A Line of Forgotten Blood

Saviors #2

by Malcolm Mackay

Scotland has been a proudly independent country for centuries. But success has now turned sour. Malcolm Mackay's remarkable novel of crime and corruption is set in a brooding, rain-swept Scottish city that is compellingly different from the one we think we know. The Scottish city of Challaid is a corruption-riddled place where people frequently go off the radar. So when PC Vinny Reno discovers his ex-wife, Freya, has disappeared, he turns to private detectives Darian Ross and Sholto Douglas.  Their search will lead them to a collision between Freya and a wealthy banking family. But it also leads to more questions. What does Freya's disappearance have to do with a year-old murder case? What is the involvement of a young man who never leaves his house? As they dig deeper into the past, Darian and Sholto realise they must stand against the most powerful people in the city if they are to unearth the truth...

Genres: Crime, Fiction

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Malcolm Mackay was born and grew up in Stornoway where he still lives. The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, his debut, is the first of a trilogy set in the Glasgow underworld.

Reviews

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere between a three and a four star overall, this had a certain stylishness and a strength in terms of plot and characters which was similarly impressive to those in the Glasgow Underground series which I have previously enjoyed. Here Mackay covers the investigation into the disappearance of a woman by two private detectives, in a fictional city dominated by a fictional family of powerful men.

It was just a bit indulgent for me. The author chose to create an imaginary setting, with its own history and specific character, and in my opinion this was utterly unnecessary - the same story could have been executed in a real city/town (or just a fictionalised version of an existing place) without all the inserted newspaper style chapters, diary entries, associated documents and historical pieces. To me all the made-up locations jarred me from immersion in the book, and the non-narrative sections just felt clunky like writing exercises. Perhaps I would judge less harshly had it been an author I'd not read previously, but I know Malcolm Mackay can do better.

[Sean Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story better than the first entry in this series, “In the Cage Where Your Saviors Hide.” It’s a very classic tale of private detectives overcoming corrupt cops and a powerful family to find the truth. Like others, I think the fictional Scottish setting gets in the way of the story and is fairly pointless. I don’t think this stacks up to Malcolm Mackay’s earlier work, but it was still enjoyable and I look forward to reading what comes next.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This the seventh of Malcolm Mackay's books I've read (and having begun it, immediately ordered its predecessor) As ever, it is the quality of the writing that seduces me, the relationships between its characters. I confess in several places I was irritated at being pulled out of the story, even when it subsequently proved relevant, but, as ever, entertained.

[Elaine Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent private eye story - just a couple or so things hat didn't need to be there such as a newspaper report about a Bridge Proposal being dropped - I couldn't quite see what that had to do with things. Nevertheless not bad and a well worthy read

[Ursula · Rating 1 out of 5]

Set in Challaid, a fictional independent Scottish town, which the author spends a lot of time describing - all the way down to street names, suburbs and landmarks - 'A line of forgotten blood' tells the story of two hapless private detectives who try to help a mate in the police force whose ex-wife has gone missing. Their bumbling search brings them in contact with seedy second-hand car dealers, a wealthy banking family, shrewd publicans, a rival agency, a chauffeur with anger-management issues, a modern hermit, a cold case as well as good cops, bad cops and sexy cops. The plot is interrupted by transcripts from council meetings, police interviews, diary entries and newspaper articles, which are supposed to provide further context but did not do much to improve the flow of the already slow-paced story. The big show-down and convenient happy ending required just too much suspension of disbelief for my liking.

[Autumn Howard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish this book(broke my own rule) but luckily I only spent a dollar on it. I just thought it was a never ending circle and I found myself very bored with it… also what really was the point? There was zero focus on the plot also, I got 55% and I honestly didn’t think I could do another half. Sorry

[Sophie Houston · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aaagh. Should be made clear that this is set in some imaginary Scotland where (surprise, surprise) independence hasn't been a good idea. Tosh.

[Anne, Unfinished Woman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not get into this story of a town that is full of corrupt police and officials, and a sense of not caring.

[Anne Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a few chapters of this, but couldn’t get any further. The writing was poor and the invented Scottish city with the constant listing of streets and areas was really jarring. So, I gave up. Life is too short to waste time reading bad books!

[Annemarie Farthing · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rich families seeming to get away with anything. Sorry to say I found this story very dis-jointed 😶

[Joanne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a gripper, too many unnecessary interruptions to the story