Glasgow is being terrorised by a serial killer the media have nicknamed The Cutter. The murders have left the police baffled. There seems to be neither rhyme nor reason behind the killings; no kind of pattern or motive; an entirely different method of murder each time, and nothing that connects the victims except for the fact that the little fingers of their right hands have been severed. If DS Rachel Narey could only work out the key to the seemingly random murders, how and why the killer selects his victims, she would be well on her way to catching him. But as the police, the press and a threatening figure from Glasgow's underworld begin to close in on The Cutter, his carefully-laid plans threaten to unravel - with horrifying consequences.
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'The story carries on in a very tightly plotted and sometimes moving way until the very unpredictable and quite amazing ending' --Euro Crime
'I could not put it down, as it was such an exciting page turner'
--Euro Crime
`This is a novel that really gets under your skin. Not only is the complex plot expertly managed (I was sure I knew who the murderer was at least twice before being prove comprehensively wrong) and the Glasgow setting brilliantly utilised, but the actions of the sniper himself mean this, for many, will be anything but a simple case of goodies versus baddies/.../The world Robertson creates in Snapshot is dark and often depressingly grubby. But it's also fascinating, challenging and, dare I say it, edge-of-the-seat and heart-in-the-mouth entertaining.' --Gregor White, Stering Observer
'I could not put it down, as it was such an exciting page turner'
--Euro Crime
`This is a novel that really gets under your skin. Not only is the complex plot expertly managed (I was sure I knew who the murderer was at least twice before being prove comprehensively wrong) and the Glasgow setting brilliantly utilised, but the actions of the sniper himself mean this, for many, will be anything but a simple case of goodies versus baddies/.../The world Robertson creates in Snapshot is dark and often depressingly grubby. But it's also fascinating, challenging and, dare I say it, edge-of-the-seat and heart-in-the-mouth entertaining.' --Gregor White, Stering Observer
About the Author
During his 20-year career with a Scottish Sunday newspaper, Craig Robertson has interviewed three recent Prime Ministers; attended major stories including 9/11, Dunblane, the Omagh bombing and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann; been pilloried on breakfast television, beaten Oprah Winfrey to a major scoop, been among the first to interview Susan Boyle, spent time on Death Row in the USA and dispensed polio drops in the backstreets of India. RANDOM is his first novel
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By L. Hay
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Yet another first class novel based in Glasgow - where better. Glasgow is a city of hard men but it has a heart of gold, however, Craig Robertson does not touch on this virtue unlike Craig Russell did in "Lennox".
The story is told by the killer himself. His ramblings are bitter, but he does not come across as the psychopath that we may have encountered in books of a similar nature. I will not go into the story and spoil it for readers, but six murders are committed for no apparent motive. The city is in a state of terror and the police go round in circles looking for "The Cutter". Eventually they have to call in the big guns from Nottingham.. A clever criminal, the Cutter is always one step ahead and covers his tracks superbly.
Mr Robertson is a reporter for the "Sunday Post", one of Scotland's fabvourite newspapers, and he must have been very successful if his standard of writing is anything like that of this novel. The chapters are short and he does not keep the reader hanging on. The facts and observations contained therein are interesting and informative.
I found it very easy to read and did so in record time. To be truthful, I couldn't lay it down.
I do hope that more novels are to come from the pen of this promising newcomer to the crime genre.
I will certainly be watching out for them.
The story is told by the killer himself. His ramblings are bitter, but he does not come across as the psychopath that we may have encountered in books of a similar nature. I will not go into the story and spoil it for readers, but six murders are committed for no apparent motive. The city is in a state of terror and the police go round in circles looking for "The Cutter". Eventually they have to call in the big guns from Nottingham.. A clever criminal, the Cutter is always one step ahead and covers his tracks superbly.
Mr Robertson is a reporter for the "Sunday Post", one of Scotland's fabvourite newspapers, and he must have been very successful if his standard of writing is anything like that of this novel. The chapters are short and he does not keep the reader hanging on. The facts and observations contained therein are interesting and informative.
I found it very easy to read and did so in record time. To be truthful, I couldn't lay it down.
