole thing to a neat conclusion.
Overall, though, this is an excellent read that convinces me again that May is at his strongest when he's writing about his own native country – his instinctive feel for the places and people is far more convincing than even his best researched books set elsewhere. But perhaps I'm biased...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Quercus.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
January 1, 2015
A remarkable read! A well-constructed narrative that deals with two time settings, the earlier time frame – the late 1960’s – Glasgow and London and events there that had far reaching implications for all those involved and then the decision to revisit the past; in all its glory, with its downfalls, its sadness, naivety, bleakness and the loves, friendships and hope. 2015 sees the world through aging eyes and rights still have to be made, restitution paid. Crimes have been committed. The scales need to be balanced.
The settings are finely drawn. The characters believable, three dimensional and empathetic. I love their mission, and the ending has more than a few twists. This is more than a work of crime fiction, this is more than just a contemporary narrative, this is more than the sum these elements … so much more. This is a story of life, of death, of adventure, of the potential of youth and the potential of older age and mostly this is the story of enduring friendships. And this is about pain, without pain you have nothing.
I loved my first Peter May read and will certainly look for others by this author.
The settings are finely drawn. The characters believable, three dimensional and empathetic. I love their mission, and the ending has more than a few twists. This is more than a work of crime fiction, this is more than just a contemporary narrative, this is more than the sum these elements … so much more. This is a story of life, of death, of adventure, of the potential of youth and the potential of older age and mostly this is the story of enduring friendships. And this is about pain, without pain you have nothing.
I loved my first Peter May read and will certainly look for others by this author.
October 21, 2020
Facing the Past
Guided by a common dream, 5 boys flee from Glasgow to London. However, less than an year later, 3 of them returned — what happened in London has been buried but not forgotten...
But... 50 years later, a brutal homicide will unbury that dark period of their Past — it was time for the inevitable confrontation!...
Runaway is another Peter May thriller where Past is a ruthless Hunter — it lives in its own preys, dormant, waiting for the right time to wake up and hunt!!!
Guided by a common dream, 5 boys flee from Glasgow to London. However, less than an year later, 3 of them returned — what happened in London has been buried but not forgotten...
But... 50 years later, a brutal homicide will unbury that dark period of their Past — it was time for the inevitable confrontation!...
Runaway is another Peter May thriller where Past is a ruthless Hunter — it lives in its own preys, dormant, waiting for the right time to wake up and hunt!!!
July 17, 2023
Review to follow
June 5, 2018
4.5*
Beginning with a murder in 2015, both murderer and victim’s identities initially unknown, it forces three friends to face the events that determined the path their lives would take fifty years ago.
Glasgow 2015 and Jack Mackay is visiting his old friend Maurie at the latter’s request. They’ve been friends since they were boys but haven’t seen each other for years, and now Maurie is dying. He wants Jack to take him to London. Someone from their past has been murdered and Maurie knows who killed him. He wants to put things right while he still can.
In 1965 music loving teenagers Jack, Maurie, Dave, Luke and Jeff left their homes in Glasgow lured by thoughts of stardom and the bright lights in London. Jack had formed the band Shuffle with the other boys a couple of years earlier. Being expelled from school was the motivation for his decision to run away and his friends decided he wasn’t going alone. On the way they managed to get Maurie’s cousin, Rachel, out of a very bad situation, one that would have far reaching consequences, especially for Maurie and Jack.
Things hadn’t worked out as the boys had hoped, and hard lessons were learned. It was a subdued party of three who returned to Scotland and settled for an existence far removed from that of their dreams. And so all these years later Jack enlists the very reluctant services of his grandson, Ricky, to drive them to London and back to the past.
The narrative is well constructed with dual time lines running simultaneously, and moving seamlessly from one to the other. Peter narrates the events in the sixties from his perspective, while the present day is written in the third person. Evocative descriptions of 60s London with its colourful vibrancy and the exuberance and single mindedness of youth, contrasts sharply with the disenchantment of lives that didn’t meet expectations. Jack’s present day recollections of a time long gone unfold slowly and show how those past events have shaped all their lives, in most cases not for the better.
