by Callum McSorley 🫧 Cover design by Kid-ethic 🫧
Published by Pushkin Vertigo 🫧 an imprint of Pushkin Press 🫧
Can humour really belong in a crime story? Well, it might seem a very unlikely pairing but Callum McSorley makes it work in this book.
**No one thinks very much at all about carwash employee Davey Burnet, until one day he takes the wrong customer's motor for a ride. One kidnapping later, he and the carwash are officially part of Glasgow's criminal underworld**
What could go wrong? He was just 'borrowing' a car.
How can something as simple as working at a carwash morph into working for a psychopath?
The Glasgow underworld is definitely not the place for Davey but with top-level trouble & a questionable, messed-up Detective Inspector, things will not go as expected.
The rough edges of Glasgow are reflected in some bold & sketchy characters who carry us through this engaging thriller at a great pace with McSorley's gritty delivery. We experience their real-life stress & some very dark times. Life can change very quickly with jarring, unexpected results. Twists? Yes!
With the characters' & author's use of stylised Glaswegian dialect, we are completely drawn into their raw, personal environment.
"D'ye mind if I huv wan? There's biscuits in the tin an aw" & "Aye, a could go doon the Halifax wae a balaclava oan ma heed and a banana in ma jaiket poakit" are two examples.
This adds an edge to the feel of this dialogue-busy story but doesn't overcrowd anything.
A gutsy début!
Note to self: Never confess to anyone, not even your dog!
Thank you to Pushkin Press for having me on this Tour 📚 🫧