Jim Brennan is flying high. Against all odds, he is a big man at the university, tipped for the head job and an office at the top of the ivory tower. He has a beautiful, accomplished wife and two healthy children. Jim drives an Audi, and his dog is a pedigree bichon frisé. Not bad for the son of a hardman who grew up in a room and kitchen. But for every person who’s watched his progress and wanted to hitch a lift, there’s someone else desperate to drag him back down. When his son Elliot is arrested on drugs charges, Jim is approached by men he thought he had left safely in his past. Their demands threaten his family, students and reputation. As the pressure mounts, Jim discovers he is more like his father than he thought. The question is, how far will Professor Jim Brennan go to save the life he built? A TIMES BEST NEW CRIME FICTION OF THE MONTH
Author
After studying history at Glasgow University, Louise Welsh established a second-hand bookshop, where she worked for many years. Her first novel, The Cutting Room, won several awards, including the 2002 Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Memorial Dagger, and was jointly awarded the 2002 Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award. Louise was granted a Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Award in 2003, a Scotland on Sunday/Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award in 2004, and a Hawthornden Fellowship in 2005. She is a regular radio broadcaster, has published many short stories, and has contributed articles and reviews to most of the British broadsheets. She has also written for the stage. The Guardian chose her as a 'woman to watch' in 2003. Her second book, Tamburlaine Must Die, a novelette written around the final three days of the poet Christopher Marlowe's life, was published in 2004. Her third novel, The Bullet Trick (2006), is a present-day murder mystery set in Berlin. The Cutting Room 2002 Tamburlaine Must Die 2004 The Bullet Trick 2006 Naming The Bones 2010 Prizes and awards 2002 Crime Writers' Association John Creasey Memorial Dagger The Cutting Room 2002 Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award (joint winner) The Cutting Room 2003 BBC Underground Award (writer category) The Cutting Room 2003 Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Award 2004 Corine Internationaler Buchpreis: Rolf Heyne Debutpreis (Germany) The Cutting Room 2004 Scotland on Sunday/Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award 2004 Stonewall Book Award (US) (honor in literature)
