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Synopsis
James Robertson, a local farmer, finds his estranged brother’s corpse hanging from a tree. The police claim suicide. But Dundonian private investigator J. McNee is about to uncover the disturbing truth behind the death. With a pair of vicious London hard men loose in the Scottish city, it’s only a matter of time before people start dying. McNee must confront his own demons and these brutal killers in a violent, bloody showdown that threatens to leave no-one alive. Russel McLean writes for Crime Spree Magazine, The Big Thrill (the newsletter of the International Thriller Writers Association), At Central Booking and Crime Scene Scotland. His short fiction has been published in crime fiction magazines worldwide.
In The Good Son Russel D McLean introduces us to Private Investigator J McNee. He treads the well-worn path of ‘tough-talking cop with a dark personal past’. However, McLean manages to make him a well-rounded character, who is desperately trying to find his place in this world again after losing all he held dear.The story itself is tightly plotted and fast-moving, drawing you further and further into this dark and violent world. McLean’s descriptions of Dundee and its surroundings serve to further increase the feelings of unease and desolation as the tension builds. By concentrating mostly on dialogue, the author keeps a steady pace throughout and leaves the reader wanting more. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. I read it from cover to cover in one sitting and can’t wait for McNee’s next case!
David Brimage
Dundee is not a hotbed of noir fiction, but debut author Mclean is seeking to change that. Private Investigator Mcnee traipses around the the City of Discovery with police, bad guys and his own guilt chasing him in a well written but slightly formulaic tale that nevertheless shows Maclean as a promising writer
Doug Johnstone
The Good Son by Russel D McLean is another debut novel. It offers all the elements which private eye fans expect, starring as detective an ex-cop with demons in his past, enemies in the police and clients whom he can't trust...McLean's fast, stripped-down writing style economises on waffle but not on characterisation and he supplies a neat twist at the end. If you like tough private eye stories at all, you'll definitely want to pack this one for your next train journey. McNee is the most convincing British PI for a while.
Mat Coward
I study so many factual books for work nowadays that I can rarely indulge in reading fiction. But I was willing to make an exception for Russel D McLean’s debut The Good Son. Russel has interviewed me for his Crime Scene Scotland website and for Crimespree magazine, plus his book is set in my birthplace of Dundee.The main protagonist, McNee, is a private investigator who is mourning the death of his beloved girlfriend. He takes on a new client, James Robertson, who wants to know about his late brother Daniel’s secretive exploits. Daniel, the bad seed of the Robertson clan, has been found dead in an apparent suicide...With its appreciation of life’s small pleasures, combined with a willingness to confront societal violence, The Good Son reminded me of early Martyn Waites novels. Evocatively describing the Dundee landscape, it’s a highly readable piece of noir.
Carol Anne Davis
Set in Dundee, this is a hard as nails crime novel that deals with drugs, gangs and murder and where nothing is what it seems. But it's much more than that. It's about love, loss, betrayal and one broken man's attempt to come to terms with his past while realising once and for all that actions have consequences. Sometimes fatal ones. With The Good Son first time novelist Russel McLean is off to a flying start. Buy it, read it, watch out for him. If he keeps this up, he's going to be huge.
Martyn Waites
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