What do you think?
Rate this book
Close Quarters
Walter Bain is the self-appointed dictator of the tenement at 13 Oldberry Road in Glasgow’s cosmopolitan west end. For years, Walter has striven to impose his family values – stairs must be regularly washed, noise kept down, and wheelie bins moved back and forth at the correct times.
When Walter is found murdered, there are plenty of suspects among his ungrateful neighbours. Comic book dealer Billy Briggs is estranged from his daughter, with his business in ruins, and Tony Miller is jobless and facing eviction, all because of Walter. Henrietta Quayle, bullied and belittled by the dead man, conceals a murderous obsession beneath her timid exterior. And alcoholic solicitor Gus Mackinnon has even more reason to hate Walter than anyone else.
As Close Quarters takes a look back over the years at the various turbulent relationships between Walter and his neighbours, one thing becomes although only one may be the murderer, none of them will mourn his passing.
Close Quarters is primarily a comedy and will particularly appeal to Scottish readers, as it satirises the traditional and sentimental view of Glasgow’s tenement life by placing it in a modern setting. The book will also appeal to readers of crime fiction.
When Walter is found murdered, there are plenty of suspects among his ungrateful neighbours. Comic book dealer Billy Briggs is estranged from his daughter, with his business in ruins, and Tony Miller is jobless and facing eviction, all because of Walter. Henrietta Quayle, bullied and belittled by the dead man, conceals a murderous obsession beneath her timid exterior. And alcoholic solicitor Gus Mackinnon has even more reason to hate Walter than anyone else.
As Close Quarters takes a look back over the years at the various turbulent relationships between Walter and his neighbours, one thing becomes although only one may be the murderer, none of them will mourn his passing.
Close Quarters is primarily a comedy and will particularly appeal to Scottish readers, as it satirises the traditional and sentimental view of Glasgow’s tenement life by placing it in a modern setting. The book will also appeal to readers of crime fiction.
505 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 26, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 15, 2021
When I picked this up I wondered if it might be a kind of Glasgow riposte to Alexander McCall Smith’s Edinburgh set 44 Scotland Street novels. Close is of course the Scottish word for the entranceway and stairwell of a tenement block and the inhabitants of such a building do live in proximity to each other – if not necessarily always on good terms – and there are certainly differences between the two cities to be exploited in a project of that sort. However, Close Quarters, while still genteel in its way, has a more earthy, more Glaswegian, approach to the aspects of communal living, and is its own thing.
There are faint echoes of A Christmas Carol in the opening line, “Walter Bain was dead,” but McAllister is not providing us with a ghost story. What he does is outline the various reasons why the building’s occupiers over the years might have had a motive to kill Bain. As the officer in charge of the case says to his sergeant in the prologue, “We’re talking about Walter Bain. The Walter Bain. Did any of them not have a motive?”
For Walter Bain was one of those self-appointed, nit-picking guardians of moral and social welfare, forever peering out through his windows at visitors or residents arriving at the close to check they’d shut the gate of the small enclosure at the front of the building, posting through doors misspelled and ungrammatical missives scribbled onto scraps of paper regarding the stair and window cleaning rota, or the undesirability of wheelie bins being left outside for hours on end, harping on disturbances to the tranquillity of the family nature of the building; or else arranging meetings of tenants to discuss problems with cleaning, maintenance and upkeep, though reluctant to take on himself his portion of any financial burden that might necessitate.
We are shown the experiences with Bain of new tenants Jenny Martin and Joe Robinson, of long-term residents Gus McKinnon, George Anderson and his girlfriend (later wife) Cathie, Billy Briggs, Henrietta Quayle, and that of more recent occupant Tony Miller. Most are rendered in third person past tense but Anderson’s (a lecturer in English at Strathkelvin University – a recently upgraded technical college) is couched as a set of diary entries he composes for Cathie to read as practice for the novel he intends to write and Henrietta Quayle’s is in the form of a psychiatrist’s report by one Philomena Warner who treated Quayle when she had a breakdown after her mother’s death.
