Filled with Scottish accents thicker than the book itself, Chris Brookmyre’s newest novel, and the first in what will apparently (and hopefully) become a series, proves exactly why he continually sells so well. As ‘authentically local as haggis suppers and lung cancer’, it begins when a dealer is found dead behind his not entirely reputable tanning salon. Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod is put on the case behind the back of the new organised crime taskforce and is determined to stop this one death ending in bloodshed all over the city.

Elsewhere in Glasgow, lonely actress Jasmine Sharp has joined her uncle’s private detective company, despite her skill at messing things up, and is finally proving herself worthy when he vanishes partway through a case. With no one interested in tracking down a capable adult and ex-cop, she looks into his past cases herself, and finds, as Catherine does, that the police force can be as corrupt and secretive as the organised crime syndicates it is claiming to combat.

There is not a single page where the pace drags, and Catherine and Jasmine, along with their cohorts, are smart, determined and entertaining. If underground Glasgow didn’t seem so damn terrifying you’d want to go there and meet all these whip-smart locals yourself.