No Good Deed

Rating:
Summary: How does Scotland Produce Such Fine Writers?
Review: What a fine novel! Manda Scott easily fits on the team of Scottish female suspense authors captained by Val McDermid. Her writing is thoughtful, straightforward, and laced with just a touch of melancholy. Like her contemporaries McDermid and Denise Mina, Scott's characters are real and injured, but they have allowed their private suffering to sensitize them to the plights of the Scottish citizens they serve on the police force.

The plot is immediately gripping. You are easily captivated by the events of the first chapter, and you know this will be a book for which you'll sacrifice other evening and weekend pursuits to finish. While violent by the nature of the gangsters' actions, this book still manages to convey a sense of humanity and friendship that provides a counterweight to the sludge, rain, prostitution, and drugs that make the underworld go 'round.

Pick this book up! Manda Scott is a superb writer with knife-like insight into the dark world of the murderous and those walking wounded who pursue them.