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Ledmore Junction
A young couple escape Glasgow to start a new life on a remote croft in beautiful North West Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. One is a district nurse and the other a budding author, attempting to reinvent themselves amongst the stunning scenery of Achmelvich Beach and Vestey’s Bay.
In their wake, the police in the second city of the empire are still trying to come to terms with the carnage of gangland violence that suddenly spiralled out of control after two of Glasgow’s most notorious gangsters were assassinated eating breakfast in one of the city’s cafes.
Whilst the couple settle into their idyllic paradise, it’s not long before strange, unexplained events start to occur that leads Johnboy Taylor to suspect that they may be being targeted.
Everything seemed to be going to plan, until a strange bird of omen appears out of nowhere and takes up residence on their shed roof. Senga Jackson believes that it’s the same bird that has been following her around the remote district as she attends to her patients.
Whilst Johnboy suspects he has the answer to the bird’s sudden appearance, life at Little Vestey’s Croft starts to become complicated and relations strained, as the impending showdown between two unholy factions looms, threatening a love that has endured many turbulent trials and tribulations in the past.
Ian Todd’s latest novel in The Glasgow Chronicles series once again brings together a mad mix of past and present antagonists that threaten to break apart a young couple in search of paradise. Is this a new beginning for them or the end of a beautiful relationship?
In their wake, the police in the second city of the empire are still trying to come to terms with the carnage of gangland violence that suddenly spiralled out of control after two of Glasgow’s most notorious gangsters were assassinated eating breakfast in one of the city’s cafes.
Whilst the couple settle into their idyllic paradise, it’s not long before strange, unexplained events start to occur that leads Johnboy Taylor to suspect that they may be being targeted.
Everything seemed to be going to plan, until a strange bird of omen appears out of nowhere and takes up residence on their shed roof. Senga Jackson believes that it’s the same bird that has been following her around the remote district as she attends to her patients.
Whilst Johnboy suspects he has the answer to the bird’s sudden appearance, life at Little Vestey’s Croft starts to become complicated and relations strained, as the impending showdown between two unholy factions looms, threatening a love that has endured many turbulent trials and tribulations in the past.
Ian Todd’s latest novel in The Glasgow Chronicles series once again brings together a mad mix of past and present antagonists that threaten to break apart a young couple in search of paradise. Is this a new beginning for them or the end of a beautiful relationship?
682 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 21, 2018
6 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Ian Todd
21 books12 followersIan Todd was born in the Townhead district of Glasgow in 1955 and lived in Glasgow until he moved to the north of Scotland in the 1980s. He has worked for over thirty years as a Community Development Worker, within Youth Work and Adult Learning. Ian has a grown-up family and lives with his partner, his five dogs and one cat and has been writing for a number of years.
Ian has set up a Facebook page for The Glasgow Chronicles (www.facebook.com/theglasgowchronicles) where he regularly posts photographs of Glasgow Townhead in the 1960s which are related to the story lines in the books. Readers can also stay up-to-date with news about Johnboy Taylor and The Mankys and future publication information.
The Glasgow Chronicles book covers are created by Angus McNicholl, Forres, Scotland.
Author Central photographs are produced by John Ferguson, ex-Easterhouse, Glasgow and now Elgin, Scotland.
Parly Road is the first of six books in The Glasgow Chronicles series:-
It is the summer of 1965 and things are looking up for ten-year-old Johnboy Taylor in the Townhead district of Glasgow. Not only has he made two new pals, who have recently come to his school after being expelled from one of the local Catholic schools, but their dream of owning their own pigeon loft or 'dookit' and competing with the city's grown-up 'doo-men' in the sport they love, could soon become a reality. The only problem is that The Mankys don't have the dosh to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Lady Luck begins to shine down on them when Pat Molloy, aka The Big Man, one of Glasgow's top heavies asks them to do him a wee favour. The Mankys are soon embroiled in an adult world of gangsters, police corruption, violence and crime.
Set against the backdrop of a condemned tenement slum area, the fate of which has already been decided upon as it stands in the way of the city's new Inner Ring Road motorway development, the boys soon realise that to survive on the streets, they have to stay one step ahead of those in authority. The only problem for The Mankys is working out who's really in charge.
Parly Road is full of the shadiest characters that 1960s Glasgow has to offer and takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey that has been described as irreverently hilarious, poignantly sad and difficult to put down.
Run Johnboy Run is the second book in The Glasgow Chronicles series:-
It is 1968 and The Mankys are back with a vengeance after thirteen-year-old Johnboy Taylor is confronted by a ghost from his past. The only problem is, he's just been sentenced to 3 years at Thistle Park Approved School, which houses Scotland's wildest teen tearaways. Without his liberty, Johnboy is in no position to determine whether the devastating revelation is a figment of his vivid imagination or whether dark forces are conspiring against him.
Elsewhere in the city, Glasgow crime lord, Pat Molloy, aka The Big Man, is at last about to topple those who he believes were responsible for putting him out of the city's thriving 'Doo' business three years earlier. Unfortunately for him, The Irish Brigade, a group of corrupt police inspectors, who rule the city with an iron fist, are not about to stand by and allow anyone to dip their fingers into their honey pot, without a fight.
Meanwhile, Helen Taylor, Johnboy's mother, has come up with a dangerous plan that she believes will finally overturn The City Corporation's policy of selling their tenants' household goods through humiliating public warrant sales. Reluctantly, she is forced to join forces with The Glasgow Echo's sleazy top crime reporter, Sammy 'The Rat' Elliot, whose shadowy reputation of having more than one master makes him feared and reviled by the underworld and the establishment in equal measure.
