Description

Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison is a dark historical crime novel and the sequel to Edge of the Grave, winner of Bloody Scotland’s Scottish Crime Debut of the Year.

‘This is Peaky Blinders territory. Packed with dramatic action and unforgettable characters, it casts a hypnotic spell and stirs the blood’ – Daily Mail

‘A darkly compelling thriller . . . Morrison succeeds in summoning Depression-era Glasgow in a powerful work of crime fiction’ – Sunday Times

Glasgow, 1933

Murder is nothing new in the Depression-era city, especially to war veterans Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his partner ‘Bonnie’ Archie McDaid. But the dead man found in a narrowboat on the Forth and Clyde Canal, executed with a single shot to the back of the head, is no ordinary killing.

Violence usually erupts in the heat of the moment – the razor-gangs that stalk the streets settle scores with knives and fists. Firearms suggest something more sinister, especially when the killer strikes again. Meanwhile, other forces are stirring within the city. A suspected IRA cell is at large, embedded within the criminal gangs and attracting the ruthless attention of Special Branch agents from London.

With political and sectarian tensions rising, and the body count mounting, Dreghorn and McDaid pursue an investigation into the dark heart of humanity – where one person’s freedom fighter is another’s terrorist, and noble ideals are swept away by bloody vengeance.

Publisher Review

A darkly compelling thriller . . . Morrison succeeds in summoning Depression-era Glasgow in a powerful work of crime fiction * The Sunday Times * Morrison hasn’t so much written a novel as built a time machine: step in and be transported * The Scotsman * This is Peaky Blinders territory, though with the police at its heart rather than gangsters. Packed with dramatic action and unforgettable characters, it casts a hypnotic spell and stirs the blood * Daily Mail * Morrison writes with vividness and perception, and he is effective at showing action from multiple perspectives. Fast-moving and engaging * Literary Review * A magnificent and enthralling portrait of a dark and dangerous city and the men and women who live and die in it. An astounding debut — Mark Billingham on Edge of the Grave, bestselling author of the Tom Thorne series Tense, absorbing and dripping with gallus Glasgow humour, this book is absolutely wonderful — Abir Mukherjee on Edge of the Grave, bestselling author of the Wyndham and Banerjee series Morrison’s writing is so fluid, his dialogue so pitch perfect, the book fairly demands you stay up all night turning the pages — James Oswald, bestselling author of the Inspector McLean series Vivid characters, a finely drawn portrait of Glasgow in the 1930s and a page turning narrative. What more could you want? — Alan Parks, author of May God Forgive, winner of the 2022 McIlvanney Prize Jimmy Dreghorn is back – with a vengeance. Cast a Cold Eye is a twisting, sharp-edged tale of a violent past echoing in a violent city. 1930s Glasgow is masterfully conjured in every soot-stained tenement, every smoke-filled pub, every menace-shadowed street corner. Morrison is on top form here. Superb — Craig Russell, international bestselling author of Hyde A joyous Glaswegian nightmare. Sectarian ley lines, loyalty and betrayal, love and loss. By turns brutal and hilarious, told in a rich vernacular with an acute sense of time and place, the return of Dreghorn and McDaid in Cast a Cold Eye is another triumph from Robbie Morrison — Dominic Nolan, author of The Times Book of the Month, Vine Street