The story also centres round the Centurion pub on the corner of Byres Road. Several of the drinkers there are lawyers and McAllister has a lot of scope in his tale to send up both the law and academia. Since Briggs is a dealer in comic books we are also provided with a history of the graphic novel.
Despite the body on the carpet this is not a typical crime novel. McAllister’s interest is not in the murder per se and his treatment is far from po-faced. At several points in reading it I could not suppress giggles. Close Quarters, is also, due to the time frame of McKinnon’s, Briggs’s and Quayle’s occupancies, a social history of the 1980s and 1990s.
It is not difficult to guess who the murderer was. I had my suspicions from early on and indeed it turned out to be the only person it could possibly have been, revealed in an epilogue titled Who Done It. However, working that out in no way spoiled my enjoyment of the book. The gratification here is in the journey, in the many ways in which Bain could wind up his neighbours, and in their reactions to him.
There are faint echoes of A Christmas Carol in the opening line, “Walter Bain was dead,” but McAllister is not providing us with a ghost story. What he does is outline the various reasons why the building’s occupiers over the years might have had a motive to kill Bain. As the officer in charge of the case says to his sergeant in the prologue, “We’re talking about Walter Bain. The Walter Bain. Did any of them not have a motive?”
For Walter Bain was one of those self-appointed, nit-picking guardians of moral and social welfare, forever peering out through his windows at visitors or residents arriving at the close to check they’d shut the gate of the small enclosure at the front of the building, posting through doors misspelled and ungrammatical missives scribbled onto scraps of paper regarding the stair and window cleaning rota, or the undesirability of wheelie bins being left outside for hours on end, harping on disturbances to the tranquillity of the family nature of the building; or else arranging meetings of tenants to discuss problems with cleaning, maintenance and upkeep, though reluctant to take on himself his portion of any financial burden that might necessitate.
We are shown the experiences with Bain of new tenants Jenny Martin and Joe Robinson, of long-term residents Gus McKinnon, George Anderson and his girlfriend (later wife) Cathie, Billy Briggs, Henrietta Quayle, and that of more recent occupant Tony Miller. Most are rendered in third person past tense but Anderson’s (a lecturer in English at Strathkelvin University – a recently upgraded technical college) is couched as a set of diary entries he composes for Cathie to read as practice for the novel he intends to write and Henrietta Quayle’s is in the form of a psychiatrist’s report by one Philomena Warner who treated Quayle when she had a breakdown after her mother’s death.
The story also centres round the Centurion pub on the corner of Byres Road. Several of the drinkers there are lawyers and McAllister has a lot of scope in his tale to send up both the law and academia. Since Briggs is a dealer in comic books we are also provided with a history of the graphic novel.
Despite the body on the carpet this is not a typical crime novel. McAllister’s interest is not in the murder per se and his treatment is far from po-faced. At several points in reading it I could not suppress giggles. Close Quarters, is also, due to the time frame of McKinnon’s, Briggs’s and Quayle’s occupancies, a social history of the 1980s and 1990s.
It is not difficult to guess who the murderer was. I had my suspicions from early on and indeed it turned out to be the only person it could possibly have been, revealed in an epilogue titled Who Done It. However, working that out in no way spoiled my enjoyment of the book. The gratification here is in the journey, in the many ways in which Bain could wind up his neighbours, and in their reactions to him.
August 13, 2019
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this. It's not really a crime novel, although it starts with a murder, but it's fairly obvious who did it. It's more of a set of character studies.
The setting is a Glasgow tenement building just off Byres Road in the West end. The normal etiquette in the tenements is that all the residents take a turn washing the stairs, doing the banisters etc. In this particular building one of the residents, Walter Bain, ensures everyone takes their turn. And take the bins out, and not make too much noise, and shut the security door, and on and on. And when the residents ignore him, he turns to the Factor, or the Police, or the council, or anyone else he can think of. Not just the once, but constantly until he gets his own way through strength of annoyance and persistence if nothing else, and to be fair, he's very annoying. So when he's killed, which of the other residents did it?
