Glasgow, 1966: Stevie 'Minto' Milloy, former star footballer-turned-rookie reporter, finds himself trailing the story of a young Eastern European student whose body has been found on remote moorland outside the city. How did she get there from her hostel at the Sovereign Grace Mission, and why does Stevie find obstacles at every turn?
Italy, 1943: As the Allies fight Mussolini's troops, a group of young soldiers are separated from their platoon, and Glaswegian Jamesie Campbell, his newfound friend Michael McTavish at his side, finds himself free to make his own rules…
Glasgow, 1969: Courtroom sketch artist Donald 'Doodle' Malpas is shocked to discover that his new case involves the murder of a teenage Lithuanian girl he knows from the Sovereign Grace Mission. Why hasn't the girl's death been reported? And why is a young police constable suddenly so keen to join the mission?
No one seems willing to join the dots between the two cases, and how they link to Raskine House, the stately home in the Scottish countryside with a dark history and even darker present – the venue for the debauched parties held there by the rich and powerful of the city who call themselves 'The Weekenders'.
Painting a picture of a 1960s Glasgow in the throes of a permissive society, pulled apart by religion, corruption, and a murderous Bible John stalking the streets, The Weekenders is a snapshot of an era of turmoil – and a terrifying insight into the mind of a ruthless criminal…
The Weekenders is the first book in The Raskine House Trilogy and it's the first book by David F. Ross that I have read but I really enjoyed it. It took me a while to get used to his unique writing style but I loved the colloquial Scottish prose that really brought the book to life.
The plot is razor sharp and I often grimaced at some of the darker scenes but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page. I was shocked so frequently that I might as well have been sitting in an electric chair and I don't mean in a prudish way, just the twists and turns that the story took.
You definitely have to have your wits about you when reading The Weekenders as it's very intricately plotted and feverishly fast-paced. It does feel as if the characters are speaking to you in their broad Scottish accents making it very authentic and atmospheric.
Dark, gritty and highly original, The Weekenders is unlike anything I have ever read before and it's a great start to a new series.
I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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