Edge of the Grave

Jimmy Dreghorn, Book 1

By: Robbie Morrison

Narrated by: Angus King

Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of The Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year 2021

Shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2021 and the HWA Debut Crown 2021

Glasgow, 1932. When the son-in-law of one of the city’s wealthiest shipbuilders is found floating in the River Clyde with his throat cut, it falls to Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn to lead the murder case - despite sharing a troubled history with the victim’s widow, Isla Lockhart.

From the flying fists and flashing blades of Glasgow’s gangland underworld, to the backstabbing upper echelons of government and big business, Dreghorn and his partner ‘Bonnie’ Archie McDaid will have to dig deep into Glasgow society to find out who wanted the man dead and why.

All the while, a sadistic murderer stalks the post-war city leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. As the case deepens, will Dreghorn find the killer - or lose his own life in the process?

Edge of the Grave by Robbie Morrison is a dark historical crime novel set in Glasgow, 1932. A city still recovering from the Great War; split by religious division and swarming with razor gangs. For fans of William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw, Denise Mina and Philip Kerr.

©2021 Robbie Morrison (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International

Critic Reviews

"A mesmerizing debut. Early gangland Glasgow with the gloss razored off." (Peter James)

"A magnificent and enthralling portrait of a dark and dangerous city.... Chilling and brutal, but also deeply moving and, most importantly, beautifully written." (Mark Billingham)

"Peaky Blinders meets William McIlvanney in this rollocking riveting read." (Adrian Mckinty, best-selling author of The Chain)

Very good detective novel

I've been interested in reading about Glasgow, mostly thru crime novels and mostly that take place during very hard times in the past. I love thei Scottish quirky manner of speech, which is very melodic to me at times and lovely just to listen to. It takes me far away to another land, another time, another culture. Angus King is my favorite narrator. Hope to have more of this series.

starts off Super our

I'm a fan of the Tartan Noir genre. this started off super dark, even for a fan of the genre. It eased up as the book moves along but it was heavy to start. glad I stuck with it.

A Fantastic Debut

A great listen, excellent story and narrator. Not one for the faint hearted though. I can’t wait for more of Jimmy and Archie.

One of this year’s faves

Loved everything about this book (shows I’m reviewing part 1 but I actually did finish both parts). Character development, pacing, surprise plot twists, edge-of-your-seat suspense chasing the killer. I’ve never experienced flashbacks written so deftly. Narrator is superb. This should be a BBC short series. Bravo.

Eventually …. I lost the will to live

I’m sure this is just right for some listeners. For me it was a wearying plod leading eventually to despair. Two and a half hours from the end I just felt beaten and bored to exhaustion. One thing that surprised me somewhat was the frequent errors in the text, simple errors relating to the setting of the story in the first decades of the 20th century. I’m surprised the errors made it past the editor. Examples include: a catholic mass conducted in English (should be Latin); references to a ‘national curriculum’, not in Scotland then or since; description of a named building being blackened by air pollution ten years after the construction of the building; references to current forensic techniques not available in 1930’s or for many years later. These are a very few, I’m sure other listeners will find others.

Really enjoyable and Authentic

I have totally been absorbed in this book - although set in the 1930’s the problems faced by the police then easily transfer to modern times thus proving nothing is new. The characterisations and the ‘air’ of 1930’s poverty are excellent. A big shoutout to Angus King whose storytelling and narration was excellent

First World War

Really loved this book so real and sad .How war is a terrible thing the story was really good couldn’t stop listening to it The Narration was brilliant

Great!

Loved this book , kept me interested all way through. Hope there will be more of Dreghorn books 👏🏻👏🏻

A very engaging read- looking forward to more from Dreghorn.

I really enjoyed the book- often sitting in my car after I’d arrived home to find out what was happening next.
An exciting debut for Inspector Dreghorn- I was disappointed I couldn’t just jump straight into the next book. Here’s hoping I won’t have long to wait.

Great Story.

This story is just what I like. Murder and mystery set in history. With some historical Scottish references.
The story centres around the end of the first world war and a couple of decades after into the 1930s. I like the comradeship of the two main police characters. Set in Glasgow, the narrator has the various accents down to a fine art - well done.
Next is to check out what other stories the author has done. well done as well.