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…
It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for The Weekenders by David F. Ross today. Many thanks to Danielle Price at Orenda Books for inviting me and for my advance copy of the novel.
David F. Ross always marries convincingly flawed characters with a razor-sharp plot and a graphic sense of place, and so the prospect of his first crime novel was an exciting prospect – even more so as The Weekenders is the first in a trilogy.
The novel is split into three separate parts; the first and third sections are set in 1960s Glasgow and bookend the chapters which take place in the Second World War. Through the perspectives of first Stevie 'Minto' Milloy and later, Donald 'Doodle' Malpas, we witness the stark contrasts of a city on the brink of huge social change, yet still bound by the concurrent divisions and affinities wrought by religion, football and poverty. Stevie is a former professional footballer who was once destined for a glittering move to Chelsea before a horror tackle ended his career. As with his earlier book, There's Only One Danny Garvey, David F. Ross perceptively captures the cataclysmic effect of this sudden deathblow to a man's hopes, dreams and sense of worth. Stevie is also facing the breakdown of his marriage and it's this which drives him almost to the point of obsession after he learns of the murder of a young Lithuanian woman.
Having secured a new role as a rookie sports journalist working for the Daily Star, he is surprised to be told to accompany veteran crime reporter Jock Meikle. Meikle is a complicated character; he dresses in the all-black of Yul Brynner in the Magnificent Seven and is described as having a face like 'a sandy-coloured leather satchel' but he drives a dilapidated Ford Anglia. He is a man of few spoken words yet verbose in print and considered a dinosaur by his bosses. Stevie struggles to understand why he remains at the paper but gradually the pair form a bond. In some of the most poignant scenes in the early parts of the novel, Stevie recognises the sad parallels between their lonely, self-destructive lives but his attempts to avoid the same tragic downward spiral are derailed by his curiosity, sense of justice and perhaps most acutely, his desire for revenge. As he becomes convinced that the truth behind the young woman's murder has been suppressed, he discovers a link between her hostel at the Sovereign Grace Mission and Raskine House, home of prospective Labour MP, Jamesie Campbell.
The dark history of Raskine House is first described in the prologue, with further information about the shocking deaths which have occurred there revealed later. The juxtaposition between the gritty realism of most of the book and the depiction of the house almost as a malevolent entity in its own right is fascinating but although a bench there is said to belong to the Devil, The Weekenders is really an exploration of how a home becomes infused by the character of its residents and the 'sweat of dishonest toil', including Jamesie Campbell. Jamesie had a brutal upbringing but has married into the powerful Denton-Hall family whose influence is far-reaching. This is no inspirational rags-to-riches story, however, and the chapters set in wartime Italy give a grim, disturbing insight into the sort of man Campbell really is.
Opportunistic, unpredictable and merciless, Jamesie takes advantage of the chaos of war, manipulating his three younger comrades into following him away from the frontline. This is arguably the darkest part of The Weekenders, at least in terms of the atrocities described here but although some of these scenes are uncomfortable to bear witness to, they are vital to the unflinching realism of the plot. While never excusing his violence, the exploration behind his monstrous behaviour and eventual rise to political prominence is compelling.
Like Stevie, Doodle is on the periphery of society but while the former footballer is constantly reminded of all he has lost, Doodle has never really known anything else. He makes a living as a courtroom sketch artist and volunteers at the Sovereign Grace Mission, where his devout faith and attempts to spread the word of God even sees him savagely beaten up. Doodle is possibly the most intriguing figure in a book filled with memorable characters. He initially appears to be a pitiful creation with a tragic background, whose deafness sees him mocked and ignored. However, there is a canny side to him too and his dishonesty allows him to almost remain hidden in plain sight. Sidelined and belittled as mentally deficient as well unable to hear, he begins to learn the truth about Raskine House and the debauched 'Weekenders' who give the book its title. Reflecting a period when, as we know from real-life examples, the supposed great and good from the worlds of politics and celebrity sated their twisted desires protected by an establishment only too ready to turn a blind eye to the most heinous behaviour.
The Weekenders is an uncompromising story of violence and retribution in the dark, underbelly of mid-twentieth century Glasgow and so it's fitting that the dialogue authentically reflects the Glaswegian dialect and its black sense of humour. David F. Ross vividly brings this period of immense change to life, peppering the storyline throughout with real-life events such as the World Cup, industrial strikes and the murderous reign of the serial killer known as Bible John. The Weekenders is intricately plotted, complex and immersive historical crime fiction, and a candid, thought-provoking examination of human behaviour and societal upheaval. I thoroughly enjoyed it and await the next instalment with eager anticipation.
The Weekenders is published by Orenda Books and can be purchased directly from their website, further purchasing links can be found here.
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