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The Licensee, The (Paperback)

by Hugh Collins (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Canongate Crime (2 May 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1841952443
  • ISBN-13: 978-1841952444
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 710,741 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

In a novel that bristles with dark humour and darker deeds, Collins's ear for street dialogue never falters. The Licensee establishes Collins at the forefront of British crime writing. Against the backdrop of Thatcher's Britain and the violent clashes between police and miners, The Licensee dives back into the Glasgow underworld as a new era is ushered in. Heroin is rife. Dealers are getting rich in a hurry and some law-enforcement officers are tempted by easy cash to turn a blind eye. Johnny McGinty, the tough but likeable small-time crook in No Smoke, has graduated to the big time and is now the heavy man for nouveau-riche drug lord Pat McGowan; a man who will do anything to gain a monopoly of the market.


About the Author

Hugh Collins was born and brought up in Glasgow. In 1977 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. Released in 1992, he has since written two volumes of autobiography - Autobiography of a Murderer (1998) and Walking Away (2000), as well as a novel, No Smoke (2001). He is married and lives in Edinburgh.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Licensee, The
58% buy the item featured on this page:
The Licensee, The 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
Autobiography of a Murderer
33% buy
Autobiography of a Murderer 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
No Smoke
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No Smoke 3.0 out of 5 stars (2)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Licensee....In more ways than one............., 26 May 2002
Hugh Collins' second novel follows on from his first in style and content, but this time he describes the loan-sharking and drugs scenes in Glasgow during the 1980's.

Whereas his first, 'No Smoke',I think had a hint of redemption within the plot, this one has none. 'The Licensee' desribes an underworld of unrelenting nihilism, wihout any of the underlying humour for which Glasgow is famous.

Pat McGowan is the new drugs overlord who holds the city, its people and police in contempt. From his Bearsden mansion, he smiles out avuncularly at his genteel neighbours, as he sees off his wife and children on a Saturday visit to the shops. Even the children have thousands of pounds in cash as they rush off to launder Pat's ill-gotten gains.

The plots revolve around Pat's efforts to control the police as well as the low life of the city, and his efforts to launder his wealth through 'legitimate' businesses. When other thugs
get in his way he calls in Johnny McGinty who has graduated from being the almost loveable rogue in 'No Smoke' to the now hardened hitman.

From his local pub base, Pat directs everybody, whilst sipping a ubiquitous glass of Coke, always sober, calculating and deadly.

This is another cracking story,authenticated by the use of the Glaswegian vernacular. The device accentuates the deprivation, ignorance and limitations of the characters as they appear.

The story develops rapidly from a slightly slow start, coming to its unexpected climax with what I might say is now a Collins' trademark - the feeling of 'deja vu'.

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