Although this is a character driven, slow burn of a story there is a murder mystery at its heart, but the main focus is the complexities of friendship and the tenuous quality of hopes and dreams. Peter May is adept at bringing his characters to life and adding lots of local colour and ambience to the settings. With several twists and a very unexpected reveal at the end, this was another excellent offering from a great storyteller. And once again, Peter Forbes’ narration is faultless.
Beginning with a murder in 2015, both murderer and victim’s identities initially unknown, it forces three friends to face the events that determined the path their lives would take fifty years ago.
Glasgow 2015 and Jack Mackay is visiting his old friend Maurie at the latter’s request. They’ve been friends since they were boys but haven’t seen each other for years, and now Maurie is dying. He wants Jack to take him to London. Someone from their past has been murdered and Maurie knows who killed him. He wants to put things right while he still can.
In 1965 music loving teenagers Jack, Maurie, Dave, Luke and Jeff left their homes in Glasgow lured by thoughts of stardom and the bright lights in London. Jack had formed the band Shuffle with the other boys a couple of years earlier. Being expelled from school was the motivation for his decision to run away and his friends decided he wasn’t going alone. On the way they managed to get Maurie’s cousin, Rachel, out of a very bad situation, one that would have far reaching consequences, especially for Maurie and Jack.
Things hadn’t worked out as the boys had hoped, and hard lessons were learned. It was a subdued party of three who returned to Scotland and settled for an existence far removed from that of their dreams. And so all these years later Jack enlists the very reluctant services of his grandson, Ricky, to drive them to London and back to the past.
The narrative is well constructed with dual time lines running simultaneously, and moving seamlessly from one to the other. Peter narrates the events in the sixties from his perspective, while the present day is written in the third person. Evocative descriptions of 60s London with its colourful vibrancy and the exuberance and single mindedness of youth, contrasts sharply with the disenchantment of lives that didn’t meet expectations. Jack’s present day recollections of a time long gone unfold slowly and show how those past events have shaped all their lives, in most cases not for the better.
Although this is a character driven, slow burn of a story there is a murder mystery at its heart, but the main focus is the complexities of friendship and the tenuous quality of hopes and dreams. Peter May is adept at bringing his characters to life and adding lots of local colour and ambience to the settings. With several twists and a very unexpected reveal at the end, this was another excellent offering from a great storyteller. And once again, Peter Forbes’ narration is faultless.
January 8, 2021
Apesar de não ser um romance policial, no sentido clássico do termo, o livro parte de um crime, que tem relação com outro que ocorreu há muitos anos atrás. Toda a história, que alterna entre o passado e o presente, é uma elucidação do que se passou e do modo como isso afetou a vida atual dos personagens.
É um livro que aborda a importância da amizade, os sonhos, os projetos de vida e as oportunidades perdidas. É uma bela história, bem contada (como é costume com este autor).
É um livro que aborda a importância da amizade, os sonhos, os projetos de vida e as oportunidades perdidas. É uma bela história, bem contada (como é costume com este autor).
December 30, 2020
Další přečtená kniha od mého oblíbeného spisovatele. A opět mě nezklamal. Jak to jen dělá?!
November 30, 2015
[Warning: some smallish spoilers in paras 2 and 3]
Similar to the Lewis trilogy Peter May weaves a narrative over time and space, examining the same characters at two distant points in their lives and showing how the one influenced the other. But where May exquisitely links past and present in the Lewis books, Runaway is clunky, cliche ridden and forced.
In a show of distain for his reader, no sooner do our protagonists arrive at their destination, for example, do they bump into not one, but two icons of the era - one of whom happens to be in the process of committing to celluloid the most iconic moment of his career. Are we really expected to swallow that as plausible, let alone likely? Similar events that occur throughout the book feel like unwarranted indulgences on the part of the author to relive his youth and demonstrate his musical chops. But this is lazy. Where he could have evoked London of fifty years ago through careful description of the mundane and profane, he has instead chosen to slap on a massive sign saying "Look, the Rolling Stones are on the Dancette, it must be the sixties!"
