The Bad Fire

by Campbell Armstrong

Eddie Mallon komt thuis als zijn vader Jackie is vermoord. Eddie was nog een kind toen zijn familie in tweeën scheurde. Zijn moeder nam hem mee naar de Verenigde State; zijn zus Joyce bleef in Glasgwo bij haar vader, de charmante, maar wrede Jackie Mallon. De muur die de plaatselijke politie optrekt rond het onderzoek dat wordt geleid door rechercheur Lou Perlman, maakt dat Eddie zijn eigen weg gaat. Eddie komt terecht in een draaikolk van geheimen uit zowel het verleden als het heden. En hij ontdekt dat het vagevuur, de plek waar kinderen naartoe gaan als ze een zonde begaan, nooit dooft. Ook niet na al die jaren.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published May 21, 2001

About the author

aka Thomas Altman, Campbell Black, Jeffrey Campbell (with Jeffrey Caine), Thomas Weldon

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Campbell Armstrong got a degree in philosophy before taking a position teaching creating writing. After his excellent series about counterterrorism expert Frank Pagan, Mr. Armstrong has written several compelling novels of crime and life in his native Glasgow.

Reviews

[Kees van Duyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoewel de titel misschien anders doet vermoeden, vind ik Het Vagevuur geen boek dat bol staat van zinderende spanning. Ik heb geen momenten gekend dat ik op het puntje van de stoel kon zitten. Dit betekent overigens niet dat het boek slecht is. Nee, dat niet.

Maar een topper, zoals enkele quotes op de achterkaft je doen geloven, is het boek wat mij betreft niet. Het verhaal, dat zich in Glasgow afspeelt, heeft een goede lijn. Nergens wordt het verwarrend. Het Vagevuur is in begrijpelijke taal geschreven en af en toe komt er een vleugje humor in voor. Dit alles maakt dat het boek prettig en vlot leesbaar is.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glasgow, Scotland's police department. The author draws in the reader via a New York City Detective who was born in Glasgow and emigrated to the US as a teenager in the company of his mother. His emigration followed the divorce of his father and mother. He has a happy married life in he US, but must return to Glasgow for the funeral of his father, a shady character who was murdered. The detective muddles though a series of killings and along the way we are introduced to Detective Sergeant Lou Perlman. Justice is achieved for the malefactors via "curbside capital punishment'. I think the author cheated in order to bring the story to fruition. In any case a good story. The tediously lugubrious Lou Perlman is the primary character in the 2nd installment, the Last Darkness, of the Glasgow series. There too, "curbside capital punishment" plays a prominent role..

[Lainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time taken to read - 8 days

Publisher - Harper Collins

Pages - 442

Blurb from the back cover

Commit a sin and you'll go to the Bad Fire... That's what Eddie Mallon was told when he was growing up in Glasgow. Now he's about to discover that even after all these years, the fire never goes out.


Eddie was just a child when his familysplit down the middle. He went to America with his mother and later became a cop; his sister Joyce stayed in Glasgow with their father, the charming, violent, mercurial Jackie Mallon. Now Jackie has been murdered and the son he didn't know is coming home for the funeral. But while he's back in town, Eddie can't help questioning the work of the local investigators. And when he does, he finds himself spiralling into the mysteries of the past as well as the present.


My Review

My friend recommended Campbell Armstrong to me years ago and it is only recently I have got round to picking him up. The story is set in Glasgow, Jackie Mallon is a known face to the police, they know he is involved in illegal activites they just can't nail him for anything major. He is a respected by those he does business with, one face wants in on the action and Jackie isn't playing. Jackie is killed and his trusty sidekick is missing, his estranged soon is back in Glasgow, to bury his father and get some answers!

I loved the descriptions of the street and places within Glasgow. Some I knew and are still in standing, others I need to Google or ask around to see if they were about or just add ins from Campbell's story telling. The location is a perfect place to write about crime, just look at some of the statistics from the last 30 years. Family and loyalty are a bit part of this tale too which are also attributes strong in the city, I feel.

The is a lot going on to keep you interested in the book, murder, secrets, investigations however I have to admit, in some parts I struggled. It is not exactly how the author wrong as you can follow it easily enough, more some of the phrases. For example "Murder's very rich gravy', Perlman said and focused his good eye hard on Eddie. 'Can you make it stick to the wall, son?" and random phrases like that I just didn't warm to. Then there was a few turns in the story that I just felt didn't add anything and were maybe added as an afterthought. I was left with some questions which I never like happening although the story overall was fine and you did get pretty much everything answered in the end. Therefore 3/5 for me this time, I would read this author again however I won't be rushing out to get the back catalogue just yet.

[Chris Cousins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller that keeps the reader interested to the end. A New York cop back in his place of birth, Glasgow. Times have changed.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a violent storyline set in Glasgow around a small time criminal resulting in most of the characters being killed off!!