Book Review - Flesh Wounds by Chris Brookmyre

The hard men of Glasgow are not so different from the samurai of ancient Japan, trapped by their culture and position in society into a brutal dog-eat-dog world, albeit a world with its own version of honour and 'face', where people can only make life choices on the basis of what they know and what is available to them. This story also concerns a young person trying to find the truth of her parenthood. Intelligence, opportunity, leadership and payback all fit within a corrupt and frightening milieu, where the upper crust in search of drugs and other illicit thrills rub shoulders with the hard men and women of the criminal classes. Brookmyre effortlessly transports us to the Glasgow underworld and the 'polis' who try to control it. Flavoured with Scottish dialect, this is a torturous tale of political maneuvering, violent death and ongoing sorrow and loss. Perhaps the longer you live, the more your choices are compromised but some in this story try to act rightly despite or perhaps because of their past acts; and I found myself caring that they did. Wendy