Dirty Weekend

Macrae and Silver #1

by Alan Scholefield

An Easter weekend in cold, misty London. A man is found stabbed to death.

Most of the inhabitants are spending a quiet few days with family and friends. But under Hungerford Bridge, where the homeless sleep, the body of a well-known television personality is found murdered.

Terry Collins, a young street kid, is running away from the murder, with blood still on his hands; two others are so running – towards it and its consequences.

There is Jack Benson, a shady businessman, who, with the wisdom of panic, is running for his life from the Triads in Hong Kong. And Maria Dunlap who, with the wisdom of self-betrayal, is running from what she believes is a broken marriage.

All their lives are going to merge. They will never be the same again, and murder is the catalyst.

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Alan Scholefield was born in 1931 in Cape Town, South Africa. After leaving university he became a journalist and travelled widely in southern and central Africa, Europe, and America. He now lives in Hampshire with his wife and has three daughters. Most famous for his Macrae and Silver series, Scholefield has also written other novels, including Venom, which was made into a film in 1981.

Reviews

[Michael Bully · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough for a train journey. Well written . Possibly a bit time bound and trapped in 1990 . Market trading on a global scale overlaps with crime, a concern how the Chinese suppression of Tianamen Square the Summer before leaves Britain's mandate over Hong Kong, due to run out in 1997: Someone is found murdered in London, their body dumped near an area used by the homeless on the South Bank. And two police officers , Macrae, hard drinking Scots maverick cop, marital problems on a massive scale, regularly oversteps the mark , working with an urban Jewish intellectual sidekick Silver. And it's only the latter figure who seems to make the novel distinct from so much other crime fiction . The portrayal of the Black characters probably would be questioned if the novel appeared now. And then a lonely affluent woman, moved from the city into the countryside, convinced her husband is straying, is tempted to have a dirty weekend. Anyhow, all the different threads are woven together well, the writer is skilled and delivers. But just didn't find anything exceptional about this novel.....apart from the portrayal of Silver. Not sure if I am interested enough to read any more from the series.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

1990 The stabbed body of TV reporter Henry Foster is discovered, under Hungerford Bridge, home to dossers, Terry Collins aka Huntsman, and Gail. Meanwhile businessman Jack Benson is fleeing his Hong Kong creditors, back to London and his business partner Richard Dunlop, and his ex-lover Maria Dunlop.
Detective Superintendent Macrae and DS Leopold Silver are investigating the murder.
An enjoyable crime story. A decent start to a new series.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in his usual relaxed prose yet creating plot tension and vivid characters, Scholefield has written a semi-thriller that moves the reader through the plot while insinuating the characters into the reader’s psyche. The title Dirty Weekend is a metaphor rather than a literal meaning.

[Hilary Mccarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very unsure about this book as I was reading it .
I did warm to it but then was very surprised at the end .
I think I will look for the next one in the series .