I do hope that more novels are to come from the pen of this promising newcomer to the crime genre.
I will certainly be watching out for them.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Ali
Format:Paperback
I wanted to like this book far more than I did. Crime thrillers set in Glasgow are just my cup of tea and this was told mainly from the point of view of the killer, with the only additional information coming from newspaper clippings. It was a book that just screamed 'me'. Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I expected.
The Cutter himself was quite an interesting character on paper, seemingly picking his victims at random. His methods of finding victims and killing them all differ. He even contemplates the thought of killing children, if his randomised methods happen to work out that way. However, I found him mostly unlikeable and unsympathetic, even after finding out his motives for killing. The only time I even remotely felt for him was when he was with his wife. Both of them were dealing, poorly, with personal tragedy. It was the only time he came across as human to me. Bad things happen to good people but most of them don't turn into serial killers so why did The Cutter? This was never really addressed sufficiently enough for me.
The characterisation of Glasgow was a complete cliché and didn't impress me at all. Gangsters, neds, drug dealers, addicts. All of them exist in Glasgow, as they do everywhere, but it's not what the city is all about. I do think that anyone familiar with Glasgow will get a lot more out of the story than those not. It mentions a lot of different places with little context as to where they are and I feel only a native or frequent visitor (I went to university in the city) would be able to place.
Another negative point for me was the mistakes in the book.... Read more ›
The Cutter himself was quite an interesting character on paper, seemingly picking his victims at random. His methods of finding victims and killing them all differ. He even contemplates the thought of killing children, if his randomised methods happen to work out that way. However, I found him mostly unlikeable and unsympathetic, even after finding out his motives for killing. The only time I even remotely felt for him was when he was with his wife. Both of them were dealing, poorly, with personal tragedy. It was the only time he came across as human to me. Bad things happen to good people but most of them don't turn into serial killers so why did The Cutter? This was never really addressed sufficiently enough for me.
The characterisation of Glasgow was a complete cliché and didn't impress me at all. Gangsters, neds, drug dealers, addicts. All of them exist in Glasgow, as they do everywhere, but it's not what the city is all about. I do think that anyone familiar with Glasgow will get a lot more out of the story than those not. It mentions a lot of different places with little context as to where they are and I feel only a native or frequent visitor (I went to university in the city) would be able to place.
Another negative point for me was the mistakes in the book.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By caz78
Format:Paperback
I love this book, it is good how it is told through the killer's eye's. when I started I could not put it down. I can not wait to read what he write's next, It is hard to believe that this is his first book it is so well written. if you love a good crime book you defo need to read this
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I bought this book in Cape Town whilst on holiday - I came upon it in a bookshop and thought it looked interesting - an odd place for a Glaswegian to pick up a book about Glasgow but it was fantastic! I read it in about a day and could hardly put it down. It is gruesome and I am worried about the author's mental health (how on earth could anyone think up the methods of murder) but it is really good book. Not for the faint hearted but I am keen to read the next one. The story is complex and you never know what will happen next, (except that it will be grizzly) and despite the fact that the main character is clearly insane, there is a sense of feeling sorry for him and somehow sympathising with him in some way........
Essentially there is a madman on the loose and he is cleverly able to out fox the police and others - but for how long?
Essentially there is a madman on the loose and he is cleverly able to out fox the police and others - but for how long?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Crazy Bald Heid
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I held little hope for this book fearing that it would trawl through every Glasgow hardman cliche imaginable. It touches on some but in other respects it captures the city quite skilfully.
The central premise is the story of a serial killer stalking the streets of Glasgow on a revenge mission told in the first person. So far so predictable. But to Robertsons credit he pulls all of the strings together in a nice little denoument and abrupt finish. It is not for the faint hearted being both violent and written in the colourful Glasgow vernacular. Easy read in short chapters.
I enjoyed it.
The central premise is the story of a serial killer stalking the streets of Glasgow on a revenge mission told in the first person. So far so predictable. But to Robertsons credit he pulls all of the strings together in a nice little denoument and abrupt finish. It is not for the faint hearted being both violent and written in the colourful Glasgow vernacular. Easy read in short chapters.