Caricatures and lazy stereotypes in the lives of the characters persist throughout the book: the altercation between the main character and his love interest over her use of Heroin and her subsequent, almost effortless, cold turkey; the tripped out kid who thinks he can fly; the improbable job offer; the adoption of the characters into a bohemian collective mere hours after their arrival in London; the abandonment of the Glasgow end of the storyline half way through the book; the arrival of an antagonist out of nowhere to precipitate the event that is presumably the whole point of the story but which feels like an afterthought; and even the denouement, ultimately all ring false.
May has tried to tell a story of life and loss for young Glaswegian lads seeking their fortunes, but with his concentration on trying to evoke the feel of the sixties though questionable literary devices, his disrespect for the integrity of the reader, and a naivety that just isn't there in the Lewis books, he ultimately fails to develop any of his characters, leaving them two-dimensional. This left me ambivalent about their plights. I could have cared about them: I didn't.
Similar to the Lewis trilogy Peter May weaves a narrative over time and space, examining the same characters at two distant points in their lives and showing how the one influenced the other. But where May exquisitely links past and present in the Lewis books, Runaway is clunky, cliche ridden and forced.
In a show of distain for his reader, no sooner do our protagonists arrive at their destination, for example, do they bump into not one, but two icons of the era - one of whom happens to be in the process of committing to celluloid the most iconic moment of his career. Are we really expected to swallow that as plausible, let alone likely? Similar events that occur throughout the book feel like unwarranted indulgences on the part of the author to relive his youth and demonstrate his musical chops. But this is lazy. Where he could have evoked London of fifty years ago through careful description of the mundane and profane, he has instead chosen to slap on a massive sign saying "Look, the Rolling Stones are on the Dancette, it must be the sixties!"
Caricatures and lazy stereotypes in the lives of the characters persist throughout the book: the altercation between the main character and his love interest over her use of Heroin and her subsequent, almost effortless, cold turkey; the tripped out kid who thinks he can fly; the improbable job offer; the adoption of the characters into a bohemian collective mere hours after their arrival in London; the abandonment of the Glasgow end of the storyline half way through the book; the arrival of an antagonist out of nowhere to precipitate the event that is presumably the whole point of the story but which feels like an afterthought; and even the denouement, ultimately all ring false.
May has tried to tell a story of life and loss for young Glaswegian lads seeking their fortunes, but with his concentration on trying to evoke the feel of the sixties though questionable literary devices, his disrespect for the integrity of the reader, and a naivety that just isn't there in the Lewis books, he ultimately fails to develop any of his characters, leaving them two-dimensional. This left me ambivalent about their plights. I could have cared about them: I didn't.
January 5, 2026
It was about time I picked up another Peter May book having previously enjoyed the Lewis Trilogy. Runaway was another thoroughly captivating read and I wish I'd discovered it sooner.
It was a story of friendship, dreams and the harsh realities of life, as five teenage boys from Glasgow sought to make a success for themselves in London with their band known as The Shuffle. This was to be a life-changing journey for all of them...
Peter May's writing style was excellent with wonderful descriptions and humorous dialogue. Similarly to the previous books I've read by this author, there were two timelines cleverly woven together which really satisfied my interest and curiosity as the story seamlessly moved between 1965 and the present day of 2015.
I found this book to be entertaining on one hand, but also thought-provoking on the other. As the tale slowly unfolded, further secrets and truths emerged, keeping me totally invested all the way to the final emotional chapter.
Five stars for a brilliant and memorable story.
It was a story of friendship, dreams and the harsh realities of life, as five teenage boys from Glasgow sought to make a success for themselves in London with their band known as The Shuffle. This was to be a life-changing journey for all of them...
