SYNOPSIS:
When police are called to a murder scene at the home of Aberdeen socialite Annabel Imray, they find themselves under pressure to get a conviction, and fast.
Meanwhile, local PIs Wilma Harcus and Maggie Laird are at rock bottom, desperate for income. As Maggie contemplates replacing Wilma with an unpaid intern, an eccentric widow appoints them to search for her lost cat – and Wilma goes off-piste to negotiate a loan, with terrifying terms.
As the fear caused by a series of sinister break-ins escalates, Maggie blames the aggressive language in public discourse for inciting violent crime. But before long, she finds she is in the danger zone herself.
Will Wilma manage to save her?
My Thoughts:
This is my first Claire MacLeary novel and I was drawn into the synopsis of Payback so was thrilled to join the blog tour.
MacLeary paints a very vivid picture of her characters and setting which allowed me to fully immerse myself into this novel. I love the Scottish dialect that weaved throughout the pages and the colourful character of Wilma. Her feistiness and straight-forward talking made her a larger than life character who you would definitely want fighting your corner. I loved how Maggie's personal life was explored in this novel from her financial affairs to her emotional state; it felt raw, realistic and made me warm to her immediately.
At the beginning it felt like there were two story lines running parallel: the ones the police were investigating and Maggie's private investigation into the missing cat. As the two stories and characters came together the pace increased with lots of hidden twists that I didn't see coming.
Although I haven't read the other books in the Harcus & Laird series it didn't dampen my enjoyment and it was easy to get to grips with the characters. There were also brief outlines from the previous series, important events that were relevant to this novel so I didn't feel I was missing out on any key information.
Overall an enjoyable read with likeable characters and a great story line. Many thanks to Love Book Tours and Saraband books for inviting me to join this blog tour.
AUTHOR:
Claire MacLeary lived for many years in Aberdeen and St Andrews, but describes herself as “a feisty Glaswegian with a full life to draw on”.
Following a career in business, she gained an MLitt with Distinction from the University of Dundee and her short stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies. She has appeared at Granite Noir, Noir at the Bar and other literary events.
Claire’s debut novel, Cross Purpose, was longlisted for the prestigious McIlvanney Prize, Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award 2017, and Burnout was longlisted for the Hearst Big Book Award 2018. Runaway is her third novel and continues the Harcus & Laird series.
Buy Link & More Info
Payback
RRP: £8.99 (print) / £4.99 (ebook)
Format:
Extent: pages
ISBN: 9781912235827
Ebook ISBN: 9781912235834:
Publication date: April 23, 2020