Harsh underbelly of 1930’s Glasgow!

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Edge of the Grave (Jimmy Dreghorn Mystery #1) by Robbie Morrison        

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Heart stopping historical criminal murder investigation set in Glasgow in early 1930’s going back to First World War in 1913.

Jimmy Dreghorn and Archie McDaid are part of a new Special Crime Squad, (under an English commander) put together to combat the various gangs and murders, graft and corruption that’s spreading throughout the city

Dreghorn, an ex boxer and army sergeant, has been asked to head a murder inquiry into the death of the Charles Geddes, son-in-law to the most powerful ship builder in Glasgow, Sir Iain Lockhart. Geddes is also brother-in-law to Rory Lockhart whom Dreghorn fought with, shoulder by shoulder in the trenches.

His investigation will take him from rival gangs,  to Trinity Village, a home for pregnant girls, and back to the Lockhart family and to the daughter of the house, Isla, his first love.

His search circles, always circling around the links of the now and of the past. 

Incredibly raw and sad as we witness lives suffered in poverty and squalor, and equally as damning, those who don’t.

An exposition of the various faces of humanity. 

As Morrison explains in his notes, Dreghorn is a man of”contrasts and contradictions: passionate and romantic, yet cynical and pragmatic when need be; good-humored and possessed of a lust for life, yet brooding and taciturn when faced with injustice; tough, yet tender and caring; patriotic and politically aware, yet distrustful and disdainful of those who hold power; and always punching above his weight.” 

A man made for this environment. A man who comes off as tough, and yet time and time again understands how innocence is lost and how people come to be as they are, except when there are no excuses.

I’m so looking forward to the next in the series!


A Random House-Ballantine ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

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