Reading for pleasure

Neil Lancaster (Harper Collins: £8.99)

Nothing like a good blood feud for a bit of drama, eh? Montagues v Capulets; Campbells v Macdonalds; and now, Leitchs v Hardies. The theme may be as old as the hills, but the execution (not that much of a pun intended) of this first rate thriller is as fresh and vibrant as you would wish.

This is Neil Lancaster’s fourth novel, but the first time I’ve encountered him, and also the first outing for DS Max Craigie. Craigie, like Lancaster, was a serving officer in the Metropolitan Police. Whether Lancaster shares Craigie’s problem of being hounded by the media following the perfectly justifiable homicide of a man who was trying to shoot him, we are not told. We do know that this won’t be the last Max Craigie book, and we should all be thankful for that. Max hails from the Scottish Highlands, where the author now lives, and both men share the experience of Serious Crime Squads and covert policing. Unlike the average fictional cop, Craigie doesn’t seem to be deeply flawed and has no obvious problem with authority. In fact, he comes across as a pretty decent guy.

Whodunnits can be a little tedious. This one isn’t. The initial murder is wrapped up pretty speedily. But, as they say, there’s more. Much, much more, but told at such a lick that you’ll lose sleep, not so much from the suspense as from the fact that you’ll stay up very late to finish reading it. The extra good news is that the second Craigie book, The Blood Tide, doesn’t seem to be far away.

Jenni Fagan (Windmill Books: £8.99)

Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has often been taken as a metaphor for Edinburgh itself, respectable on the outside but with darkness below the surface. That’s but one of the tumultuous themes running through Jenni Fagan’s novel. The luckenbooth of the title is not in fact one of the early lockup shops which appeared in the Royal Mile centuries ago, but one tenement, address 10 Luckenbooth, developed by the unco guid Mr Udnam who occupies the prestigious flat on the first floor.

The action spans most of the 20th century, its history laid out and played out by the residents and visitors. If you feared this might be restricted to a narrow east of Scotland view, you little know the breadth of vision, and skill of Ms Fagan. An international view is introduced through Levi and his letters home to his brother in New Orleans, and from William Burroughs (author of The Naked Lunch), one of a number of real people who feature or are mentioned. Others include Dora Noyce, celebrated Edinburgh madam, and medium Helen Duncan, the last person in Scotland to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act.

Ah, witchcraft. Odd you should mention that. There is rather a lot of it about. From the very start in fact, when Jessie MacRae is sent to join the household of Mr Udman and his fiancée Elise, to have, then hand over her baby. I suppose another theme might be that all actions have consequences, that for every crime there is retribution. One might draw a metaphor, too, from the decline and crumble of 10 Luckenbooth itself, but perhaps that’s going too far.

The fact is that you can take so much from this work, and read it on so many levels, that anything is possible. If there are one or two historical inaccuracies (for example, a reference to fog closing the Forth Road Bridge in 1963, when it wasn’t opened until 1964), then only a pedant would care. Should there be a health warning? Well, there is a great deal of sex, very little of it straightforward. Not for the prudish. The Edinburgh portrayed is definitely from the Mr Hyde side of the tracks, and Mr Udman would probably refer to the novel as the work of the Devil. Fagan’s viewpoint is unashamedly left wing, but the skill she uses in the creation of her characters and their views on politics, sex and the affairs of the day is consummate.

It is high praise to say that this novel reminded me of the work of Alasdair Gray. The difference is that, while I admired Gray’s books, I can’t say I particularly enjoyed them. Luckenbooth, on the other hand, from its mysterious basement up to its teetering 10th storey, is a master work on every floor. One of the most remarkable books I’ve read in years.