Peter May's writing style was excellent with wonderful descriptions and humorous dialogue. Similarly to the previous books I've read by this author, there were two timelines cleverly woven together which really satisfied my interest and curiosity as the story seamlessly moved between 1965 and the present day of 2015.
I found this book to be entertaining on one hand, but also thought-provoking on the other. As the tale slowly unfolded, further secrets and truths emerged, keeping me totally invested all the way to the final emotional chapter.
Five stars for a brilliant and memorable story.
July 8, 2018
Plutôt 4,5/5
J’évite les lectures "violentes" d’habitude mais je ne regrette absolument pas celle-ci, qui parle de nostalgie, d’amitié, de regrets, du temps qui passe et des erreurs qui nous hantent toute la vie. Je le finis la gorge serrée. Mention spéciale pour l’aspect "road trip" et le contexte des 60’s, décrit de manière très évocatrice par l’auteur - on s’y croirait !
J’évite les lectures "violentes" d’habitude mais je ne regrette absolument pas celle-ci, qui parle de nostalgie, d’amitié, de regrets, du temps qui passe et des erreurs qui nous hantent toute la vie. Je le finis la gorge serrée. Mention spéciale pour l’aspect "road trip" et le contexte des 60’s, décrit de manière très évocatrice par l’auteur - on s’y croirait !
February 3, 2017
Peter May is one of my favorite writers. He is always able to tell a great story. I found this book to be a very adventurous read. The characters were believable as they told their story about their runaway trip to London in the 60's fifty years ago. The plot of solving a murder that happened in the 60's and traveling together once again made for a real page-turner. Add in a little history of Glasgow and London in the 60's and present day differences and you have a very worthwhile read. I would recommend this book to those who love a book with lots of twists and turns.
March 15, 2015
Only gave it two stars as I quite enjoyed the tale and some of the Glasgow humour but if this had been the first Peter May book I read I wouldn't have read another. Cliche-ridden clunky prose, dropping in unbelievable references to icons of the Sixties and a dreadful, predictable and unimaginative ending.
January 15, 2015
Jack MacKay narrates our story, told in part in 1965 when as a young lad he ran away from Glasgow with a group of friends to see if the streets of London were paved with gold. The boys were in a band and they were determined to make a name for themselves, all eager to see the bright lights and to remove themselves from various difficult situations. The gang was made up of a Jewish boy, a Jehovah Witness, A mechanic and Jack who'd just got himself expelled from school. In 2015 three of the same group of friends are on a mission to grant one of their number his dying wish, to return to London to right a wrong from many years before. In both time periods they meet a number of challenges, some of them almost farcical in nature and some that put intolerable strain on their friendship.
It appears that we are in a time where writers are making older people their focus rather than the bit parts that they have traditionally been given, I'm thinking of Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey and The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell which I read last year, and Peter May really gets across how getting older can be a cause of regret, he doesn't gloss over unachieved ambitions but neither is this book all doom and gloom, giving a good balance by illustrating that there is a sense of the perspective gained by getting older as well as that old truth that in their minds the group may be older but they still feel the same as they've always done, just perhaps a little slower. Life's lessons are delivered to Rick, Jack's grandson who has been torn away from his twilight lifestyle gaming to act as the driver for the 2015 adventure.
At first I found the narrative style, particularly of the 1965 trip off-putting as it is told by Jack looking back at this time and this inevitably means that some of the views felt way too old for the boy he would have been. There are political statements made about a range of issues including social housing, food banks, unemployment amongst others which made me feel like an elderly Uncle was lecturing me which I found disconcerting. As the story progresses and we find out the part the man who has been brutally murdered in 2015 played in the episodes from 1965, the narrative clicked and story felt more natural. The story is rescued from being entirely from a male perspective with a cousin of one of the group joining them in London. Peter May is a master at drawing a range of believable characters, and that is true in this book too with each member of the group drawn distinctly, I especially loved Jeff and his turn of phrase. As the book draws to a close there were a number of surprises for me as my conclusions proved way off the mark, as usual.
