We know Glasgow has its grim side. There are plenty of crime novels around which paint a picture of a city under siege. So what does Anna Smith bring to the table?
A seasoned hack's-eye view is the answer. Journalist Rosie walks the walk with a believable quantity of grit in her handbag, balanced by a fair amount of emotional baggage. This comes out in her investigations leading to a cover-up of vile doings by rotten rozzers. Along the way she trawls the sadder sections of Glasgow's underclass and tangles with some particularly nasty villains. The menace mounts nicely and highlights the very real dangers journalists face as they earn a crust exposing crime, corruption and hypocrisy on our behalf, with precious little thanks or recognition except being kept in a job. And even that's not guaranteed these days.
The plot is solid and rings not just plausible but highly likely. If I've a complaint it's that her characters could use a little sanding down. In places they act and speak and a shade too much as you'd expect them to act, but it doesn't impede progress or pace. I got the feeling the book had greater potential. Exploring more the depths and darkness of the subject matter would have taken it up another notch. I hark on about the late, great Derek Raymond but he showed how far a crime novel can be pushed in this respect.
That said, this is a sound debut, a good read. A swift follow-up and Anna Swift will soon be landing punches on the Scandinavians.