There's Billy Briggs, and before him his Uncle. Billy was a bit of a drifter, getting bought out of this comic shop he co-owned. Getting the flat seemed to give him a base, and he starts to get involved in his estranged daughters life. Bain of course ruins all that.
Then there is Tony Miller from Kilwinning, in his first job and being away from his family for the first time. Until that is the party.
Henrietta Quayle lives downstairs, a more timid woman you will probably never meet, but why exactly is she so scared of Bain?
There's Cathie and George, the young couple with George starting his first job as a lecturer at the new University.
And then there's Gus Mackinnon, the lawyer who seems to be about to lose everything due to the demon drink, in fact more than you'd expect.
The characters are followed over time, to give a feeling of the time, and place. The plot, to a large extent, is irrelevant. This is more about what Glasgow is, and was like. The period pieces of George and the political arguments within the university, for all the ridiculousness, are actually fairly close to the truth.
This isn't a crime novel. It's about a community that develops within a tenement, and how one man can make a lot of people very unhappy. It's about life, and more importantly, life in Glasgow
The setting is a Glasgow tenement building just off Byres Road in the West end. The normal etiquette in the tenements is that all the residents take a turn washing the stairs, doing the banisters etc. In this particular building one of the residents, Walter Bain, ensures everyone takes their turn. And take the bins out, and not make too much noise, and shut the security door, and on and on. And when the residents ignore him, he turns to the Factor, or the Police, or the council, or anyone else he can think of. Not just the once, but constantly until he gets his own way through strength of annoyance and persistence if nothing else, and to be fair, he's very annoying. So when he's killed, which of the other residents did it?
There's Billy Briggs, and before him his Uncle. Billy was a bit of a drifter, getting bought out of this comic shop he co-owned. Getting the flat seemed to give him a base, and he starts to get involved in his estranged daughters life. Bain of course ruins all that.
Then there is Tony Miller from Kilwinning, in his first job and being away from his family for the first time. Until that is the party.
Henrietta Quayle lives downstairs, a more timid woman you will probably never meet, but why exactly is she so scared of Bain?
There's Cathie and George, the young couple with George starting his first job as a lecturer at the new University.
And then there's Gus Mackinnon, the lawyer who seems to be about to lose everything due to the demon drink, in fact more than you'd expect.
The characters are followed over time, to give a feeling of the time, and place. The plot, to a large extent, is irrelevant. This is more about what Glasgow is, and was like. The period pieces of George and the political arguments within the university, for all the ridiculousness, are actually fairly close to the truth.
This isn't a crime novel. It's about a community that develops within a tenement, and how one man can make a lot of people very unhappy. It's about life, and more importantly, life in Glasgow
January 12, 2021
This book falls into the rare category of laugh out loud funny - particularly if you have ever lived in, or know people from, Glasgow.
The characters are so realistic and I could visualise people who they were similar to in my own life. Bain is a horrible man who has made the lives of those around him a misery for decades. With each story he becomes more abhorrent. There are many serious parts too which gives it depth.
The writing techniques, including letters between the tenants, lawyers and so on make it even more interesting. I am very pleased my local Waterstones had this on a separate display table and drew my attention to it!
The characters are so realistic and I could visualise people who they were similar to in my own life. Bain is a horrible man who has made the lives of those around him a misery for decades. With each story he becomes more abhorrent. There are many serious parts too which gives it depth.
The writing techniques, including letters between the tenants, lawyers and so on make it even more interesting. I am very pleased my local Waterstones had this on a separate display table and drew my attention to it!
October 14, 2017
The first book in a long time that had me laughing out loud from start to finish. The spelling mistakes in the notes between flats are just brilliant and add so much to the story. I read this on holiday and rather pathetically couldn't wait to get back to it throughout the day. You appreciate this book so much more having come from Glasgow and knowing exactly what life in a tenement building is really like. I had worked out 'who dunnit' by around half way through but it in no way ruined my overall enjoyment. I think I will read more by this author.
November 14, 2018
I really enjoyed the book. However, the split of the sections per flat got tedious. Particularly the long focus on the university lecturer. More narrative seemed to apply to the university stories rather than the main plot.
