A griping and deeply engaging story that is a grim and bloody pleasure to read. Detective Inspector Brian Fisher is assaulted while interviewing a suspect at a police station, the outcome is brutal, unexpected and the start of a chain of events that lead to a deeply satisfying, bitter conclusion.Jim Alexander has deftly sidestepped the problems with the idea of a human containing two distinct personalities, one relatively mild manner and the other a walking pulse of rage with such confident ease that the reader never has a reason to fall out of the story.
The writing is lush, there is never one word where two or more could do the job better and not a single excess word among them. The language creates the room for the context and the cast to develop and expand, pulling the reader deeper and deeper into the events as they unfold. The jet black humour lacing the story lives and breaths in the play of the words and the extraordinary energy they contain and deliver.
The cast are a joy, the DI Fishers do not dominate the story, they are articulate an, murderous, rageful and considered. They are clearly distinct and equally obviously related to each other. The way that they transition is perfectly staged and frequently unexpected. Jim Alexander carefully sets up readers expectations and then sidesteps them in the most satisfying manner, nothing can be taken for granted. Detective Sargent Julie Spencer, assigned to work with the DIs Fisher has a sharp and determined view of the work she is doing and the events that she becomes involved in. She pulls the story in a different direction giving it scope and room that it needs to bloom its its full glory.
The context for the story, a hellscape of Glasgow full of people busy doing terrible thing to each other is vital to the story, it groans everyone in a location that is utterly suitable for them. No one is too violent or horrible for this city.
One of the best things that Jim Alexander does is to avoid completely a staple of the crime genre , none of the cast are overly stupid. Some of the cast are severely limited in their thinking and problem recognizing and solving skills, their whole lives reflect this. No one is strategically stupid as required to drive the plot, there are a lot of very competent people in the story who act competently to achieve their aims. The lack of stupidity gives the book an increasing edge as it unfolds, the cast are very much doing what the intend to do and their actions can be brutal.
Jim Alexander has the confidence to take on an established idea and discover why it has become established, to develop and execute a griping story. The technical skill of the writing is unforced and an easy to glide over exactly as designed creating a grip on the reader as the story moves smoothly into darker and darker tones.
God Cop Bad Cop is a dark and deep pleasure to read.
Chief Wizard Note: This is a review copy very kindly sent by Jim Alexander. Should you want to purchase GodCopBadCop, and it would be a very smart thing to do to ghive yourself the unlimited pleasure of a good book, it is avalible here:
UK
Amazon (print & digital):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916453503
Blackwell’s (print):
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781916453500
Kobo (digital): https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/goodcopbadcop
US
Amazon (print & digital):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1916453503
Barnes & Noble (print & digital):
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1129823698
Kobo (digital):
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/goodcopbadcop
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