The Janus Run by Douglas Skelton @DouglasSkelton1 @SarabandBooks #TheJanusRun

When Coleman Lang finds his girlfriend Gina dead in his New York City apartment, he thinks nothing could be worse... until he becomes the prime suspect.

Desperate to uncover the truth and clear his name, Coleman hits the streets. But there's a deranged Italian hitman, an intuitive cop, two US Marshals, and his ex-wife all on his tail. And trying to piece together Gina's murky past without dredging up his own seems impossible. Worse, the closer he gets to Gina's killer, the harder it is to evade the clutches of the mysterious organisation known only as Janus – from which he'd long since believed himself free.

Packed with plot twists, suspense and an explosive climax, The Janus Run is an edge-of-the-seat, breathtaking thriller – NYC noir at its finest.

The Janus Run by Douglas Skelton was published by Saraband / Contraband on 20 September 2018. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

Wow! If ever there was a book that was crying out to be made into a film, it's this one.
Douglas Skelton takes his readers across the Atlantic to New York city in his latest thriller, far away from his usual Scottish setting, but so very well done indeed. I'd swear, if I didn't know better, that the author was American and writing about his homeland. It's incredibly authentic.

Coleman Lang and his girlfriend Gina have finally spent the night together at his apartment. Now his divorce is finalised, there's no fear of his ex-wife finding out about Gina and making things even more difficult for him.
Things never turn out quite as planned and Coleman can't wake Gina in the morning. She's dead, in his bed and before long Coleman finds he's the prime suspect for her murder.

It soon becomes clear that there's far more to Coleman than initially meets the eye. This cool, handsome, obsessively tidy Advertising executive has a past that has been hidden for many years. With special cell phones, and mysterious voices on the end of the line, and missing military records; the tension and suspense increases by the page.

Coleman goes on the run, along with another very unusual suspect, and what a pair they make. It seems that Coleman is not the only one with a secret past and he learns more about Gina in the next few days than he ever found out whilst she was alive.

Added to the mix are some Italian Mafia heavies, a couple of US Marshalls and the local police force. These additional characters all bring their own take on the story, and Skelton weaves a clever and frantic story as Coleman and his partner do their best to evade capture. There's car chases, and shoot outs, torture and more than a little bit of humour along the way to an explosive and very satisfactory ending.

The Janus Run is brilliantly executed, packed with colourful and vibrant characters. It's pacy, with smart dialogue and a fabulous sense of place. This is thriller writing of the highest quality. I loved it.









Douglas Skelton, shortlisted for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2016, is a writer who specialises in the darker side of things: he’s a former journalist who has published eleven true crime books. In 2011 he made the leap to writing crime fiction, beginning with the hugely successful series of Davie McCall thrillers and continuing with the Dominic Queste series: The Dead Don’t Boogie and Tag – You’re Dead. His latest thriller, The Janus Run, is NYC noir at its finest. 

Find out more at www.douglasskelton.com
Twitter @DouglasSkelton1