Where the Dead Men Go, by Liam McIlvanney

Where the Dead Men Go

By Liam McIlvanney

Journalist Gerry Conway is back at the Glasgow Tribune three years after losing his job courtesy of a story gone bad and a fall from grace. This time he is stranded reporting politics while his former underling, Martin Moir is the paper's top crime reporter. But when Moir goes missing and then turns up dead in his car in the bottom of a flooded quarry Conway and Moir's widow aren't convinced by the police conclusion of suicide. Conway embarks on a mission to find the truth and look into the stories Moir had been investigating.

Liam McIlvanney has swapped the wilds of Scotland for the wilds of Dunedin to take up the Stuart Chair in Scottish Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand, but despite residing on the other side of the world makes full use of his knowledge of his old stomping ground and the politico-social environment of Glasgow. Where the Dead Men Go combines the pressing issues facing the city - the upcoming Commonwealth Games, the Scottish referendum on independence and the politics surrounding them and throws in a dose of organised crime to produce an edgy and relevant thriller. Gerry Conway is a hugely appealing character and with the story told in first person, his head space is a great place to occupy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Liam's first novel, All the Colours of the Town, and I enjoyed Where the Dead Men Go even more. Highly recommended.