This is a semi-autobiographical novel featuring some of Peter May's own escapades in London back in the sixties, and it certainly reads like an autobiography, although hopefully the crime committed is fantasy. As such there are references to the music of the time along with details of clothes worn that pertain would add a feeling of nostalgia if only I'd been born then.
I would like to thank the publishers for allowing me to read Runaway and for any of Peter May's fans that may have been in a band and who lived during this time of change, this is a must read.
It appears that we are in a time where writers are making older people their focus rather than the bit parts that they have traditionally been given, I'm thinking of Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey and The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell which I read last year, and Peter May really gets across how getting older can be a cause of regret, he doesn't gloss over unachieved ambitions but neither is this book all doom and gloom, giving a good balance by illustrating that there is a sense of the perspective gained by getting older as well as that old truth that in their minds the group may be older but they still feel the same as they've always done, just perhaps a little slower. Life's lessons are delivered to Rick, Jack's grandson who has been torn away from his twilight lifestyle gaming to act as the driver for the 2015 adventure.
At first I found the narrative style, particularly of the 1965 trip off-putting as it is told by Jack looking back at this time and this inevitably means that some of the views felt way too old for the boy he would have been. There are political statements made about a range of issues including social housing, food banks, unemployment amongst others which made me feel like an elderly Uncle was lecturing me which I found disconcerting. As the story progresses and we find out the part the man who has been brutally murdered in 2015 played in the episodes from 1965, the narrative clicked and story felt more natural. The story is rescued from being entirely from a male perspective with a cousin of one of the group joining them in London. Peter May is a master at drawing a range of believable characters, and that is true in this book too with each member of the group drawn distinctly, I especially loved Jeff and his turn of phrase. As the book draws to a close there were a number of surprises for me as my conclusions proved way off the mark, as usual.
This is a semi-autobiographical novel featuring some of Peter May's own escapades in London back in the sixties, and it certainly reads like an autobiography, although hopefully the crime committed is fantasy. As such there are references to the music of the time along with details of clothes worn that pertain would add a feeling of nostalgia if only I'd been born then.
I would like to thank the publishers for allowing me to read Runaway and for any of Peter May's fans that may have been in a band and who lived during this time of change, this is a must read.
January 1, 2023
This one is for the men with memories of the 60's along with those dreams of making it with a band. Glasgow is where a group of teens grew up and meshed and from where they ran away to live a dream in London. There are bumps in the road and holes in their plans and resources, and from this telling I can't say there were any successes to report beyond that first youthful taste of freedom and intense feelings. After some difficult situations the group of friends returns to Glasgow minus two - one who wished to stay rather than return to his family and one who believed he could fly while under the influence.
There is a murder or two, some secrets held for 50 years and one grandson awakens to possibilities beyond computer games.
There is a murder or two, some secrets held for 50 years and one grandson awakens to possibilities beyond computer games.
September 7, 2015
This is a very quick read. It's described as a thriller but it's more of a "road story" with a group of friends making a journey to London in 1965 and again 50 years later in 2015. On both trips there are misadventures, sometimes downright scary. On the second trip, 2 of the friends aren't with them, having stayed in London 50 years before. A lot happens in the last 10 pages which neatly wrap up the story and make it a thriller.
January 13, 2023
I fancied another foray into crime fiction, and whilst this was not the best I've read (a bit predictable and with narratives that didn't quite link up), I did enjoy and will be taking on Peter May's Lewis series in the foreseeable.
February 17, 2016
The book begins with a murder in 2015. We don't know the identity of the killer or victim until much later in the book.
5 young men, age 17, have a band in Glasgow in 1965. They runaway from home with the hope of making a big success in the the London music scene. London is the center of a vibrant music, arts and fashion scene. ' The world changed from sepia to psychedelic'
Everything starts to go horribly wrong for them from the beginning of their road trip. Finally disillusioned, dirty and exhausted, and with very little money, they arrive at their destination. In London their hopes for a music career are dashed and they fall in with people who claim to have connections with the entertainment business. They stay at a place where alcohol and drugs are available. After adventures and misadventures in London, three of the bitterly disappointed young men return to Glasgow.
We meet these three 50 years later. It is now 2015, and their former lead singer, Maurice, is near death in hospital. He has read about the murder in a newspaper and demands that the two old friends and former band mates, Jack and Dave, help get him back to London, as he has some unfinished business connected with the murder relating back 50 years to their time in London. The friends know nothing about what Maurice knows or plans. They are told to trust him. With the reluctant help of Jack's grandson, they start out for London. The grandson is enlisted to break Maurice out of hospital and to help him move as he so weak and sick he can barely walk. With the grandson driving, a lot goes wrong on their way to London. There are flashes of humor among all the tragedy.
Although there is a murder in the plot, the book centers more on the exuberance and dreams of youth, their disillusionment, and the stoicism of old age.
5 young men, age 17, have a band in Glasgow in 1965. They runaway from home with the hope of making a big success in the the London music scene. London is the center of a vibrant music, arts and fashion scene. ' The world changed from sepia to psychedelic'
Everything starts to go horribly wrong for them from the beginning of their road trip. Finally disillusioned, dirty and exhausted, and with very little money, they arrive at their destination. In London their hopes for a music career are dashed and they fall in with people who claim to have connections with the entertainment business. They stay at a place where alcohol and drugs are available. After adventures and misadventures in London, three of the bitterly disappointed young men return to Glasgow.
We meet these three 50 years later. It is now 2015, and their former lead singer, Maurice, is near death in hospital. He has read about the murder in a newspaper and demands that the two old friends and former band mates, Jack and Dave, help get him back to London, as he has some unfinished business connected with the murder relating back 50 years to their time in London. The friends know nothing about what Maurice knows or plans. They are told to trust him. With the reluctant help of Jack's grandson, they start out for London. The grandson is enlisted to break Maurice out of hospital and to help him move as he so weak and sick he can barely walk. With the grandson driving, a lot goes wrong on their way to London. There are flashes of humor among all the tragedy.
Although there is a murder in the plot, the book centers more on the exuberance and dreams of youth, their disillusionment, and the stoicism of old age.
December 21, 2016
‘I’m thinking as straight as I’ve ever done,’ I said. “I’m going and I’m going tonight.’
In 1965 Jack Mackay is seventeen. When he’s expelled from school in Glasgow after a school dance, he decides that running away to London is a good idea. Jack and his friends, Maurie, Luke, Dave and Jeff are members of a band called ‘Shuffle’, and together they decide to abandon Glasgow for musical stardom in London.
In 2015 Jack Mackay is sixty-seven, living back in Glasgow, and haunted by memories from 1965. His friend Maurie, terminally ill, sees a report of a brutal murder in the local newspaper. Returning to London to face the past is what he wants to do, and that is what he does, together with Jack, Jeff and Jack’s grandson Ricky.
‘Settling always for second best, because that was the path of least resistance.’
So what happened in 1965? And what is the point of their trip in 2015? The novel moves between 1965 and 2015, between young confident men who learn that the world is not as nice a place as they thought, and older men trying to face up to events they’ve spent half a century running away from. And while the older men learn, Ricky is also finding his own place in the world.
I’ve read four of Peter May’s novels so far, and enjoyed each one of them. There were a few twists that I didn’t work out in this novel until close to the end: I suspect that I was too busy reading to find out what would happen next rather than paying close attention to the detail.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In 1965 Jack Mackay is seventeen. When he’s expelled from school in Glasgow after a school dance, he decides that running away to London is a good idea. Jack and his friends, Maurie, Luke, Dave and Jeff are members of a band called ‘Shuffle’, and together they decide to abandon Glasgow for musical stardom in London.
In 2015 Jack Mackay is sixty-seven, living back in Glasgow, and haunted by memories from 1965. His friend Maurie, terminally ill, sees a report of a brutal murder in the local newspaper. Returning to London to face the past is what he wants to do, and that is what he does, together with Jack, Jeff and Jack’s grandson Ricky.
