Glasgow Kiss

February 21, 2019 by JBronder

How Far Would You Go To Catch A Serial Killer?

Glasgow Kiss Episode 1. (Publication Date: February 7th, 2019)

Genre: Thriller/ Serial Killer

Author: C.S. Duffy

Haunted by the fact that he never got the chance to tell best friend Lorna that he loved her before she was murdered, Ruari sets out to track down the man he saw her with the night before she was murdered – the man police are certain was her killer.

Forensic psychologist Amy Kerr has been watching prominent Glasgow lawyer Alec McAvoy for months, certain that he is the so-called Dancing Girls Killer who evaded capture in London five years previously.

Now Ruari and Amy are closing in on the same man – but every step they take draws them deeper into the killer’s web.

“…completely addictive. Very fast paced with the short punchy time-stamped chapters adding to the sense of a fast-moving investigation.” – Joanne Baird, Portobello Book Blog

“…full of the Glasgow banter and humour laced with a good old-fashioned murder mystery. Lots of twists and turns and little pools of red herrings kept me engrossed all the way through.” – Sharon Bairden, Chapterinmylife Blog

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Excerpt

None of this is happening, Ruari thought furiously.

His now don’t laugh but… speech was still rattling around his head.

Any minute now Lorna would come barreling up, laugh her head off and call him a fanny for sitting there with an ice pack on his head and blood dripping over his face. Everything would start to make sense again.

A torrent of pins and needles roared through him and for a horrible moment he thought he would make a liar of himself and puke after all. The paramedic rubbed his back and Kevin pressed a paper cup of strong tea into his hands.

‘Has she been formally identified?’ Ruari croaked, the delusional note of hope sounding pathetic in his own ears. ‘Lorna.’

He had to keep saying her name. If he kept saying her name, then she wasn’t gone.

Kevin nodded, catching Boyle’s eye with a brief nod Ruari only just caught out of the corner of his eye. He was on the other side of it now. How to Treat Recently Bereaved Witnesses. He was struck by the absurd notion that if he hadn’t been sacked then somehow he would be standing where Kevin was now, and it would be somebody else’s best friend’s flat being ransacked for evidence. He shuddered, an abyss of horror lapping at his toes.

‘Her parents are there now. Sister’s on her way up fae London.’

‘Greer,’ muttered Ruari pointlessly.

‘When was the last time you saw Lorna, Ruari?’ asked Cara gently and Ruari blinked at her. He hadn’t noticed her approaching.

‘Monday,’ he said, his voice sounding thin and faraway in his own ears. ‘Our Crossfit —’

No.

That wasn’t the last time he saw her.

The memory struck him like kick in the ribs and he folded over, gasping for breath as though he’d been physically winded.

Tuesday night.

Last night.

She’d come in to the restaurant where he worked in Finnieston, all cosy with some slimy chancer. Ruari had been seething. He snapped that he was busy when she came up to the bar to talk to him, cutting off any potential requests to evaluate the new man. He’d wondered what she was playing at, flaunting it in front of him like that. At his work, for goodness sake, where she knew fine he couldn’t escape.

Then on the way home he remembered that she wasn’t flaunting it. She had no idea how he felt about her. Because he’d never told her.

‘Can you remember anything about the man she was with?’ Cara asked, and Ruari shook his head. He was some slick bastard, that’s all he knew. He hadn’t been looking at the guy, after all. He’d just been staring at Lorna. Feeling like hell because she looked happy.

That was when he burst into tears.

Now Available!

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About the Author

C.S. Duffy writes crime thrillers with a healthy dose of black humour. Her background is in film and TV. She has several projects in development in Sweden and the UK and her other writing has appeared in Elle Canada and The Guardian. She is the author of Life is Swede, a thriller that was originally written as a blog – leading several readers to contact Swedish news agencies asking them why they hadn’t reported the murder that features in the blog. She was selected as a Spotlight author at Bloody Scotland in 2018.

CS Duffy | Twitter | Instagram | “Author on the Go” Instagram

My Review

4 Stars

Ruari is in love with Lorna but the last time he saw her was the night before when she brought a new guy into his work. He realizes that Lorna had no idea how she feels since he has never told her. But when he goes to tell her, he learns that she has been murdered and he is now a suspect.

At the same time forensic pathologies Amy Kerr thinks she has found the Dancing Girls Killer that escape capture in London five years ago. Ruari is a former officer and not going to sit by the side and let the police conduct their investigation. Both Ruari and Amy decided to catch the killer.

This is a really good mystery that had me guessing through the whole book. I love how the view point is from a couple of different people that are not the police. It gives the mystery a fresh look from the regular police procedure yet still fast paced. And I have to say the ending is a huge cliffhanger. Now I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.