Bad Samaritan by Michael J Malone. Bang on crime fiction.

Publication Date: Available Now from Contraband

Source: Purchased copy

A helping hand? Or the grip of a murderer?A Glasgow student is found dead in a city-centre alley, kickstarting a trail of brutality that drives DI Ray McBain to the very edge, staring into the abyss… The victim’s family and friends are all under suspicion, and McBain has to untangle a sordid web of lies, blackmail, infidelity and cyberstalking. And when Stigmata, a deranged serial killer from McBain’s tortured past, starts taking out new victims – with the suspects and McBain himself in his sights – the case gets even more treacherous. The pressure intensifies until McBain calls on Kenny O’Neill, his old underworld crony, to help watch his back. Will that be enough to stop the killing?

When crime fiction is described as “gritty” I tend to have a love/hate relationship with it. Often the grit is the thing, attempts to make it so mean actual story gets lost and characterisation suffers – not so with Michael Malone in any novel of his that I have read – he’s bang on the money every time, with brilliant writing, characters that pop and addictive stories that dig deep. And for me the story and the wordplay are always the things that get my blood going.

With “Bad Samaritan” my blood was definitely up, I read it in one sitting and it fairly popped along, totally engrossing, never losing focus and with a noir tone that really appealed.  Some gorgeous prose, descriptive and enticing and yes absolutely chock full of grit first page to last.

I’m a fan of McBain – a main protagonist that has all the hallmarks of one of the greats, with his own style and unique outlook that just grounds the whole story in reality, authenticity is not lacking here, if anything it is pitch perfect. The supporting cast are all just as good, as far as characters you can get behind (or not) goes this is spot on.

Bad Samaritan is probably my favourite of the novels so far, the plot is layered and intriguing, my attention never once wandered, it scared the heck out of me in places and kept me reading into the early hours. Overall it was an intense, emotive and beautifully honed piece of “gritty crime” fiction and in my love/hate  book relationships this came down entirely on the love side.

Highly Recommended.

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You can purchase “Bad Samaritan” by clickety clicking HERE.

Happy Reading Folks!