‘Settling always for second best, because that was the path of least resistance.’
So what happened in 1965? And what is the point of their trip in 2015? The novel moves between 1965 and 2015, between young confident men who learn that the world is not as nice a place as they thought, and older men trying to face up to events they’ve spent half a century running away from. And while the older men learn, Ricky is also finding his own place in the world.
I’ve read four of Peter May’s novels so far, and enjoyed each one of them. There were a few twists that I didn’t work out in this novel until close to the end: I suspect that I was too busy reading to find out what would happen next rather than paying close attention to the detail.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
July 27, 2017
A mystery and a nice tale of friendships. In 1965, five young Scottish lads with dreams of fortune in the music industry run away to London. 50 years later, even if terminally ill, one of them urges them to go back once again. While they reminisce their brief but intense experiences on the road so long ago, the mystery of what happened to their tight group will be revealed.
The book, as you would expect, alternates between flashbacks, where the author brings back the pop culture, music and atmosphere of the sixties, and the contemporary chapters, that are full of senior humor. The pace is great and there are many twist and turns in the story to keep the reader turning pages. The surprises keep coming till the very end. Moreover, finally!, a novel with a nice ending that is not too sweet.
I enjoyed May’s Lewis trilogy books, but this standalone novel of his is the one I liked best.
4.5 stars
Fav. Quotes:
How could I have known then that failure of ambition is like a long, lingering death, and that disappointment with your life never goes away? It only grows stronger with the passage of time, as the clock ticks off the remaining days of your life, and any residual hope slips like sand through arthritic fingers.
You don’t want to be looking back on it fifty years from now and wishing you’d done things differently. There’s nothing more corrosive than regret.
The book, as you would expect, alternates between flashbacks, where the author brings back the pop culture, music and atmosphere of the sixties, and the contemporary chapters, that are full of senior humor. The pace is great and there are many twist and turns in the story to keep the reader turning pages. The surprises keep coming till the very end. Moreover, finally!, a novel with a nice ending that is not too sweet.
I enjoyed May’s Lewis trilogy books, but this standalone novel of his is the one I liked best.
4.5 stars
Fav. Quotes:
How could I have known then that failure of ambition is like a long, lingering death, and that disappointment with your life never goes away? It only grows stronger with the passage of time, as the clock ticks off the remaining days of your life, and any residual hope slips like sand through arthritic fingers.
You don’t want to be looking back on it fifty years from now and wishing you’d done things differently. There’s nothing more corrosive than regret.
March 1, 2019
Disappointing. I felt I was reading a checklist of 60s problems/people: sightings of John Lennon and Bob Dylan, a crazy psychiatrist who thinks madness is sanity, a Svengali who wants payback, LSD, teen pregnancy, urban decay, etc., etc.
There was a mystery at the heart that kept me reading, but in the end, there were no real consequences for the actions, unless you count the psychological toll of guilt. Good enough, perhaps, but if that's the case, I'd have liked to be clearer about it. Yes, Jack is defined by his experience, but I get the feeling he wouldn't have been any different.
I liked the Lewis trilogy very much because of its fully fleshed-out characters and well-worked plot, but this one had neither of those qualities.
There was a mystery at the heart that kept me reading, but in the end, there were no real consequences for the actions, unless you count the psychological toll of guilt. Good enough, perhaps, but if that's the case, I'd have liked to be clearer about it. Yes, Jack is defined by his experience, but I get the feeling he wouldn't have been any different.
I liked the Lewis trilogy very much because of its fully fleshed-out characters and well-worked plot, but this one had neither of those qualities.
July 25, 2015
This is the second excellent book I have read in as many days. I thoroughly enjoyed the books I had previously read by this author and was eagerly looking forward to this book and wow. The book is so much more than a whodunit, it is full of great characters and lots of emotions. Peter May brings his characters to life and you feel every emotion while reading his books. I loved this book from start to finish and was sad when I actually finished it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 641 reviews