Mortal Coil by
Anthony McGowan
hbk out July 05
Published by Hodder
at £18.99
The second thriller by a relatively new writer, the first one Stag Hunt collecting
many plaudits from the critics. One can see why, as the author writes exceptionally
well, with a hard-edged no-nonsense style that suits his somewhat gritty story.
Matthew Moriarty, a Leeds lad down in London, is a part-time lecturer in Classics but
to make ends meet, does other jobs and is here offered one supervising the bouncers
in a smart Kilburn club. He is much taken by an older woman, who sits aloof in a
corner, until one night she pleads with him to stop a well-heeled gangster from
coming in, who turns out to be her former husband.
Having lost face, this crook sets his hoods on to Matthew in an alley and almost kills
him, the descriptions of the assault being more than lurid. The pain following his stay
in hospital turns him into a pethidine addict, but when he shakes it off, he is
determined to kill the guy.
The plot moves on to Matthew going back to Leeds to look for a vanished musician,
who he knew at school, then back to the Smoke, where he gets involved in the seamy
side of commercial music.
This is a real page-turner and will appeal very much to those who like their reading to
portray the seamier side of London life, with no bowdlerisation of the language.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
Mortal Coil by
Anthony McGowan