I enjoyed it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By dali
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is a dark serial killer killer novel with a difference. This is a diffrent take on the genre as you experience the world through the serial killer's eyes. Well paced and hard to put down with great characters, Ilook forward to reading more by Robertson.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I haven't read anything by the author prior to this, but I shall certainly keep an eye on the shelves from now on.
The book delivers in spades. It has an arresting (no pun intended)story line and the characters are full of depth and give a real sense of anger and despair. The book paints a vivid picture of the area where it is set and one gets a sense of how it must be to exist there. I don't mean in a negative sense either. It gives the reader a feel of the place and it's people and not many books can pull that off without being over-dramatic or over-sentimental. The book gives the reader an insight into the failings of justice and what is right. It also gives the reader a sense of how things can spiral when the system fails you. One can almost feel the depths of the emotions of the main character and ulitmately the need for sheer, plain old cold revenge. I actually found myself empathising with the main character but not for the majority of the victims I'm afraid lol++.
It was quite easy to fall into the pages and visualise the writing as I went along for the journey. That doesn't happen often, sadly. The ending is sad in a way, even though it was partially expected it still gave me a wee jolt.
So, would I recommend it? Indeed I would!
Thanks to AV for the opportunity to read it and to Craig Richardson for writing it. If his next book is of the same calibre I would be more than happy to read it.
rorobluesdad
The book delivers in spades. It has an arresting (no pun intended)story line and the characters are full of depth and give a real sense of anger and despair. The book paints a vivid picture of the area where it is set and one gets a sense of how it must be to exist there. I don't mean in a negative sense either. It gives the reader a feel of the place and it's people and not many books can pull that off without being over-dramatic or over-sentimental. The book gives the reader an insight into the failings of justice and what is right. It also gives the reader a sense of how things can spiral when the system fails you. One can almost feel the depths of the emotions of the main character and ulitmately the need for sheer, plain old cold revenge. I actually found myself empathising with the main character but not for the majority of the victims I'm afraid lol++.
It was quite easy to fall into the pages and visualise the writing as I went along for the journey. That doesn't happen often, sadly. The ending is sad in a way, even though it was partially expected it still gave me a wee jolt.
So, would I recommend it? Indeed I would!
Thanks to AV for the opportunity to read it and to Craig Richardson for writing it. If his next book is of the same calibre I would be more than happy to read it.
rorobluesdad
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous debut novel. Very original.
Fabulous debut novel. Very original and had me guessing right to the end. I had read his third novel in the series first and enjoyed Cold Grave so much I was eager to see where it... Read more
Published 21 days ago by G. Mckerrow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read, has me hooked!!
I am only half way through so far but an amazing read. I really am finding it hard to put it down. Looking forward to reading more from Craig.
Published 1 month ago by Lesley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read highly recommended
This doesn't read like a first book and I would rate it as the best book I have read this year of nearly 100, so far. Read more
Published 1 month ago by janner37
4.0 out of 5 stars
Random
Different perspective. Reading first hand from a murderer's point of view. Couple of scenes a bit grim, but not a bad story nevertheless.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. C. A. Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
A good read and from a different perspective.
Craig Robertson has decided on a novel approach to a crime novel and he's done it rather well. Read more
Craig Robertson has decided on a novel approach to a crime novel and he's done it rather well. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ariadne
4.0 out of 5 stars
Random
I enjoyed this book it was differant from the usual as the killer is relating the story . I now want to read other books by this author which says it all.
Published 8 months ago by Helen Kay Irons
5.0 out of 5 stars
Random a great read
What a fantastic read. Great style. Although gruesome in places it also had just the right amount of wit. Captured the Glaswegian characters perfectly. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Contrary Mary
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good piece of writing...
Random is book like nothing I had ever read before and it has inspired me to read more books like it.
Published 15 months ago by Kira XIII
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely Worth the Read!
A great read, it is a well paced book and really keeps you moving through the story. I also liked the idea of this being from the killers point of view and not have too much from... Read more
Published 16 months ago by N. Bullock
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good psycho thriller
Good, but not the best thriller, would like to read more of his books before making my mind up with the author. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Helen
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