Run Johnboy Run is an explosive tale of city crime in 1960s Glasgow, involving a heady mix of establishment leaders and underworld gangsters, who will use anyone to keep control of the city's lucrati
Ian has set up a Facebook page for The Glasgow Chronicles (www.facebook.com/theglasgowchronicles) where he regularly posts photographs of Glasgow Townhead in the 1960s which are related to the story lines in the books. Readers can also stay up-to-date with news about Johnboy Taylor and The Mankys and future publication information.
The Glasgow Chronicles book covers are created by Angus McNicholl, Forres, Scotland.
Author Central photographs are produced by John Ferguson, ex-Easterhouse, Glasgow and now Elgin, Scotland.
Parly Road is the first of six books in The Glasgow Chronicles series:-
It is the summer of 1965 and things are looking up for ten-year-old Johnboy Taylor in the Townhead district of Glasgow. Not only has he made two new pals, who have recently come to his school after being expelled from one of the local Catholic schools, but their dream of owning their own pigeon loft or 'dookit' and competing with the city's grown-up 'doo-men' in the sport they love, could soon become a reality. The only problem is that The Mankys don't have the dosh to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Lady Luck begins to shine down on them when Pat Molloy, aka The Big Man, one of Glasgow's top heavies asks them to do him a wee favour. The Mankys are soon embroiled in an adult world of gangsters, police corruption, violence and crime.
Set against the backdrop of a condemned tenement slum area, the fate of which has already been decided upon as it stands in the way of the city's new Inner Ring Road motorway development, the boys soon realise that to survive on the streets, they have to stay one step ahead of those in authority. The only problem for The Mankys is working out who's really in charge.
Parly Road is full of the shadiest characters that 1960s Glasgow has to offer and takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey that has been described as irreverently hilarious, poignantly sad and difficult to put down.
Run Johnboy Run is the second book in The Glasgow Chronicles series:-
It is 1968 and The Mankys are back with a vengeance after thirteen-year-old Johnboy Taylor is confronted by a ghost from his past. The only problem is, he's just been sentenced to 3 years at Thistle Park Approved School, which houses Scotland's wildest teen tearaways. Without his liberty, Johnboy is in no position to determine whether the devastating revelation is a figment of his vivid imagination or whether dark forces are conspiring against him.
Elsewhere in the city, Glasgow crime lord, Pat Molloy, aka The Big Man, is at last about to topple those who he believes were responsible for putting him out of the city's thriving 'Doo' business three years earlier. Unfortunately for him, The Irish Brigade, a group of corrupt police inspectors, who rule the city with an iron fist, are not about to stand by and allow anyone to dip their fingers into their honey pot, without a fight.
Meanwhile, Helen Taylor, Johnboy's mother, has come up with a dangerous plan that she believes will finally overturn The City Corporation's policy of selling their tenants' household goods through humiliating public warrant sales. Reluctantly, she is forced to join forces with The Glasgow Echo's sleazy top crime reporter, Sammy 'The Rat' Elliot, whose shadowy reputation of having more than one master makes him feared and reviled by the underworld and the establishment in equal measure.
Run Johnboy Run is an explosive tale of city crime in 1960s Glasgow, involving a heady mix of establishment leaders and underworld gangsters, who will use anyone to keep control of the city's lucrati
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 4, 2018
Brilliant
I loved this book, I have really enjoyed reading all about the mankys journey through life. These stories are so similar to the ones my gran told me about growing up in the toon.
I have laughed,cried,been angry and elated reading these books. This is one of the best series of books I have read in many years, I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to escape completely into the past when things were just that little bit different ,where people knew and cared about their neighbours and life was never simple.
I loved this book, I have really enjoyed reading all about the mankys journey through life. These stories are so similar to the ones my gran told me about growing up in the toon.
I have laughed,cried,been angry and elated reading these books. This is one of the best series of books I have read in many years, I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to escape completely into the past when things were just that little bit different ,where people knew and cared about their neighbours and life was never simple.
April 27, 2018
Having read this series of books from Parly Road on I was really disappointed in the ending of Kingston Bridge as I felt it left far too many unanswered questions and, as a reader, I was a bit disappointed, especially when I thought that it was going to be the last one. I was delighted to find Ledmore Junction and to find it answered almost all of my questions about how things turned out for the characters. It was a cracking read from start to finish, though there were times when Senga became more than a little irritating. Hopefully there will be more books in the series to come but if not I can live with that, providing the author doesn’t actually stop writing. Ian Todd completely brings his characters to life and has a great ear for phrases that are all too frequently heard in Glasgow and surrounding areas. For anyone who wishes to expand their vocabulary and doesn’t come from the west of central Scotland or who does but finds themselves homesick for a bit of no nonsense conversation, this is the book for you.
August 29, 2018
Fabulous series
I've came to the end of a journey........ and im gutted !!! Thank you Ian Todd , thoroughly enjoyed reading every book . Jim
I've came to the end of a journey........ and im gutted !!! Thank you Ian Todd , thoroughly enjoyed reading every book . Jim
August 12, 2020
Good finnish
Very good ending to the series
Although not a big surprise the very end had sort of guess it half way through book 10
Very good ending to the series
Although not a big surprise the very end had sort of guess it half way through book 10
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews