Lennox

Ok…so I was chatting to Graham Smith – whose books, by the way…are bloody awesome– on social media and he asks if I have ever read any of Craig Russell‘s books. I immediately did what any self respecting blogger would do …..and checked my kindle…NOPE. Mr Smith proceeds to totally big up this Craig Russell guy…and then suggested I would enjoy the #Lennox series. So yeah…I downloaded book 1. I was easily persuaded….OH-MY-FRIGGIN-GOD #bookjunkies! Where the hell have I been!? This book was published in 2010 and I have only read it now!? I have to give a MAHOOSIVE thanks to Mr Smith for pointing me in Craig Russell’s direction as this book rocked!As the synopsis states, this book is set in 1950’s Glasgow and has a very hard-boiled / noir-ish feel to it, if that makes sense! It reminded me of a Philip Marlow-type story and I was immediately drawn in. A twisted sense of justice, retribution, truth-seeking, betrayal, gang-land violence, power and loss were just some of the themes I came across.Now can we talk Lennox!? OMFG!!!! I am not going to lie…I was Eeeeek-ing…A LOT!! This character is just awesome! Whether we gals admit it or not, we do like a bad boy…and Lennox…he is baaaaad…but oh so gooood!!! I may have a wee #FictionalCrush..Born in Glasgow, but raised in Canada – he returns to Glasgow after his time in the war and works as a somewhat unorthodox private investigator. Lennox has a darkness about him. His dry wit and ability to uncover the truth, while finding himself in pretty scary situations, just had me reeling with excitement and fear at the same time. It was exhilarating following this characters journey…and what a bloody (literally) thrilling journey it was!We also come across a slew of other intriguing characters which make your skin crawl but keeps the reader turning the page at a fiery pace! The Three Kings, Helena (loved her!) Mr Andrews and his wife Lillian – superb characterisation. There is also McNab – a copper…but I do not like this guy! There is no love lost between him and Lennox yet I am desperate to know more! Jack Ferguson, another copper – is someone Lennox has a bit of trust in and they serve/complement each other well. But I must admit, I loved the complete irony of the brutes named Tiny (who was not-so-tiny at all) and Twinkletoes….do NOT be fooled by their names…this pair could break you like a twig! I could go on and on…oh, and De Jong! Laughing my ass off just thinking about this guy…you will have to read the book though, to find out why!I devoured this book. It was raw, gritty, dark, violent and intoxicating – just my cup of tea! Will I be reading any more in this series? Hmmmmmm….HELL YEAH I will! I have a lot of catching up to do and cannot wait to see what Lennox is up to next!So thanks Graham Smith! You were RIGHT! I adore Lennox and would recommend it to anyone who likes a crime thriller with a twist!

John Wayne had his heroic moments in his films where he was the all conquering hero and Lennox was like that. How he managed to escape death against a horde of gangsters is unbelievable and like John Wayne all far fetched but tongue in cheek. However Craig Russell does that with some panache and a great deal of typical Glaswegian humour. Still, it’s a story and a fairly good read.

This book is just massive fun! I finished it in 3 sittings and then wished I'd had another to go onto in the series.Gritty yes, violent yes, realistic..well probably not, but who cares.The story is set in the bloody streets of 1950's Glasgow. Slum houses and tenaments, teddy boys tooled up with straight razors, gangsters, prostitutes and low down drinking dives! All manner of Glasgows fish supper filled under belly is revealed here and it ain't pretty, but boy is it entertaining!Lennox our hero is an aimiable companion. He is perhaps a little bit of a pastiche of every film and TV private Dick there has ever been. Marlow crossed with a Bruce Willis creation. Wise cracking, tough, street wise clever and a bit of a ladies man. Sounds a bit too much? Well don't worry, the author under scores this with a self-depricating irony which keeps Lennox well on the safe side of 'too good to be true'. In fact the story starts with him in a whole world of trouble and Lennox then goes back in time a couple of weeks to tell us how he got there, before catching up with himself and completing the book in the present tense!The story itself is a murder mystery of sorts but with so much more going on as well. Gang warfare, police brutality, and the sexual politics of the day. This is still a world that very much favours men. Though many of the men in this story are war veterans struggling to adjust and find their place in civvy street after the traumatising affects of battle.Lennox himself has a bit of a past. He was a serving officer in the Canadian army and seemingly finished his military career under a bit of a cloud, though the details of this and much else about Lennox are left tantalisingly vague.The story twists and turns its way along in not too challenging a way but did still manage to throw me a couple of curve balls at the end! But the joys of the book were really the larger than life portrayals of Glasgow hard men rather than the 'whodunnit' plot.The book was x rated but not ultra violent 'Snatch' rather than 'Reservoir Dogs'. An excellent companion for a cold and wet winters evening. So Mr Russell if you are reading, stop it and get writing instead I want at least another two of these!

This is a good version of the bleak sarcastic PI genre. Set in Glasgow in the 1950s with a Canadian in the lead role, it gives an outsiders view on the peculiarities of Glasgow and the UK.It has good forward momentum, but the story becomes increasingly complex, perhaps too much so.It's never quite clear why our anti-hero doesn't go back to Canada. He comes from a wealthy family, is educated, and professes dislike for Glasgow and Glaswegians. His self-loathing becomes quite close to the reader loathing him, particularly in the characters relationship to women.The beauty of setting it in the 50s is you can up the lawlessness and brutality of both police and gangsters, whilst getting rid of tech solutions.Generally a good hard-boiled gumshoe novel set in a different time period.