In Place of Death by Craig Robertson *** GUEST REVIEW ***

A young man enters the culverted remains of an ancient Glasgow stream, looking for thrills. Deep below the city, it is decaying and claustrophobic and gets more so with every step. As the ceiling lowers to no more than a couple of feet above the ground, the man finds his path blocked by another person. Someone with his throat cut.

As DS Rachel Narey leads the official investigation, photographer Tony Winter follows a lead of his own, through the shadowy world of urbexers, people who pursue a dangerous and illegal hobby, a world that Winter knows more about than he lets on. And it soon becomes clear that the murderer has killed before, and has no qualms about doing so again.

In Place of Death by Craig Robertson was published in paperback by Simon & Schuster on 10 March 2016.


I'm delighted to welcome Helen Parris to Random Things today.  Helen is another guest reviewer from The Crime Book Club on Facebook.  The Crime Book Club is made up of avid crime fiction readers, there are crime fiction author members too. The group hosts Q&A sessions with authors, giveaways and competitions, and members post their reviews and recommendations and generally share their love of crime fiction.

Helen is book and dog mad. She loves nothing better than curling up with the dogs and a book. She also enjoys going walking, seeing friends and exploring different parts of the country.

Here's Helen's review of In Place of Death

In Place of Death is a cracker of a read set in Glasgow. This is the first book I have read by Craig Robertson, but it won't be the last.

I loved the prose, the depth of the characters, the lyrical descriptions of the locations, the pace of the story and the humour.

The main concept of urbexing is intriguing, and unique, with the site descriptions so in depth that you could visualise them.

DI Rachel Narey is feisty and determined to solve the murders, despite opposition from colleagues and management alike as the body count grows.  Tony Winter, as her partner and the photographer for the forensic service has a secret which he keeps from Rachel, with almost catastrophic consequences.

The plight of the homeless with mental health and addiction problems was raised through setting of the Rosewood Hotel, as was Alzheimer's through DI Narey's father. This all added depth and social conscience to the book.

I would recommend this book, and the author. He can write, and most importantly, write well.

Craig Robertson is a former journalist with 20 years' experience. He interviewed three recent Prime Ministers; attended major stories including 9/11, Dunblane, the Omagh bombing and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

His debut novel, Random, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger and was a Sunday Times bestseller.

Craig is also on the board of Bloody Scotland Writing Festival.

Find out more about Craig Robertson and his writing at www.craigrobertsonbooks.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @CraigRobertson_

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