How a Gunman Says Goodbye
Written by Malcolm Mackay
Narrated by Angus King
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
How does a gunman retire? Frank MacLeod was the best at what he does. Thoughtful. Efficient. Ruthless. But with his health failing him, how long before he's no longer of use to his employers?
A new job. A target. But something is about to go horribly wrong. And up-and-coming hitman Calum MacLean will be called upon to pick up the pieces.
Most gunmen say goodbye to the world with a bang. Frank's still here. No longer in his prime, certainly. But with decades of experience at the top of his profession. Underestimating such a man could prove to be deadly.
Malcolm Mackay
Malcolm Mackay was born and grew up in Stornoway where he still lives. The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, his much lauded debut was the first in the Glasgow Trilogy, set in the city's underworld. It was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award for Best Crime Debut of the Year and the Scottish First Book of the Year Award and was chosen as Best Read by ITV3's Specsavers Crime Thriller Club programme. How A Gunman Says Goodbye, the second book in the series, won the Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award. The final book in the trilogy is The Sudden Arrival of Violence. His other crime novels include For Those Who Know the Ending, Every Night I Dream of Hell and In the Cage Where Your Saviours Hide.
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Reviews for How a Gunman Says Goodbye
31 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It has been a while since I read his last book and I'd kind of forgotten about his style of writing. So the sentences are still short in fact so short at times it tends to get in the way of the story and if not that then just annoying. Other than that the story's fine.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frank has been Jamieson's gunman almost all his life. He's got a bank account with lots of cash, but nothing to spend it on as he knows nothing is more traceable than cash. He's getting older, but still highly respected. Then he makes a mistake. He knows, and everyone else knows, including the copy trying to turn him, that it's the end of the line. "Gunmen don’t get happy retirements. Nobody gets to walk away."I would suggest starting with the first book in the trilogy, but it's not absolutely necessary. An intriguing series. On to the third.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Synopsis/blurb/review.........
Review
’How a Gunman Says Goodbye is even better than its remarkable predecessor . . . The author is already being hailed as a new star of tartan noir and if the third book in this trilogy can maintain the impetus of the first two the existing clan of Scottish writers may have to look to their laurels’ Daily Express
'You know how among all the kids acting tough at school there is one that stands out, the only one who convinces? Malcolm Mackay is that man. His characteristically urgent prose style drives his narrative at a remorseless pace as the Gunman – old and approaching the end of his career – works out what options he has left . . . Don't worry that it's set in Glasgow – there's no dialect. Nor that it's the second in a trilogy – it stands alone. By all means read the first book; you'll enjoy it. But it's time to get on board. Hail the new king of Scottish crime. This is a superb book. It should win prizes' Crime Time
Book DescriptionWINNER OF THE DEANSTON SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD How does a gunman retire? Frank MacLeod was the best at what he does. Thoughtful. Efficient. Ruthless. But is he still the best? A new job. A target. But something is about to go horribly wrong. Someone is going to end up dead. Most gunmen say goodbye to the world with a bang. Frank’s still here. He’s lasted longer than he should have . .. The breathtaking, devastating sequel to lauded debut The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, How a Gunman Says Goodbye will plunge the reader back into the Glasgow underworld, where criminal organisations war for prominence and those caught up in events are tested at every turn. The final book in the Glasgow Trilogy The Sudden Arrival of Violence will follow soon . . .
Praise for The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, longlisted for both the CWA John Creasey Dagger for Best Debut Crime Novel of the Year and the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year:
‘A truly exceptional debut’ Paul Bailey, Independent ‘Brutal, witty and well-written . . . a brilliant debut’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Remarkable . . . ‘tartan noir’ will have a new star’ Daily Mail
‘Mackay ratchets up the tension like a master’ Daily Telegraph
‘Remarkably original . . . a wholly believable and unnerving portrait of organised crime’ Observer
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My take.......
After loving the first in this trilogy, I was half fearing that the second would somehow fall a bit flat, despite the good things I had heard about it. My concerns were unfounded, as this follow-up ticked all the same boxes as the first for me.
Frank, for years Jamieson’s top gunman, is eased back into action after a spell on the sidelines after his hip operation. A relatively straightforward job, aiming a strike at Shug Francis and his organisation, goes pear-shaped and Frank is contemplating failure and retirement. Only people in Frank’s line of work don’t ever get to draw a pension.
Can Frank settle for a demotion? Can Jamieson allow friendship to cloud his judgement? Can Calum, Jamieson’s number two gunman, reconcile himself to his solitary existence, albeit within the confines of this criminal family, or does domesticity beckon? Can Emma, Calum’s girlfriend stop asking him questions about his movements? Can John Young, Jamieson’s number two in his organisation, manipulate George, Calum’s only friend into upsetting Calum’s applecart? Can DI Michael Fisher cultivate Kenny, Peter Jamieson’s driver as a useful contact, or can he engineer a more prosperous informant; someone who knows where the bodies are buried and who usefulness has just expired, into helping him bring Jamieson down?
Thoughtful and incisive, fast moving and exciting, extremely enjoyable and satisfying.
5 from 5
Mackay is one of my best discoveries of the year. So much, so I have already pre-ordered the Glasgow finale – The Sudden Arrival of Violence – for delivery early 2014.