The Dundee-based A.J. McNee series reaches its fourth volume. McNee is a former cop and disgraced private investigator whose life has been marked by a distinct streak of bad luck but has never discarded his integrity along the way. Pressured by a local crime boss and an offer to work undercover for the drugs squad, McNee is also investigating a boy's murder on behalf of his mother who is unsure whether the man imprisoned for it is guilty or innocent. McLean orchestrates the diverse strands of his plot ingeniously, balancing all the ingredients with care, realism and empathy and proves a clever storyteller with a definite dark touch, which somehow feels a natural fit for its Dundee environment.
Mothers of the Disappeared: a J. McNee Mystery Set in Scotland Synopsis
Dundee-based private investigator J. McNee finds his past is about to catch up with him in this intriguing mystery.
Suspended from the Association of British Investigators and facing an enquiry into his alleged misconduct over four years previously, J McNee’s career hangs in the balance. The last thing he needs is new business. But when the mother of a murdered child asks him to re-open a case he helped close during his time in the police, McNee can’t refuse. Is the wrong man serving a life sentence for a series of brutal murders? And, if so, why did he admit his guilt before the court? As McNee searches for answers, he finds himself forced to make a terrifying moral choice: one that will change his life forever.
An intriguing murder mystery involving many unexpected twists and turns, Mothers of the Disappeared blends the grit of classic American hardboiled fiction with a distinctly Scottish voice and attitude.
“For readers who like Brian McGilloway and Michael Koryta, two authors who introduced fresh voices and individual takes on crime” Library Journal Starred Review of The Lost Sister
“Delightfully overwrought, world-weary-tough-guy narrative that’s more Mickey Spillane than Raymond Chandler” Booklist on The Lost Sister
“Will appeal to fans of Ian Rankin and Stuart MacBride as well as readers of Jim Kelly” Library Journal Starred Review of The Good Son
“The Dundee locale and mordant Scots wit … make this a promising debut” Booklist on The Good Son
Author
About Russel D. McLean
Born in Fife, Russel D. McLean studied Philosophy at the University of Dundee before falling into bad company and entering the booktrade. He has been a reviewer, a freelance reader, a bookseller and an ezine editor. He now lives in Glasgow.
