Ever since Malcolm Mackay burst onto the scene with The Necessary Death Of Lewis Winter (2013), a new novel by the Stornaway writer has become a major crime fiction event. An early copy of the latest has arrived and I love the look of the new cover – suitably stark and uncompromising, suiting a writer to whom those adjectives are very fitting. Again it is set in Glasgow, but many of the previous characters are either missing, dead or behind bars. The icy hitman Calum Maclean drove off into the night, never to be seen again; his mentor, Frank MacLeod is in Glasgow’s version of Boot Hill; Peter Jamieson and John Young – respectively the President and CEO of the most feared criminal gang in Glasgow – are in jail, but still running things from their near-adjacent cells.

Now, one of the spear carriers from the earlier novels, enforcer Nate Colgan, finds himself promoted to Senior Security Consultant, which means he will have to take a more hands-off role. His managerial acumen is put to the test very soon, however, when a new group of villains sets up in town, and threatens to bring the Jamieson empire crumbling around Nate’s craggy head. The book is due out on 27 August at £6.02 on Kindle and £11.69 for the hardback. For more about Malcolm Mackay click here.