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The Wrong Son
A father torn between his two children. A man torn apart by the choices he has made…
It's 1980's Edinburgh, and Police Constable Ronnie Slater's world is shattered when son Scottie is paralysed after falling from the swing Ronnie built. Now his elder son Darren has fallen off the rails, disillusioned and devastated after Ronnie declared in a heated argument that The Wrong Son fell from the swing. And to top it all off, Ronnie’s marriage is now at the brink of collapse.
Enter North Edinburgh gangster Dougie Donaldson. His offer of dirty cash on the side will help fund the surgery in the States that may enable Scottie to walk again, but at what cost? As things spiral hopelessly out of control, Ronnie finds himself trapped in a deadly web of corruption, violence, and deceit, scrambling to cover his tracks and stay one step ahead as the stakes rise. Now his whole family is in danger, his career in the force on the line.
He just wanted to make things right and give his son the chance to walk again. Now it’s all crumbling before his eyes as he stares into the blackness beneath The Dean Bridge and questions everything. Will he get the money he needs and get out before it’s too late, or will he lose all that he holds dear in the process?
The Wrong Son is a gritty, hard boiled, emotionally weighty crime fiction novel set amid the 80’s heroin pandemic of North Edinburgh. It explores the breakdown of the family structure and the desperate lengths someone will go to for redemption when driven by their own guilt…
It's 1980's Edinburgh, and Police Constable Ronnie Slater's world is shattered when son Scottie is paralysed after falling from the swing Ronnie built. Now his elder son Darren has fallen off the rails, disillusioned and devastated after Ronnie declared in a heated argument that The Wrong Son fell from the swing. And to top it all off, Ronnie’s marriage is now at the brink of collapse.
Enter North Edinburgh gangster Dougie Donaldson. His offer of dirty cash on the side will help fund the surgery in the States that may enable Scottie to walk again, but at what cost? As things spiral hopelessly out of control, Ronnie finds himself trapped in a deadly web of corruption, violence, and deceit, scrambling to cover his tracks and stay one step ahead as the stakes rise. Now his whole family is in danger, his career in the force on the line.
He just wanted to make things right and give his son the chance to walk again. Now it’s all crumbling before his eyes as he stares into the blackness beneath The Dean Bridge and questions everything. Will he get the money he needs and get out before it’s too late, or will he lose all that he holds dear in the process?
The Wrong Son is a gritty, hard boiled, emotionally weighty crime fiction novel set amid the 80’s heroin pandemic of North Edinburgh. It explores the breakdown of the family structure and the desperate lengths someone will go to for redemption when driven by their own guilt…
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 3, 2022
1 person want to read
About the author
Stephen Scarcliffe
3 books10 followersGrowing up around the north of Edinburgh where the Chemical Estate book series is set lends first-hand experience and authenticity to both the story and its characters.
Around 14 years ago, and 4 pints (or more) down, I bumped into a certain Irvine Welsh in a pub in Edinburgh city centre. After giving him a copy of a short story I had written, I received a really encouraging email that spurred me on to write a novel. The process was extended somewhat by spending 10 years as the singer-songwriter for Edinburgh Alt-rock band The Number 9s, before opting to turn my main focus to writing. 2 books in now with number 3 in development I hope to continue for many years to come.
If you have read my book(s) and enjoyed them, I would be most very grateful if you could leave a small review on Amazon!
You can keep up to date with details of new releases and plenty more by signing up for my mailing list at www.stephenscarcliffe.co.uk. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Around 14 years ago, and 4 pints (or more) down, I bumped into a certain Irvine Welsh in a pub in Edinburgh city centre. After giving him a copy of a short story I had written, I received a really encouraging email that spurred me on to write a novel. The process was extended somewhat by spending 10 years as the singer-songwriter for Edinburgh Alt-rock band The Number 9s, before opting to turn my main focus to writing. 2 books in now with number 3 in development I hope to continue for many years to come.
If you have read my book(s) and enjoyed them, I would be most very grateful if you could leave a small review on Amazon!
You can keep up to date with details of new releases and plenty more by signing up for my mailing list at www.stephenscarcliffe.co.uk. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 24, 2022
Firstly, thank you Stephen for the copy! The book sounded like something a bit out of my comfort zone so I was excited to switch things up! Plus, I’m always up for supporting Scottish authors and Scottish stories 🏴
The main character, Ronnie, is just a complete arsehole 😂 I pretty much hated him from the get go and felt really sorry for his family. The situations he gets himself into are tense and the decisions he makes are questionable. I did not root for him at all! He ends up endangering friends and family and was just totally impulsive, letting his emotions get the better of him. Even though I hated him, I still wanted to keep reading and was invested in the story.
I admire an author who can create a really unlikeable character!
As much as I enjoyed the tense action filled scenes, I also appreciated seeing the real life mental and emotional struggles Ronnie was going through. Not only do we get quite a good representation of a grown man who cannot communicate and deal with his emotions properly, but also turns them all into anger and lets them out in unhelpful and sometimes dangerous ways. He was clearly traumatised from his son’s accident and that trauma festered within him, untreated, for so long. You can start to understand why he is the way he is…
The main character, Ronnie, is just a complete arsehole 😂 I pretty much hated him from the get go and felt really sorry for his family. The situations he gets himself into are tense and the decisions he makes are questionable. I did not root for him at all! He ends up endangering friends and family and was just totally impulsive, letting his emotions get the better of him. Even though I hated him, I still wanted to keep reading and was invested in the story.
I admire an author who can create a really unlikeable character!
As much as I enjoyed the tense action filled scenes, I also appreciated seeing the real life mental and emotional struggles Ronnie was going through. Not only do we get quite a good representation of a grown man who cannot communicate and deal with his emotions properly, but also turns them all into anger and lets them out in unhelpful and sometimes dangerous ways. He was clearly traumatised from his son’s accident and that trauma festered within him, untreated, for so long. You can start to understand why he is the way he is…
August 15, 2022
An intense, edge-of-your-seat race against time and evil.
February 28, 2024
Enjoyed this book. Scenery and location are bleak but I like the characters ( even the bad guys) . Familiar with them from his other works. Look forward to more
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews