Good Deed is the debut novel from Steve Christie, the theme of which I quote above from Oscar Wilde. An Outdoor Instructor based in the Pentlands stops to help a girl change a tyre. Later, the girl stops for a coffee, during which time a gang of opportunist thieves steal something from her car.
So far so ordinary. But the girl is a courier and the ‘something’ happens to be 4kg of cocaine. The rightful owner wants his cocaine and the finders can’t believe their luck. How are they going to strike a deal without the law finding out?
It’s a delightfully convoluted plot which works out astonishingly well. It is fast and furious with more twists than a corkscrew. I particularly enjoyed the idea that most of the criminals are fully intending to go straight after this one last haul which will set them up with legitimate businesses. I hope they make it, especially as the supposed hero, DI Ronnie Buchanan is such an unpleasant character that you can’t help siding with the bad boys and sticking two fingers up at him. Should a sequel appear, it is, one assumes, DI Ronnie Buchanan who we will meet again, but I would much prefer to know what happens to Vince and the lads.
Ringwood is an independent publisher based in Glasgow – it’s great to see more Scottish publishers supporting Scottish writers and writing. Christie acknowledges their encouragement and thanks his editor for allowing him to do his own thing. I wish however, he had allowed her to do her job and edit the grammatical errors. That aside, Good Deed is everything you would want from a holiday crime thriller. It’s an easy read that will keep you entertained from cover to cover and a welcome addition to the Scottish crime catalogue.
Good Deed is available in kindle and paperback editions from Amazon
