Book review: The Deep Dark Sleep

By Craig Russell

Quercus, 320pp, £12.99

Review by Jen Bowden

In the murky waters of the Clyde, human remains are found that unleash a dramatic chain of events in in The Deep Dark Sleep, a slick, twisting tartan noir thriller set in the 1950s.

The skeleton is that of one of Glasgow’s most notorious armed robbers, Gentleman Joe Strachan, dragged up from the Clyde 18 years after an armed robbery during which a policeman was killed. But Strachan’s identical twin daughters aren’t so certain that the remains belong to their father. Every year on the anniversary of the robbery, they receive a large sum of money. If Strachan isn’t sending it, who is?

Enter Lennox; a war veteran, private investigator and dubious character, hired by the twins to find out if the bones really are those of Gentleman Joe. But both the police and the city’s notorious crime bosses, the Three Kings, have their own reasons for maintaining the mystery. .

Alongside this, Lennox is commissioned to protect a US film star from a scandal. He uncovers a web of intrigue centred around a (then illegal) homosexual relationship, blackmail and murder. This secondary narrative is skilfully wound into the mystery of Gentleman Joe.

As a protagonist Lennox is unnervingly likeable despite his disregard for the law, womanising and readiness to brawl. Roguish and often inappropriately good-humoured, he’s a suave and cunning champion, yet with sufficient flaws to stop him being boring. His wartime experiences have left him with an almost Jekyll and Hyde persona as he struggles to keep his violent urges under control when dealing with criminals.

Far from being superficial, this novel is peppered with darker themes such as displacement, broken families and class conflict. Even Lennox’s on-off romance with his landlady, a war widow with two daughters, highlights the long shadow cast by the Second World War.

Russell’s 1950s Glasgow is dank, murky and excellently realised. Slick, chilling and excellently written, it is as sharp as an upper cut without being overly contrived. Lennox’s third outing leaves you looking forward to the next book in this series.

l Craig Russell will be at the Edinburgh book festival on 24 August