April 21, 2021
While this is a bit of a slow burner, partly because of its heft (486 pages), it does nonetheless get "burning" and before you know it you'll find yourself drawn in to the lives and livelihoods of the long-suffering citizens of 13 Oldberry Road, Glasgow. I think part of the appeal of Close Quarters was that I happen to live mere yards from where everything in the book is set, near Byres Road in Glasgow's west end, and am familiar with the pubs and parks and rivers which McCallister weaves into his story. I also liked how he developed the narrative through different bits of "evidence", such as a resident's diary or a psychiatric report, and most of the main characters end up pretty well fleshed out - not least the despicable Walter Bain of Flat 2/1, who makes his neighbours' lives a misery.
As one character notes in his journal, "The prevailing issue on the home front has been the Bain problem. When I'm at work, I can almost cast him from my mind and reduce him to a distant shadow, which unfortunately grows into monstrous proportions as I approach home. I see him in every twitch of a curtain, hear him in every sound of an opening front door, every click of the letterbox, every ring of the phone. And more often than not these fears are justified, as his harassment has continued unabated. He has reduced me to a completely demoralised state in my own home."
Anyone who has lived in a tenement flat will have some experience of neighbourly noise, standards of cleanliness and the like, and I found myself laughing out loud at some of McCallister's prose and Glasgow "patter", something normally reserved (for me, at least) for books by Bill Bryson!
Could it have been shorter? Yes. I agree with other reviewers that the mid-section of the book is a bit ponderous; Chapter 8 in particular is a whopping 137 pages, and if you ripped out those pages then I don't think it would have much impact on the development of the narrative or the finale. Ultimately, though, in amongst a trawler-full of red herrings you do end up caring about what happens to these characters and, most importantly, who killed Walter Bain!
As one character notes in his journal, "The prevailing issue on the home front has been the Bain problem. When I'm at work, I can almost cast him from my mind and reduce him to a distant shadow, which unfortunately grows into monstrous proportions as I approach home. I see him in every twitch of a curtain, hear him in every sound of an opening front door, every click of the letterbox, every ring of the phone. And more often than not these fears are justified, as his harassment has continued unabated. He has reduced me to a completely demoralised state in my own home."
Anyone who has lived in a tenement flat will have some experience of neighbourly noise, standards of cleanliness and the like, and I found myself laughing out loud at some of McCallister's prose and Glasgow "patter", something normally reserved (for me, at least) for books by Bill Bryson!
Could it have been shorter? Yes. I agree with other reviewers that the mid-section of the book is a bit ponderous; Chapter 8 in particular is a whopping 137 pages, and if you ripped out those pages then I don't think it would have much impact on the development of the narrative or the finale. Ultimately, though, in amongst a trawler-full of red herrings you do end up caring about what happens to these characters and, most importantly, who killed Walter Bain!
April 19, 2020
I should start this review out by saying that the book in question is not a murder mystery, or even a crime novel of any kind (lest you be deceived, as I was, by finding it in the crime fiction section - coincidentally that of Waterstones in Sauchiehall St) It is a long and rambling account of a series of occupants of a tenement in the West End of Glasgow. I feel it needs to be noted that this is the West End, because if it were the East End, where I live, I'm pretty sure that Walter Bain, the bane of everybody's life, would have been bumped off soon after he moved in!
The author clearly draws on his working life experiences, namely as a solicitor and university lecturer, because two of the main characters are in these professions. For the life of me, given that the book was only published in 2017, I cannot work out why the book is set between the early 80's and 2000, unless that's the only time period the author knew about in his chosen professions? Either way, his obsession with Marxism in academics and with solicitors being struck off, was tedious.
By the end of the book I have to admit to having forgotten about half the characters because the stories of others had dragged on for so long, but I kept reading because I wanted something of note to happen!
The author clearly draws on his working life experiences, namely as a solicitor and university lecturer, because two of the main characters are in these professions. For the life of me, given that the book was only published in 2017, I cannot work out why the book is set between the early 80's and 2000, unless that's the only time period the author knew about in his chosen professions? Either way, his obsession with Marxism in academics and with solicitors being struck off, was tedious.
