Against all odds? You would think that when the main character in a book is introduced as being buried alive, with one bullet in his head and another in his body and his memory gone, then things can only improve. Well, they do. After a fashion. Rafael begins to rediscover his identity against a background of whorehouses, bull fights and British gangsters.

Banks writes at the extreme violence edge of crime fiction, but his skill is such that readers are sucked into plots which sound almost preposterous when summarised. Raf realises that he is a dead man walking, but although revenge is supposed to be a dish which tastes better cold, he brings down hellfire on those who have left him for dead and threatened his family. Read the full review here.