The Last Darkness

Lou Perlman #1

by Campbell Armstrong

"Armstrong is a wonderfully atmospheric writer who shines a light into the dark corners of the human heart." SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Glasgow, In this city of biting sleet, icy pavements and Christmas street decorations battered by arctic winds, the body of a well-dressed man is found hanging from a railway bridge. Investigating the case is Lou Perlman, a detective whose idea of a good suit is anything that fits him. Perlman feels that this is no suicide, and that something about the corpse reminds him of his boyhood in the Gorbals. For Perlman is a man with secrets of his own and, as one death follows another, the hunt for the killer takes him into a territory of deceit and greed - a world of old allegiances that are lethal to reawaken.

Genres: Crime

456 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

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

[Cheryl Williams]

Didn't finish it

[Karen Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great story set at a great pace with surprises and mystery

[henrys-axe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading certainly offers more than just good stories and interesting characters. Some examples might be history lessons, moral and social issues and geography. Campbell Armstrong gives the reader a generous helping of what it is like in Glasgow, Scotland in December: wet, very cold, experiencing gentrification and interesting detectives trying to deal with the ever-present crime problem. Detective Sergeant Lou Perlman, a fifty-something long time member of the Strathclyde Police department, loves his city and utilizes all of his intelligence and talents to reduce the impact of grizzly homicides. There is enough action to keep things interesting, nasty villains, honorable co-workers and personal baggage to offer the reader a positive experience. Number two in the series now goes to the top of the reading list.

[J.J. Toner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, atmospheric Scottish detective story. Would have given it 5 stars but for one whole chapter devoted to the gloomy city with no action.