By the end of the book I have to admit to having forgotten about half the characters because the stories of others had dragged on for so long, but I kept reading because I wanted something of note to happen!
October 3, 2022
This started out strong but wandered off the mark for me. The various backstories of possible suspects gave a lot of flavour to the characters but not a lot of connect to the main mystery of who killed the one tenant that everyone hated. It felt like the author was writing a tv series, fleshing out secondary and even tertiary character arcs to fill hours of running time. I'm surprised I finished it.
SPOILERS!!!
And in finishing it, it was not satisfying at all. At no point did we get the backstory of the actual murderer (his wife, whom I easily suspected from the beginning). We get only the subtle hints in the text that might have worked in a visual medium, like tv where an actor could show us more of what was going on there. This wasn't enough to really make this compelling. I skimmed much of the book after about the halfway point, just trying to glean the important bits so I can get to the end. I do not like to read this way, hence my disappointment.
I suppose if you like a long, drawn out, meandering story about a bunch of random people who happen to live in the same building in the West End of Glasgow, then you might enjoy this one. But if you're interested in the slow unfolding of even a slightly complex mystery, this is not the book for you.
SPOILERS!!!
And in finishing it, it was not satisfying at all. At no point did we get the backstory of the actual murderer (his wife, whom I easily suspected from the beginning). We get only the subtle hints in the text that might have worked in a visual medium, like tv where an actor could show us more of what was going on there. This wasn't enough to really make this compelling. I skimmed much of the book after about the halfway point, just trying to glean the important bits so I can get to the end. I do not like to read this way, hence my disappointment.
I suppose if you like a long, drawn out, meandering story about a bunch of random people who happen to live in the same building in the West End of Glasgow, then you might enjoy this one. But if you're interested in the slow unfolding of even a slightly complex mystery, this is not the book for you.
August 19, 2024
I picked up this book mainly because it was set in Glasgow and I haven't read any books set in Glasgow. The blurb also intrigued me, it is about a man Walter Bain who is murdered. Walter is universally hated by everyone. The police, the people sharing a tenement with him and so on. I expected the book to be all about the investigation of his death. Who killed him, how and why.
However I quickly realised that the book contains chapters on different people's perspectives and interactions with Walter Bain before his death. If you're looking for a thrilling mystery this is not for you, there isn't any tension or excitement in the plot of the book. However, if you like drama between neighbors and work colleagues etc. then this book is certainly for you. I personally overall liked the book, some chapters were a lot slower to get through than others but it was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.
However I quickly realised that the book contains chapters on different people's perspectives and interactions with Walter Bain before his death. If you're looking for a thrilling mystery this is not for you, there isn't any tension or excitement in the plot of the book. However, if you like drama between neighbors and work colleagues etc. then this book is certainly for you. I personally overall liked the book, some chapters were a lot slower to get through than others but it was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2018
I picked this book up during a visit to Scotland. The bookstore I was in had four floors! It was amazing. I spent at least 4 hours there, no joke! I had the day to kill while waiting for my daughter and it was a rainy, cold day so I spent hours in there. I could write a few paragraphs about the bookstore experience but this is a review of this particular book so...
I chose the book because I wanted a book by a Scottish author, about Scotland. This book is fiction and takes place in Glasgow, it fit the bill.
I enjoyed the beginning and the last few chapters, but the middle section dragged on about things that didn’t even relate to the storyline. It lost me for a bit. I am glad I finished, but not sure I would recommend.
I chose the book because I wanted a book by a Scottish author, about Scotland. This book is fiction and takes place in Glasgow, it fit the bill.
I enjoyed the beginning and the last few chapters, but the middle section dragged on about things that didn’t even relate to the storyline. It lost me for a bit. I am glad I finished, but not sure I would recommend.
December 13, 2023
I enjoyed "Murder in the Merchant City" so I thought I would try this one. Most of the story is set in Glasgow's West End, an area I know well, and events range from 1978 to 2000 so I was familiar with things which were mentioned in the background as I was born in the 1950s.
The story starts with the murder of one of the inhabitants of a tenement and then deals with the stories of other inhabitants of the building over the years which shed light on how obnoxious the victim was. Most of the story is humorous (some parts made me laugh out loud) but some of it is very sad and made me angry with the victim.
I will look out for more books by this author.
The story starts with the murder of one of the inhabitants of a tenement and then deals with the stories of other inhabitants of the building over the years which shed light on how obnoxious the victim was. Most of the story is humorous (some parts made me laugh out loud) but some of it is very sad and made me angry with the victim.
I will look out for more books by this author.
February 21, 2018
I'm afraid this is one of those books that has stopped my reading in its tracks. I just find it impossible to read because it's so boring. It was recommended to me in a Glasgow bookshop as the book everybody is reading. Sorry but it's not funny, the plot is slow and repetitive - how many times can Gus go to the pub where nothing happens and I don't want to know about his toilet habits - and the characters are wooden. I have so tried to enjoy it but I can't. Time to move on.
March 6, 2019
Really enjoyed the story not because of the writing but rather because I could visualise the scene. My son's family live in a similar close in Glasgow and their previous student flat was just off Byers Road. The murder plot was incidental to the development of various individual characters. We could could all sympathise with the murderer by the end - the victim was so horrible!
August 25, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It describes the time leading up to the murder of a resident of a West End Tenement. This isn’t a spoiler as the first line is “Walter Bain was dead.” It takes each of the residents in turn and tells their story of why they came to the point where they wanted to kill Bain. The book is funny and easy to read. Not a great literary work but very enjoyable.
February 14, 2018
Really enjoyed it although I felt the chapter set at the university dragged on too long for me. Nevertheless I would heartily recommend this book. Fantastic vividly drawn characters. I too could have murdered Walter Bain by the end. Great book.
June 17, 2018
More a 2.5 stars average book.
The characters of this tenement stair whilst enjoyable to read about were fairly bland in the end.
I would have liked a chapter on Walter Bain but did appreciate the Glasgow banter and references to washing the stair!
The characters of this tenement stair whilst enjoyable to read about were fairly bland in the end.
I would have liked a chapter on Walter Bain but did appreciate the Glasgow banter and references to washing the stair!
February 17, 2019
Highly enjoyable
I enjoyed getting to know the characters and any one of them would have had good reason to murder Mr Bain but not surprised at all to find out who did. I won't spoil the story by mentioning who.
I enjoyed getting to know the characters and any one of them would have had good reason to murder Mr Bain but not surprised at all to find out who did. I won't spoil the story by mentioning who.
May 18, 2019
You could pretty much read pages 1-7 then jump to pages 481-486. The pages in between are largely unrelated to the plot, and are at times very boring. I bought this book after enjoying “Murder in the merchant city” but it became a struggle to stay awake enough to finish it.
April 8, 2018
Starts well, loses its way a bit, and the whodunit isn't much of a surprise, but it had some laugh out loud moments and kept me entertained.
December 14, 2018
works as a straight novel but not as a crime novel
January 15, 2019
Fairly enjoyable for those who have lived or do live in a tenement, but was a trifle overlong with chunks that didn’t really relate to the base plot. Resolution was very disappointing.
April 9, 2019
Bit dry in the middle but still a good read.
January 21, 2021
Thrilling read, great whodunnit!
June 30, 2021
Really enjoyed this. Great depiction of life in a West end of Glasgow tenement with a pain in the a** neighbour. Well developed characters - a good yarn.
February 15, 2018
I enjoyed the book immensely. Having lived in a tenement house myself, I can understand a lot of the little intricacies the author mentions in the book. I loved the whole atmosphere of Glasgow in the 80s, the pubs, the shops and mostly the people. I applaud the author for creating a perfect environment to the very last detail. Plot wise, there is a bit more left to be said.
April 3, 2026
I'm not a fan of a crime novel, so when I read this was about a murder I wasn't too keen. However... the murder is so insignificant compared to the stories of the people who had to share a building with the victim. Loved it!
December 15, 2022
2.5. Abrupt change of tone towards the end
Read
November 10, 2017Fantastic
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews